Jan. 8, 2003
ATLANTA — Jose Luis Muguruza of Aruba, the reigning 16 and under Orange Bowl Singles Champion and Zachary Rath of Montreal, Quebec, Canada have signed National Letters of Intent with Georgia Tech, men’s tennis head coach Kenny Thorne announced on Wednesday.
“We are very happy to have both Jose and Zach join our program,” said Thorne. “Usually you don’t have big recruiting classes with tennis and that is the case here. We’ve done well so far and getting these two players is great start for us.”
A player that has emerged as one of the world’s top junior players, Muguruza burst onto the scene in December by winning the 16 and under singles championship at the prestigious Orange Bowl Tournament. The event is regarded as one of the world’s top junior events. Muguruza is currently the 17th-ranked junior singles player in the latest ITF rankings, while also being rated 54th in doubles. Prior to his win at the Orange Bowl, he reached the finals of the USTA International Winter Championships, defeating the U.S.’s Brian Baker. Baker is the third-ranked junior player in the world. Earlier this summer, Muguruza won the doubles title at the JITIC Central America & Caribbean Closed Championships, while reaching the singles finals in the same event. Muguruza also teamed with fellow Yellow Jacket signee Zachary Rath to reach the doubles quarterfinals at the USTA International Grass Courts Championships in August. Overall, Muguruza reached the singles finals of seven tournaments in 2002, winning two of those and was a finalist in six doubles draws, winning two of those events. He holds a career singles record of 65-31 (.677) and a doubles mark of 43-23 (.651).
“We are very excited to get Jose,” said Thorne. “He is a great competitor along with being a great student. He’s been able to combine those two while traveling to play tennis and keep up his great grades. I think that he will give us a spark right away once he gets to Tech. He’s a little younger, having finished school a year early, so he will be used to playing older guys like he will have to once he gets to college. His accomplishments in tennis so far have been extremely good.”
Currently Quebec’s top-ranked 18-and-under singles player, Rath also turned in a successful 2002 campaign, playing primarily in doubles events. He reached the quarterfinals of both the USTA International Grass Court Championship with fellow Tech signee Jose Luis Muguruza and the Canadian Outdoor National Championships in August. In singles play, Rath was a quarterfinalist at both the Copa Merengue and the Aruba Championship, while also reaching the semis at the Curacao Open. In April, Rath reached the quarters at the Canadian 18 and under Championships.
“Zach is a great athlete and a great student as well,” said Thorne. “Being a good student will certainly allow him to put more time into his tennis once he gets to college. He has already had good wins against some of the top junior players and he has a great team mindset that will help him in the college game. He certainly has a great deal of potential and it will help him to be playing tough competition all the time, which he will face when he gets here.”
GEORGIA TECH MEN'S TENNIS SIGNEESJose Luis Muguruza, ArubaZachary Rath, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
