Wake Forest Athletics
Demon Deacons Announce Blockbuster Incoming Class
8/30/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Aug 30, 2013
By Alex Botoman, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeMTennis)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest men's tennis team announced its talented incoming class for the 2013-14 season which includes two transfers who were among the best freshmen in college tennis last year as well as some of the top players in this year's freshman class.
Headlining the newcomers is Mississippi State transfer Romain Bogaerts, who was ranked as high as No. 6 in the country in singles last year and was named the 2013 ITA National Rookie of the Year. He will be joined by other transfers Pedro Dumont, a teammate of his at Mississippi State, as well as junior Nicky Kunz, who played No. 1 singles at Davidson.
Maksim Kan, who was ranked as the No. 5 recruit in his class, leads the incoming freshmen. He is joined by Matt Erdman, Aws Laaribi and Nicholas Osterling.
"We very excited to have not only a great group of talented athletes but also excellent young men join our program," said head coach Tony Bresky. "This is very motivated group, and they will be the backbone of our program for years to come. They have high goals not only on the court but also in the classroom, and it will be fun to watch everyone in this group develop both on and off the court."
Bogaerts recently competed in the main draw of the Winston-Salem Open, an ATP 250 tournament held at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex. Dumont and Laaribi competed in the qualifying for the event.
The seven newcomers will join three starters from last year's team that rose as high as No. 19 in the ITA rankings and reached the final of the ACC championship.
Romain Bogaerts - 6-2 - Sophomore - Huppaye, Belgium (Mississippi State)
Freshman at Mississippi State (2012-13)
Capped one of the best freshman campaigns in Mississippi State history with a team-leading 28 overall wins, 15 coming in dual match play... Named 2013 ITA National Rookie of the Year... Also named the 2013 ITA Southern Region Rookie of the Year... Awarded the honor of 2013 SEC Freshman of the Year... Earned All-SEC First Team and All-SEC Freshman Team honors... Became the 21st All-American in Mississippi State history by earning the No. 6 national seed.
Background
One of the top junior tennis players from Belgium, ranked 30th in the country... Represented his home country in the junior Davis Cup... Ranked Top-100 in the junior ITF rankings... Reached the finals of the U-12 national championships.
Personal
Romain Bogaerts hails from Huppaye, Belgium... Played hockey competitively until the age of 14... Enjoys playing basketball and soccer in his free time
Pedro Dumont - 6-2 - Sophomore - Brasilia, Brazil (Mississippi State)
Freshman at Mississippi State (2012-13)
Became one of the more consistent players for the Bulldogs, becoming a staple at the No. 6 spot... Accumulated a 21-11 overall record, going 15-5 in dual match play... Won eight-straight matches to finish the 2013 dual match season.
Background
One of the top Brazilian players to enter the collegiate tennis system... Came to Mississippi STate ranked 98th in the world junior rankings and 1,038th on the ATP Tour... Has climbed as high as 69th in the world junior rankings through his young career... Has participated in the Australian Open Juniors... The best player in Brazil in U-12, U-14 and U-16 competition.
Personal
Born Pedro Dumont Cabrero Guimaraes in Brasilia, Brazil... When not playing tennis, he enjoys playing soccer and listening to music... One of his favorite professional tennis players is Juan Martin del Potro
Matt Erdman - 5-11 - Freshman - Toronto, Canada (Crescent School)
Background
Played four years at the No. 1 position for coach Nihad Mehmedovic at the Crescent School ... Helped lead the Coyotes to top-four finishes in the CISAA each year ... Was a four-time provincial champion ... Has been consistently ranked in the Top 10 in his age group in Canada ... Achieved an ITF junior ranking of 524 ... Two-time ITF junior doubles finalist and two-time singles semifinalist ... Three-time MVP of the Crescent School tennis team ... Two-time CISAA individual champion
Personal
Born March 3, 1995 in Toronto, Canada ... Son of Derek and Daryl Erdman ... Was an honor roll student throughout high school and graduated as an Ontario Scholar
Maksim Kan - 6-2 - Freshman - Cleveland, Ohio (Orange HS)
Background
Earned Blue Chip status from the Tennis Recruiting Network as the No. 5 recruit in his class ... Won the Ohio state singles championship in 2012 ... Won 10 consecutive matches to win the consolation draw at the USTA 18-and-under Winter Nationals ... Was the top-ranked junior in Uzbekistan before coming to the United States
Personal
Born April 24, 1994 in Uzbekistan ... Son of Dmitriy and Natalya Kan ... Participated in more than 100 hours of community service while in high school
Nicky Kunz - 6-1 - Junior - Hilton Head, S.C. (Davidson)
2012-13 (Sophomore at Davidson)
Played No. 1 singles for the Wildcats for most of the season, going 7-7 ... Posted a 9-9 record at No. 3 doubles ... Teamed with Joe Schafer at the Racket Club Collegiate Invite in Texas to play both singles and doubles ... dropped two tough singles matches to players from Texas (6-4, 6-4) and New Mexico (6-2, 5-7, 7-6) ... scored a pair of wins at Davidson's Jim Causey's Invite ... reached the second round of the ITA Regional after a 6-3, 6-3 win vs. Elon ... teamed with Schafer to score an 8-4 first-round win vs. South Carolina ... went 3-0 in doubles action with Connor Evins at the UNC Wilmington Invite.
2011-12 (Freshman at Davidson)
Had outstanding first year with the Wildcats, earning All-SoCon Freshman Team honors as well as being named the team's Rob Palmer MVP ... went a team-best 13-8 in singles action with a 6-4 league mark ... was 7-3 at No. 3 position, while going a combined 6-5 at No. 2 and 4 ... after falling in first two career collegiate matches, rattled off a five-match win streak with three of those wins coming in three-setters against Wingate, Campbell and Charlotte ... the Wingate win was the first of career, while earned first win of season at No. 2 against cross-county rival 49ers ... played total of eight three-set matches, going 5-3 ... closed out first season winning four of final five matches, including a 6-0, 6-3 decision against Chattanooga in the first round of the SoCon Tournament ... went 3-8 in doubles play ... scored first collegiate doubles win against Wintage at No. 3 with partner Robert Lightbourn ... also had a win with Kevin Moore and Chris Mark ... during Fall campaign, netted the Flight 7 singles title at the Jeff Frank Invitational by going 3-0 and then teamed with Robert Lightbourn to win the Flight 4 doubles draw ... reached the consolation white singles finals at the Tennessee Invitational in first collegiate Fall event ... capped off Fall schedule with a spot in the finals in respective singles bracket at the Crimson Tide Fall Championships with wins over players from Furman Tulane (twice).
Background
Three-year letterwinner from Hilton Head Prep School ... played No. 1 and No. 3 singles positions during prep career ... was a two-time All-State pick ... also participated in football and soccer ... during the 2008-09 season, played for the Swiss National Junior Team.
Aws Laaribi - 6-0 - Freshman - Rye, N.Y. (Robert Bateman HS)
Background
A native of Quebec City, Canada, has been ranked as one of the Top 5 juniors in Canada for the last two years and finished in third place in the Canada U-18 national championship ... Has risen as high as No. 199 in the ITF world junior rankings ... He has won one ITF junior singles title and three doubles titles
Personal
Born March 28, 1994 in Quebec City, Canada ... Son of Amor Laaribi and Naima Jarray ...Made the academic honor roll in all four years at Robert Bateman HS
Nicholas Osterling - Freshman - Lima, Peru (Markham College)
Background
Ranked as high as No. 322 in the ITF junior rankings ... Was the runner-up at the Panama Bowl, an ITF junior tournament, back in March ... Reached the singles semifinals at the Copa Universidad Galileo in Guatemala in February ... Finished in second place in doubles at the Gogo Open in Guayaquil, Ecuador last fall.
Personal
Born Feb. 7, 1995 in London, United Kingdom
Players Mentioned
