Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Men's Tennis adds four to 2007-08 roster
01/12/2008 | 12:00:00 | Men's Tennis
Jan. 12, 2008
By Beth Miller
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Head Men's Tennis coach Dann Nelson announced today the addition of four players to the 2007-08 squad. The new members include Christoffer Kleindienst, Anton Leonenko, Mariano Restrepo and Sebastian Rubiano. All four will join the team in January for the spring semester and will be eligible to compete immediately for the Salukis.
"I am extremely excited about our team's potential with the addition of these top players," said Nelson. "We are very fortunate to be able to sign four high caliber players at mid-semester. I look for all of them to contribute to our success this season."
Coach Nelson's new recruits will join returning starters Felipe Villasenor, Hugo Vidal and Lucas Waked.
Christoffer Kleindienst from Düsseldorf, Germany comes to SIU with a No. 522 German men's national singles ranking.
"Chris plays an aggressive game from the baseline and uses his huge serve and forehand to open the court." Neslon said. "Chris can consistently pound huge serves and end points at net. Chris has the potential to be a very dangerous player in our conference."
Anton Leonenko is from Calgary, Canada and will transfer from Montana State University. While at Montana State, Anton played a majority of his matches at No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles.
"Anton brings experience to our squad having already competed for a year at Montana State," said Nelson. "Anton is a very confident player with the ability to play aggressively or to counter-punch successfully."
Prior to MSU, Anton was ranked No. 8 in the Canada in B18 singles.
Mariano Restrepo, from Medellin, Colombia, is currently ranked No. 1 in the B18's national singles ranking.
"Mariano has several wins over extremely talented players who are currently playing Division I tennis," Nelson said. "Mariano is a complete player who possesses all of the tools necessary to thrive in our conference and in the region. Mariano is a very smart player with many weapons including a big serve, excellent ground game and the ability to end points at net."
Sebastian Rubiano, from Bogotá Colombia, has been consistently ranked nationally in the top ten as a junior. Most recently, Sebastian achieved a No. 5 national singles ranking and won a national singles title in September. "Sebastian is a very consistent player with plenty of potential who will have the opportunity to improve in our system," said Nelson.
