TERRE HAUTE — College tennis in the United States has evolved into an athletic version of the United Nations, with foreign players dominating the rosters at most schools.
Indiana State, for example, has seven players listed on the combined rosters for its men’s and women’s teams; 12 of those 14 players are foreigners.
IUPUI is trying to change that statistic and offer more collegiate tennis opportunities to domestic players. Four of the nine players on the Jaguars’ men’s team this year are American and all five of the IUPUI women’s players are from the U.S.
Each program has signed four players for the 2009-2010 season — with all eight of those players coming from Indiana and one on each program from the Wabash Valley.
West Vigo’s Joel Modesitt signed earlier this month to attend IUPUI, following a stellar high school career in which he went 14-2 in his senior year and was eliminated in the championship match of the Indiana High School Boys Tennis Individual Singles Tournament.
Modesitt said this week that the location and the campus at IUPUI were among his top reasons for choosing the school.
“I also thought Coach [Brandon] Currie was the kind of coach that would really help me take my game to the next level and help me improve,” Modesitt said. “The opportunity to play Division I was very enticing, and IUPUI also has a schedule that has many big time opponents.”
Modesitt took visits to Indiana State and the University of Indianapolis and also received interest from Marian, Brescia, Wabash and Eastern Illinois.
He credits his parents for providing the support necessary to achieve such a difficult childhood goal.
“It has always been my dream to play Division I college tennis,” Modesitt said. “My mom [Karen] got me started in tennis and has always been there to help me and even served as my assistant coach at West Vigo. My dad [Terry] has also supported me because he has driven me to tournaments my whole life and been one of my biggest fans. Their support has definitely allowed me to succeed.”
Modesitt also credits local instructors Mike Reynolds and Chris Strong and Indianapolis mentor P.A. Nilhagen for his success.
“I always thought that I had a chance at playing at that level, and in the past few years the realization sunk in when I started talking to college coaches,” Modesitt said. “I’m very excited that IUPUI gave me this opportunity and thankful to my parents and coaches for always supporting me.”
West Vigo Coach Bruce Hartrich predicts continued success for Modesitt.
“Joel is a fine young man and I believe he will do well at IUPUI,” Hartrich said. “He always gave me 100 percent on the practice court and in matches. He has a great attitude and is the kind of kid every coach loves to have on his team.
“Joel had a great 4 years at West Vigo and I believe he will do the same at IUPUI.”
On the women’s side of things, Bloomfield’s Bailey Maryfield also signed with the Jaguars earlier this month. She won 20 matches last spring in helping the Cardinals to a 17-3 record.
Maryfield was the Southwestern Indiana Athletic Conference tournament singles champion in 2008, earning all-conference honors.
“It is really great for Bailey to be able to go on and play tennis for a Division I school,” Bloomfield Coach Mike Canty told the Greene County Daily World. “Bailey is the first player out of the Bloomfield tennis program that has gone on to play college tennis at the Division I level. It will be tough competing at the next level, but she constantly works to improve her tennis skills in the offseason and I’m confident she will do well.”
The Jaguars may not be done yet in the Wabash Valley.
Hunter Bullock, Terre Haute South’s No. 1 singles player last spring, is listed by tennisrecruiting.net as the No. 5-ranked recruit in Indiana and the 38th-best player in the Midwest. According to the Web site, IUPUI has already extended a scholarship offer to Bullock with an interest level of “high” toward the THS senior.
Terre Haute North senior Brittany Farmer is listed as the No. 7 recruit in Indiana, but no prospective colleges are listed on her biography page.
• More recruiting news — Terre Haute South’s Jake Odum has made a well-publicized verbal commitment to play basketball at Indiana State, but did not sign a national letter-of-intent because he will not get a scholarship his first year.
ISU’s only senior this season is Jay Tunnell, and Rockville’s R.J. Mahurin had previously been targeted for that spot. He signed his letter-of-intent earlier this year.
ISU’s roster has frequently undergone change over the past six or seven years, so here’s hoping that something works out in the near future for Odum to be locked in as a Sycamore. He’s a keeper.
• Marshall senior basketballers Lucas and Logan Eitel did not sign during the early period. Their AAU coach last summer, former Sycamore Brad Miley, said recently that American University in Washington, D.C. (coached by former Virginia Cavalier Jeff Jones) was one of many schools keeping its eyes on the Illinois duo.
n Terre Haute North junior quarterback Chris O’Leary was limited this season due to a shoulder injury, and is scheduled for surgery Dec. 9. In spite of so much time on the sidelines, colleges are still very interested. O’Leary recently took a visit to Division I Western Kentucky and has also attracted interest from Louisville and many other schools.
• Former Northview standout Joe Evinger has been named a first-team all-conference offensive lineman for the College of the Canyons junior college squad in California. Evinger and his team finished the regular season undefeated and won their first-round playoff game last weekend.
The Los Angeles Daily News recently reported that Evinger, a 6-7, 340-pounder who runs a 5.3 40-yard-dash, is one of seven linemen that UCLA is evaluating.
Rivals.com lists Evinger as the No. 37 junior college recruit in the nation, giving him four out of five stars in its ranking system, and the fifth best offensive lineman. Three of the four higher ranked offensive linemen have already signed with Oklahoma State, Houston and Southern Mississippi.
The Web site lists Evinger’s top five schools as UCLA, Arizona State, Louisville, Texas Christian and Colorado.
Joey Bennett is a former Tribune-Star sports reporter and copy editor who now teaches at Northview High School in Brazil. He can be reached at tribstarcollegereport@yahoo.com.
College Report
College Report: Modesitt walking rare ground
- College Report
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Catching up as the school year winds down
Odds and ends from here and there as the school year quickly winds down. For starters, high jumper Nick Jaeger of Terre Haute South was named the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference’s male track & field newcomer of the year:
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College Report: Lively earned collegiate upgrade with strong play
Hillary Lively signed to play Division II basketball at Maryville (Mo.) during her senior year at North Vermillion, but those plans changed and she would up at nearby Danville Area Community College — where she recently concluded an outstanding two-year career.
Lively was impressive enough to earn a Division I scholarship to Southeast Missouri State of the Ohio Valley Conference, and both her future and past college coaches think she will continue to succeed there.
“She fits what we need,” SEMO coach Ty Margenthaler said. “She has college experience, she is strong and physical and plays well around the basket and moves well.
“Her strength, rebounding and touch around the basket will be a big help. On the defensive end, she’ll be able to guard a true center.” -
COLLEGE REPORT: Valley prep athletes getting ready for next level
The NCAA “regular” signing period begins Wednesday for all sports except football, field hockey, soccer, track and field, cross country and men’s water polo.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Conferences honor Valley softball players
Several Wabash Valley area college softball players have been honored by their respective conferences for outstanding play this spring.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Jake Newton makes big impact for Lincoln Trail College
Jake Newton had a long time between playing in competitive basketball games, a span of about 18 months, and used the frustration from that long dry spell to produce a stellar freshman season for Lincoln Trail College this winter.
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COLLEGE REPORT: A.J. Reed earns SEC Player of the Week honors
After belting three home runs during a five games last week, Kentucky sophomore left-handed pitcher/first baseman A.J. Reed was named Southeastern Conference Player of the Week.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Spring newcomers making marks
Several freshman baseball and softball NCAA Division I players from the Wabash Valley have already made immediate impacts at their new schools, while others are waiting for their turns to shine.
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COLLEGE REPORT: A.J. Reed named third-team preseason baseball All-American
Two-way sophomore standout A.J. Reed was one of three University of Kentucky players named third-team preseason All-America by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Sponsler honored after big week for Wabash men's hoops
Wabash College freshman Ross Sponsler of Terre Haute North was named the North Coast Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the period ending Jan. 6.
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COLLEGE REPORT: North grad Hughes finds success after facing preseason adversity
A.J. Hughes knew he was in for a battle as he competed with three other walk-on punters in the preseason for the lone starting job on the Virginia Tech football team.
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Etling, Meggs enjoying great year
It’s been a great year so far with more to come for a pair of longtime friends and St. Patrick’s School classmates.
Former Terre Haute resident Jack Meggs quarterbacked the Bellevue Wolverines football team to the Washington Class 3A state championship this fall, culminating with a 35-3 win over Sammamish Eastside Catholic — Bellevue’s fifth straight crown.
Danny Etling, meanwhile, has completed graduation requirements at Terre Haute South and is preparing for an upcoming high school all-star game and his first college classes in a couple of weeks. -
COLLEGE REPORT: Valley’s women’s college hoops players start strong
Several women’s college basketball players from the Wabash Valley have gotten off to good starts this season on the hardwood. Highlights:
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COLLEGE REPORT: Mayhew, Mascari provide fall highlights
Several dozen Wabash Valley athletes enjoyed successful fall seasons collegiately in cross country and tennis this year. -
COLLEGE REPORT: Former North teammates start strong in college
Former Terre Haute North teammates Ross Sponsler and Matt O’Leary made their college basketball debuts last week and had outstanding initial performances. -
COLLEGE REPORT: Shoemaker OBP leads Chisox farmhands
Former Indiana State, Olney Central and Northview baseball standout Brady Shoemaker opened a lot of eyes last summer in the Chicago White Sox farm system, earning him a spot on a mlb.com blog team that highlighted the team’s outstanding minor leaguers at each position.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Boeglin has plenty of ISU memories, but not all are related to basketball
Melanie Boeglin, an All-American who played on the women’s basketball team at Indiana State from 2002-2006, will be inducted into the 21st class of the Indiana State University Athletics Hall of Fame on Thursday.
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COLLEGE REPORT: North grad leading DePauw volleyball in winning streak
DePauw’s volleyball team has won seven straight matches entering this weekend’s DePauw Invitational, including four straight wins last weekend to capture the Rose-Hulman invitational title.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Engle moving up football coaching ranks
Michael Engle graduated from DePauw University in the spring of 2011 with a degree in political science and future plans to advance his studies in law school.
Being a coach’s son and a competitive athlete by nature, Engle has put those plans on hold for now. -
COLLEGE REPORT: From Terre Haute South to Division I competition to coaching careers
Adriane Wunderlich and Katelyn Bishop both turned stellar high school careers at Terre Haute South into Division I collegiate careers at Indiana State and Southern California, respectively.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Former prep athletes getting ready for fall college season
An impressive total of at least 122 Wabash Valley athletes and coaches will be competing collegiately for the first time during the upcoming school year or have changed schools to continue their careers.
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COLLEGE REPORT: SP’s Boetjer is Indiana’s Miss Softball
South Putnam’s Brooke Boetjer, who will be a freshman on the Indiana University softball team next spring, was named the 2012 Indiana Miss Softball last month between games at the North/South All-Star games in Carmel.
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College report: North grad Mayhew is second team all-American at IU
Indiana University running standout Zach Mayhew of Terre Haute North was honored earlier this month as a second-team All-American by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
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College report: Bloomfield runner to join IUPUI track, cross country teams
Bloomfield track/cross country standout Julie Riggins will be joining the developing IUPUI program next fall as one of six incoming recruits.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Roberts takes coaching position at UNC-Greensboro
Terre Haute native Mike Roberts is continuing his climb up the college basketball coaching ladder, recently departing Rice for a spot as the associate head coach at North Carolina-Greensboro.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Valley grads playing role for No. 13 Vincennes
A few springtime odds and ends:
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COLLEGE REPORT: Shouse making his mark for Danville Community College
Derek Shouse definitely flew under the radar in his one season of playing for the Terre Haute South boys basketball team last winter.
Not highly recruited, he made his way to Danville Area Community College as a walk-on with the hopes he could find his way onto the court at some point. -
COLLEGE REPORT: Bullock finds sunny home to continue tennis career
Most college athletes progress along similar paths to get to their final destinations athletically, but Terre Haute South grad Taylor Bullock’s route to the Eckerd College women’s tennis team was a little different than most.
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COLLEGE REPORT: TH South QB entertains Division I offers
Danny Etling’s trek to being a big-time college quarterback took a huge step this week when the Terre Haute South junior picked up a scholarship offer from Purdue, according to 247sports.com.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Seibert stepping up her game
Terre Haute South grad Haley Seibert has seen the usual ups and downs of her freshman basketball season at Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne and is making the most of her opportunities this season.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Vikings Waters, Barton excited about college basketball
West Vigo grad Lauren Dailey helped the Lady Vikings basketball program to a lot of success at the end of the 1990s, and went on to play for Eastern Illinois from 2001-2004.
- More College Report Headlines
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Catching up as the school year winds down
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