Kim leads strong '11 tennis recruits

After strong seasons by both the women's and men's tennis teams this year, the Tigers are looking to build on that success next year with the help of four recruits from the Class of 2011.

Last year's recruiting class will be a tough act to follow, especially for the women's team. This year's freshmen were ranked as the second-best recruiting class in the nation, and all three played in the varsity rotation.

Next year's group of freshmen, however, is looking strong as well. The women have successfully recruited two incoming freshmen, Taylor Marable and Rebecca Parks.

Marable, who lives in Darien, Ill., will graduate from Hinsdale South this year. She has consistently been a top junior player, and she garnered all-state first-team honors in singles in 2006. Last summer, she skipped a major junior event to play in a tournament with college-level players. She made a strong showing in that competition, defeating starters from college programs including highly ranked UCLA.

"That showed us that right away — [even as a] senior in high school — she's ready to compete at the highest level of college tennis," women's assistant coach Marc Lucero said.

Parks, from Tulsa, Okla., makes up the other half of the recruiting roster. As a senior at Booker T. Washington High School, Parks recently won her third state singles championship. She is a tall player with an aggressive game. With a good reputation and lots of potential, the coaches expect her to immediately contribute to both singles and doubles.

"Her game is just really taking off," Lucero said. "She's a player that's really just starting to scratch the surface of what she's capable of."

The coaches have been able to get a strong impression of Parks by talking to her coach, former Women's Tennis Association player Stephanie Mabry.

"What we could gather is that Rebecca is an extremely hard worker," Lucero said. "She really made a huge commitment to her tennis."

While the women looked to the Midwest for their recruits this year, the men's coaches looked to the south. The men will also welcome two freshmen recruits this coming fall, Ryan Kim from Miami, Fla., and Parker Preyer from Hillsborough, N.C.

Kim stands out as one of the all-time best recruits for Princeton tennis. Kim recently led Dr. Michael Krop Senior High School to a Florida High School Athletic Association 4A state championship. Individually, he won his fifth and sixth career state titles as both a singles and doubles player.

Kim was admitted to Princeton Early Decision. While he was being recruited, Kim maintained a solid national ranking around No. 50. Since then, however, he has improved his game, climbing the rankings to as high as No. 15 in the country. According to head coach Glenn Michibata, this is the highest ranking that an incoming men's recruit has earned during his seven-year tenure.

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"Based on those results, I would think that he would have a major impact on our singles lineup his freshman year," Michibata said.

Preyer was a late recruit who looked at Davidson and North Carolina — schools closer to home — before finally deciding to venture farther afield to join the Tigers this fall. At Durham Academy, he guided his team to a 14-1 regular season finish this year. He was admitted to Princeton during the regular decision process.

"Because we're losing two of our starters, there's going to be a lot of opportunity for him to have some impact on the team his freshman year," Michibata said.

As these two recruits join the Tigers next season, they will become part of the most successful men's varsity sport at Princeton. Over the history of the program, the men's tennis team has won nearly 75 percent of its matches.

With such promising recruits, it seems likely that this legacy will continue.