NEWARK, NJ—Coming off of its best season of competition at the Division I level with an 18-7 record in 2009-10, NJIT men's tennis has signed two new international student-athletes to National Letters Intent. The two will enroll and continue their academic and competitive tennis careers beginning in the fall of 2010, head coach Mike Sowter announced.
Both student-athletes will come to NJIT from overseas—Ike Kiro from South Africa and Petr Rousar from the Czech Republic—and they are both Top 15 age group players in their native countries.
--Ike Kiro, 18, hails from Milnerton Ridge in Cape Town, South Africa, and graduated from Milnerton High School in his hometown.
He has been as high as 12th in the South African under 18 rankings and has been a top 20 player in his age group since he was under 16. He ranked 50th in u18 doubles in 2009.
He represented South Africa on its u18 school team and was a Western Province Interprovincial selection in 2007 and 2009.
He plans to major in international business at NJIT.
--Petr Rousar, 19, who resides in Prague, Czech Republic, has ranked as high as number 890 in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior rankings. His ranking for the u18 group in the Czech Republic has been as high as 13 and he placed third in the 2008 Czech Indoor Championships.
He, too, plans to major in international business at NJIT.
Kiro and Rousar will join a program that has seen significant success in its four years of Division I competition, compiling a combined match record of 50-30, including the recently-completed season's 18-7 that ended with a second-place showing in the National Division I Independent Tournament.
NJIT was 10-10 in its first season of Division I competition (2006-07), followed by 11-7 in 2007-08, and 11-6 in 2008-09. Mike Sowter, the coach the last two years, owns a 29-13 record at NJIT.
The 2009-10 Highlanders had three seniors competing, including Stephen Erickson, who was 17-3 in dual matches at first singles as a senior and 50-23 in his career in dual matches (mostly at first singles).
