April 2, 2015
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt men’s tennis head coach Ian Duvenhage and associate head coach Jamie Hunt are proud to announce that Vikram Chari, Cameron Klinger, Alex Ross and Dan Stefan have signed their national letters of intent to attend Vanderbilt University and play for the black and gold. According to TennisRecruiting.net this quartet of new Commodores comprises the fifth ranked signing class in the nation.
“Coming into recruiting we look initially for good mechanics, because it’s hard to fix flow and technique when someone is 18 years of age,” said head coach Duvenhage. “Secondly, we look for great attitude and someone who competes well. And then after that we look at a whole host of things, obviously academics comes into play because once we’ve jumped through those hoops we’ve got to find out if they’ve got the grades and if academics are important enough to them. A lot of athletes want to go to college some place and the school part is on the side, and that’s not going to work around here. Obviously we look at results and rankings, but those other things, the technique, attitude, and competitiveness come first.”
Vikram Chari
Vikram Chari is a three-star recruit out of Saratoga, Cali. As the No. 32 player in California and the 34th ranked player in the Southwest the righty will add dimension to the to the Commodore lineup.
“He’s a complete player with every stroke in the book. He’s a good athlete and we liked his aggressiveness. His coach is a good friend of mine and he comes highly recommended, from this coach whom I respect a great deal so were excited about him.”
Cameron Klinger
Cameron Klinger is the Commodores highest ranked player, coming in as No. 17 in the nation, and No. 6 in the Southwest and state of California. A five-star blue chip recruit from Elk Grove, Calif., Klinger signed with the Commodores over Notre Dame, Alabama, and Texas.
“We’ve been watching Cameron for the last few years. He’s also coached by the same good friend who I spent a number of years with on the pro tour. Cameron has a big time game; a big serve, big forehand. He’s a really good athlete and aggressive on the court. We think he’s got potential to play at the next level, so we’re excited about him.”
In an interview with TennisRecruiting,com Klinger said, “I love the coaches. I think Ian (Duvenhage) and Jamie (Hunt) are probably the best duo in the country,” Klinger said. “I also love Nashville. It’s an unbelievable place to go to school. I really just like everything about the school. I guess a lot of it for me was the feel I had there. I just felt like I belonged there and it was the place for me.”
Alex Ross
Alex Ross is a native of La Grange, Ill. and comes to West End boasting a five-star ranking. Ross is ranked No. 56 in the nation, No. 7 in the Great Lakes region, and No. 4 in the state of Illinois. Ross currently owns a 40-25 record, going 14-6 over four-star recruits and own a perfect 11-0 mark against three-stars and below.
“Alex is another one that we watched at the Clay Courts in Florida, another one who is a very very solid tennis player. We were really impressed with the way he hits the ball off the ground and we think he will really develop I college, but Alex is a great athlete with a good attitude. He knew about us before we really knew about him and that really important. When kids really want to come here good things happen.”
Dan Stefan
Dan Stefan is a five-star blue chip out of St. Petersburg, Fla. Ranked No. 28 in the nation and No. 6 in the state of Florida; Stefan owns a 19-10 record, going undefeated against all four-star recruits and below.
“Dan is a strong kid who has a really big baseline game, he really hits the ball well off the ground. We really liked him as a person as we do all these guys, we wouldn’t have offered any of them if we didn’t like them. He’s another guy who we think is going to do some damage in college and have a great college career.”
In an interview with TennisRecruiting.com Stefan said, “Vandy has everything I’ve ever wanted in a school. They are teammates with the strongest bonds I have ever seen, two of the best coaches (Ian Duvenhage and Jamie Hunt) in the country, a beautiful campus, great facilities, and great academics. You can’t find a school like Vandy anywhere else in the world. I would be stupid if I turned down this amazing opportunity to be part of such an incredible team.”