STATESBORO – The Georgia Southern Men's Tennis Team signed three athletes this past Wednesday on national fall signing day including two from outside the U.S. and one from the Peach State.
All three athletes will begin competition for the Eagles in the fall 2020 season and the 2021 spring season.
Jacob Mitchell of Vidalia is set to become only the Georgia native on the 2021 roster. Mitchell's highest national junior ranking was 97
th and won the 18s National L3. He is currently a senior through Georgia Cyber Academy. His father, Pat, played soccer for the Eagles in the 1990's.
"I am very happy and proud to be able to join Eagle Nation and to play for the well-respected Coach Sander, who I have known for many years and from whom I have already learned so much," said Mitchell. "I can't wait to spend the next four years here as a second-generation athlete for the GSU Eagles."
Coach Sander Koning on Jacob Mitchell:
"I am very excited to have Jacob be a part of Eagle Nation. I have known him for a couple of years now and he has shown a lot of growth in his game this past year and I believe he will help us from the moment he steps foot on campus. He is a character guy and a hard worker, which will help him be successful in college tennis and in school. He bleeds blue and his enthusiasm will be something that really stands out on this team."
Tao Castillo, a Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain native, attended V Centenario high school and ASA Miami Junior College. His best junior national ranking was 24
th and his best national ranking was 153
rd. Castillo Won the Southern Junior College Regionals in 2019 in men's doubles and was runner-up in Southern Junior College Regionals 2019 men's singles.
Coach Sander Koning on Tao Castillo:
"Tao is another hard worker, he loves the game and has some big weapons that will help us as a team. He has been very successful at the junior college level and I expect the same when he plays for us in 2021. I look forward to coaching him and work with the big upside his game has."
Valentin Dun hails from Concepcion del Uruguay, Argentina and attends Sagrado Corazón de Jesus High School. His highest national junior ranking was second and highest ITF ranking was 803
rd. Dun has also been Runner-up ITF Pinamar (Argentina) J5, Semifinal round ITF Paraguay J5, Quarterfinal round ITF Grade 5, Argentina Champion National G1 Rosario, Runner-up national G1 Mendoza (Argentina), Semifinal round national G1 Córdoba and G1 Tucuman (Argentina) in singles play. He has been a three-time Champion of National G1 (Argentina), Semifinal round ITF Grade 5 Paraguay, Semifinal round ITF Grade 5 Paraguay.
Coach Sander Koning on Valentin Dun:
"I had many conversations with and about Valentin. He is a very smart guy and his work ethic is unparalleled. He is a guy who just figures out ways to win matches. That is a great quality to have and he has the results to back it up. I am very excited to have him come this spring and get right into the season. It will be a little bit of an adjustment of course, but I do believe he has the personality to succeed."
Eagles Men's Tennis will begin the 2020 season in mid-January. Stay tuned to GSEagles.com as the full schedule will be released soon.