Sunday, 07/17/2011

Incoming freshmen earn top honors

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Kelsey Dieters and Niki Flower, both slated to join the Ohio State women’s tennis team as freshmen this fall, were named All-Americans by the National High School Tennis All-American Foundation this month following outstanding senior seasons.

 

Dieters, hailing from Rochester Hills, Mich., earned the 2011 Division 1 State Championship title in No. 1 singles, finishing her senior season with a flawless 29-0 record.

 

Columbus, Ohio, native Flower led Upper Arlington High School to a state championship in the fall, along with finishing in the runner-up position in singles as a senior.

 

Both received five-star rankings from tennisrecruiting.net, along with the top ranking in both players’ respective state.

 

Only six Big Ten schools join Ohio State in having two or more players present on the list. Michigan and Indiana are both represented by multiple signees, while Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Purdue each have one player on the list.

 

ABOUT THE NHSTAAF

The National High School Tennis All-American Foundation (NHSTAAF) is a non-profit corporation formed to promote high school boys and girls tennis and to recognize the most outstanding high school players and teams from throughout the United States.

 

To be eligible to receive consideration as an All-American tennis player a student/athlete must maintain an above average academic and citizenship record, compete on a high school tennis team, and garner an individual national ranking. To earn an individual national ranking the player must compete throughout the year in sectional, regional, and national tournaments sanctioned by the United States Tennis Association.  A player with a national ranking has a proven match play record that clearly demonstrates he/she has reached the pinnacle of national junior competitions and is one of the premier tennis players in his/her age division in America.