Men’s Tennis Set to Welcome Highly Rated Recruiting Class in 2022-23
3/25/2022 2:42:00 PM | Men's Tennis
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell head men's tennis coach Bruce Myers has announced the addition of five promising recruits to the program in the fall of 2022. Joining the Bison next season will be Brendan McDonald, Oscar Bain Moreno de Vega, Gui Padilha, Adam Stavrakas, and Amir Tahirovic.
The class has a distinct international flavor, with two student-athletes hailing from Germany along with one each from Brazil and Greece. The website tennisrecruiting.net ranked this class 27th among all Division I programs.
"I am very excited about these incoming five student-athletes," said Myers "As a group, this class was ranked 27th by tennisrecruiting.net, ahead of programs such as Duke and Texas Tech. All five bring a great deal of experience playing in high-level, international tournaments, and all five will have a chance to play in the top six next year and give us scary depth. One aspect that excites me most is that all five made big improvements over the summer in both their UTR levels along with their national and international rankings."
The Bison do not have a senior on the 2021-22 roster, so the incoming class will join a solid returning group next season.
Here is a closer look at Bucknell's incoming recruits.
Brendan McDonald
Summit, N.J./Summit H.S.
Highest UTR: 11.00
Career-High USTA Ranking: 131
Personal/Before Bucknell: Born Apr. 11, 2003 in Summit, N.J. … son of Patricia Piorkowski and Ian McDonald … youngest of four brothers: Maxwell, Ryan, and Alex … Max played tennis at Bucknell and was a co-captain as a senior in 2019 … trained with the Evert Tennis Academy in Florida after playing four years of varsity tennis at Summit H.S. … two-year team captain … earned Third Team All-State and First Team All-Group 2 honors in 2021 … No. 1 ranked player in Union County and No. 5 high school player in the state of New Jersey … helped lead his team to two sectional titles and a Union County championship … 4-star recruit from tennisrecruiting.net.
Bruce Myers on Brendan McDonald: "Having coached his brother Max previously, I have known Brendan and the McDonald family for quite some time. Brendan has a big serve and a world-class backhand, which will play well especially indoors. He has worked very hard to get his national ranking inside the top 140 and has been spending his time after graduation training at a very high level in Florida."
Oscar Bain Moreno de Vega
Ottobrunn, Germany/ES International School (Spain)
Highest UTR: 11.02
Career-High ITF Ranking: 649
Personal/Before Bucknell: Born Nov. 12, 2004 in Munich, Germany … son of Cristina Moreno de Vega and David Bain … has a younger sister, Elena … attended the ES International School in Barcelona, Spain … G4 doubles winner … G5 singles and doubles finalist … speaks four languages.
Bruce Myers on Oscar Bain Moreno de Vega: "Oscar trains at an academy in Spain. He has also improved his UTR almost a full point since June and has had solid results in recent tournaments in Kenya, Spain, and Norway."
Guilherme "Gui" Padilha
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Newport Beach, Calif./Laurel Springs H.S.
Highest UTR: 11.16
Career-High USTA Ranking: 147
Personal/Before Bucknell: Born Oct. 20, 2003 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil … parents are Jozane Resende and Jose Padilha … has an older brother, Rodrigo … attends Laurel Springs H.S. … 4-star recruit by tennisrecruiting.net … doubles runner-up at Level 3 Tucson Boys 18s and Level 3 Lakewood Boys 18s … moved to the United States at age 11 due to his father's work as a Hollywood film director.
Bruce Myers on Gui Padilha: "Gui hails from Brazil but lives and trains in Southern California. He has posted wins over some blue-chip and five-star recruits and has held a steady ranking inside the top 150 in the nation. Gui shares a coach with one of my former players, who speaks very highly of his level."
Adamantios Stavrakas
Athens, Greece/St. Catherine's British School
Highest UTR: 12.37
Career-High ITF Ranking: 358
Personal/Before Bucknell: Born Sept. 11, 2003 in Greece … son of Elpis and Apostolos Stavrakas … has a brother, Minos-Kimon Stavrakas, and a sister, Galatea Stavraka … brother was an all-conference tennis player at Ithaca College … Greek National Championship U18 singles and doubles champion … first place at 2021 Men's Master Tournament in Kavouri, Greece and runner-up at Folothi … 2021 all-tournament singles record of 30-4 … took first place in singles at ITF J5 in Sofia, Bulgaria and ITFJ4 in Ioannina, Greece … third place with Team Greece at the Summer Cups U18.
Bruce Myers on Adam Stavrakas: "Adam's UTR level and ITF ranking should give him the opportunity to play at the top end of our lineup and put him in the top three or four in the Patriot League. He has an ITF ranking in the 350s, he has won ITF titles in both Greece and Bulgaria, and he had a 15-3 record in ITF events in 2021."
Amar Tahirovic
Stuttgart, Germany/Stuttgart H.S.
Highest UTR: 11.75
Career-High ITF Ranking: 831
Personal/Before Bucknell: Born Aug. 9, 2004 in Burlington, Vt. … son of Ismet and Hava Tahirovic … older brother, Ajdin, played tennis at Barry University in Florida … played high school tennis as a freshman and sophomore and posted a 24-0 record … two-time All-Europe First Team and MVP … two-time DODEA European Champion … highest UTR is 11.72 … ranked as high as 21st in the German U18 rankings (12th among 2004s) and 253rd overall nationally … ranked No. 315 in Europe … in international events finished third in doubles at ITF G5 in Germany and third in singles at ITF G5 in Belgium … two-time Tennis Europe doubles finalist (Netherlands and Belgium) and two-time Tennis Europe doubles third-place finisher (Germany and Austria) … Tennis Europe singles third-place finisher in Bosnia … in German tournaments, won state championships at four different age groups (U11, U13, U14, 16) along with three regional titles (U11, U14, 16).
Bruce Myers on Amar Tahirovic: "Amar was born in Vermont but has lived in Germany the last few years. He has made big improvements over the past 12 months, raising his UTR by over a full point since the start of summer, so it is exciting to see how much more he will be able to improve before he arrives on campus this fall. Amar has been very successful in club matches and German men's open tournaments over the summer and into the fall."
The class has a distinct international flavor, with two student-athletes hailing from Germany along with one each from Brazil and Greece. The website tennisrecruiting.net ranked this class 27th among all Division I programs.
"I am very excited about these incoming five student-athletes," said Myers "As a group, this class was ranked 27th by tennisrecruiting.net, ahead of programs such as Duke and Texas Tech. All five bring a great deal of experience playing in high-level, international tournaments, and all five will have a chance to play in the top six next year and give us scary depth. One aspect that excites me most is that all five made big improvements over the summer in both their UTR levels along with their national and international rankings."
The Bison do not have a senior on the 2021-22 roster, so the incoming class will join a solid returning group next season.
Here is a closer look at Bucknell's incoming recruits.
Brendan McDonald
Summit, N.J./Summit H.S.
Highest UTR: 11.00
Career-High USTA Ranking: 131
Personal/Before Bucknell: Born Apr. 11, 2003 in Summit, N.J. … son of Patricia Piorkowski and Ian McDonald … youngest of four brothers: Maxwell, Ryan, and Alex … Max played tennis at Bucknell and was a co-captain as a senior in 2019 … trained with the Evert Tennis Academy in Florida after playing four years of varsity tennis at Summit H.S. … two-year team captain … earned Third Team All-State and First Team All-Group 2 honors in 2021 … No. 1 ranked player in Union County and No. 5 high school player in the state of New Jersey … helped lead his team to two sectional titles and a Union County championship … 4-star recruit from tennisrecruiting.net.
Bruce Myers on Brendan McDonald: "Having coached his brother Max previously, I have known Brendan and the McDonald family for quite some time. Brendan has a big serve and a world-class backhand, which will play well especially indoors. He has worked very hard to get his national ranking inside the top 140 and has been spending his time after graduation training at a very high level in Florida."
Oscar Bain Moreno de Vega
Ottobrunn, Germany/ES International School (Spain)
Highest UTR: 11.02
Career-High ITF Ranking: 649
Personal/Before Bucknell: Born Nov. 12, 2004 in Munich, Germany … son of Cristina Moreno de Vega and David Bain … has a younger sister, Elena … attended the ES International School in Barcelona, Spain … G4 doubles winner … G5 singles and doubles finalist … speaks four languages.
Bruce Myers on Oscar Bain Moreno de Vega: "Oscar trains at an academy in Spain. He has also improved his UTR almost a full point since June and has had solid results in recent tournaments in Kenya, Spain, and Norway."
Guilherme "Gui" Padilha
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Newport Beach, Calif./Laurel Springs H.S.
Highest UTR: 11.16
Career-High USTA Ranking: 147
Personal/Before Bucknell: Born Oct. 20, 2003 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil … parents are Jozane Resende and Jose Padilha … has an older brother, Rodrigo … attends Laurel Springs H.S. … 4-star recruit by tennisrecruiting.net … doubles runner-up at Level 3 Tucson Boys 18s and Level 3 Lakewood Boys 18s … moved to the United States at age 11 due to his father's work as a Hollywood film director.
Bruce Myers on Gui Padilha: "Gui hails from Brazil but lives and trains in Southern California. He has posted wins over some blue-chip and five-star recruits and has held a steady ranking inside the top 150 in the nation. Gui shares a coach with one of my former players, who speaks very highly of his level."
Adamantios Stavrakas
Athens, Greece/St. Catherine's British School
Highest UTR: 12.37
Career-High ITF Ranking: 358
Personal/Before Bucknell: Born Sept. 11, 2003 in Greece … son of Elpis and Apostolos Stavrakas … has a brother, Minos-Kimon Stavrakas, and a sister, Galatea Stavraka … brother was an all-conference tennis player at Ithaca College … Greek National Championship U18 singles and doubles champion … first place at 2021 Men's Master Tournament in Kavouri, Greece and runner-up at Folothi … 2021 all-tournament singles record of 30-4 … took first place in singles at ITF J5 in Sofia, Bulgaria and ITFJ4 in Ioannina, Greece … third place with Team Greece at the Summer Cups U18.
Bruce Myers on Adam Stavrakas: "Adam's UTR level and ITF ranking should give him the opportunity to play at the top end of our lineup and put him in the top three or four in the Patriot League. He has an ITF ranking in the 350s, he has won ITF titles in both Greece and Bulgaria, and he had a 15-3 record in ITF events in 2021."
Amar Tahirovic
Stuttgart, Germany/Stuttgart H.S.
Highest UTR: 11.75
Career-High ITF Ranking: 831
Personal/Before Bucknell: Born Aug. 9, 2004 in Burlington, Vt. … son of Ismet and Hava Tahirovic … older brother, Ajdin, played tennis at Barry University in Florida … played high school tennis as a freshman and sophomore and posted a 24-0 record … two-time All-Europe First Team and MVP … two-time DODEA European Champion … highest UTR is 11.72 … ranked as high as 21st in the German U18 rankings (12th among 2004s) and 253rd overall nationally … ranked No. 315 in Europe … in international events finished third in doubles at ITF G5 in Germany and third in singles at ITF G5 in Belgium … two-time Tennis Europe doubles finalist (Netherlands and Belgium) and two-time Tennis Europe doubles third-place finisher (Germany and Austria) … Tennis Europe singles third-place finisher in Bosnia … in German tournaments, won state championships at four different age groups (U11, U13, U14, 16) along with three regional titles (U11, U14, 16).
Bruce Myers on Amar Tahirovic: "Amar was born in Vermont but has lived in Germany the last few years. He has made big improvements over the past 12 months, raising his UTR by over a full point since the start of summer, so it is exciting to see how much more he will be able to improve before he arrives on campus this fall. Amar has been very successful in club matches and German men's open tournaments over the summer and into the fall."
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