Indiana men’s tennis head coach Randy Bloemendaal announced on Wednesday th...
Indiana University-Bloomington Team Page
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana men’s tennis head coach Randy Bloemendaal announced on Wednesday the signing of three players for the fall of 2009. The three players are Isade Juneau from Quebec, Canada, Tommy Aliber from Mission Hills, Kansas, and Joshua Mactaggart from Barnstom, England. The coach said that all three players should be able to contribute to the Hoosier program right away.
“Isade Juneau is one of the top singles and doubles players in Canada,” Bloemendaal said. “He brings a great attitude that should be contagious on the team. I think Isade can make an impact on the team his first year in both singles and doubles.”
Juneau has had a great deal of national success in Canada, and he also participated in the Junior Davis Cup in 2007. The Felix-Leclerq High School product won two national titles in doubles and advanced to a third final. He has been the #1-ranked player in Quebec in the U-14, U-16 and U-18 age groups, and he has been ranked in Canada’s top-five since 2004. He won the U18 Outdoor Provincial title in both singles and doubles in the summer of 2008 and took third at the U18 Indoor Nationals as well. He is the son of Rene Juneau and Johanne Boisvert, and his brother, Keziel Juneau, is the number one singles player at William and Mary. Juneau will join fellow-Canadian Jeremy Langer on the IU squad next season. Langer hails from Toronto.
"Tommy Aliber is a great fit for Indiana,” said Bloemendaal. “He possesses an attacking style that will make an immediate impact in doubles for us. He has an outstanding work ethic that should make everybody around him better.”
Aliber is one of the best the state of Kansas has to offer. He was a Missouri Class 1 state finalist and helped lead Pembroke High School to a Class 1 team state title in 2006 and a fourth-place finish in 2007. He was named first-team All-Metro in 2006 and 2007 and was the All-Metro Player of the Year in 2007. The son of Bill and Kim Aliber is the #1 ranked player under-18 in the Missouri Valley, and he is ranked in the top-100 players nationally in his age group. He was among the top-60 nationally in the U-16 age group. He was won multiple Missouri Valley singles and doubles championships and was the doubles champion at Triple A’s in St. Louis in July of 2006. He also advanced to the finals at Triple A’s in July of 2007 and at Gateway 16’s in November of 06.
“Josh Mactaggart should make an immediate impact in our singles line up,” Bloemendaal said. “He is a very good tennis player at the moment, and I believe his best tennis is in front of him. Josh will bring a professionalism to the team that should help us achieve our goals.”
Mactaggart is a top-50 player in England’s men’s rankings. He holds a U-18 ranking of 748 in the International Tennis Federation, and he has defeated highly ranked players in international play. He is ranked 45th in the U.K., which is the second highest ranking for any junior. Mactaggart qualified for the Masters event of the British Tour, where he won a first round battle before falling to the number two overall seed. The son of Elizabeth and Graham Mactaggart has posted wins at the Wirral Open men’s tournament and at the U18 Junior events, which is the biggest tournament in Wirral. He represented the state of Cheshire in men’s and U18 play for the past two years.
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