On March 3, senior Tommy Tu entered the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division I men’s singles rankings. Out of the 125 athletes ranked, Tu is 95th. Tu becomes only the second USF player from Northern California to be ranked in the past 10 years.
Being ranked nationally is a big deal in any sport, especially in an individual sport like tennis. “I’m very happy and proud of myself for this accomplishment. I couldn’t have done it without the support from my family, teammates, coaches, and friends. It was one of the goals that I’ve set for myself when I first came to USF as a freshman, and to finally accomplish it during my senior year is an incredible feeling,” said Tu.
The only other USF Northern California player to earn a national ranking is current tennis Assistant Coach Pablo Pires de Almeida. In the past 10 years, USF is the only school in Northern California to have two region natives to be nationally ranked. Tu is the second Northern California native to earn a national ranking in the past five years.
Prior to going to USF, Tu was ranked number one in Boys’ 14s, 16s and 18s and under for USTA/ Northern California. As a freshman in high school, he was the NCS Doubles Champion. Tu won the NCS Singles Title as a senior in 2005; in conjunction, he was voted the 2005 Athlete of the Year by the Alameda Journal.
So far this season, Tu is 5-4 in singles matches. He is 1-3 against nationally ranked players; his sole win was over number 30 ranked Hendrik Bode of HPU (which was ranked number 7 at the time) on March 6. He is 1-4 against ranked college teams; he has lost in matches to number 17 University of Arizona, number 41 University of Nebraska, number 72 UNLV and number 22 University of Washington. In doubles, Tu is 5-2. His only doubles losses were early in the season against number 22 University of Washington and against UNLV; in both occasions, his partner was Rainer Nachbauer.
Tu’s pain, time and effort have paid off at last, but he isn’t going to rest on his laurels. “I worked hard to get myself to where I am currently,” he said, “and now I will work harder to show that I deserve it.”
The Dons are now 6-3 on the season, and will play a series of away matches before returning to San Francisco for their final three home matches of the season in early April. Their next home match is against Loyola Marymount at the Cal Club in San Francisco on April 4.
Simply want to say your article is as astonishing. The clearness in your post is just great and i can assume you’re an expert on this subject. Fine with your permission let me to grab your feed to keep updated with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please keep up the enjoyable work.
This design is spectacular! You definitely know how to keep
a reader entertained. Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well,
almost…HaHa!) Wonderful job. I really enjoyed what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it.
Too cool!
my homepage – Ophelia