June 13, 2012
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame head men’s tennis coach Bobby Bayliss has announced the addition of Nicolas Montoya and Eric Schnurrenberger to this year’s recruiting class, upping the class of 2016 to five members.
The two will join Quentin Monaghan, Kenneth Sabacinski and Alex Lawson in reporting for fall camp in August. The previous three were announced in November.
“We absolutely cannot wait for Eric and Nico to arrive on campus in August,” said associate head coach Ryan Sachire. “Both young men will come to Notre Dame having already achieved a great deal in their academic and athletic careers to date, and we expect great things from them during their four years under the golden dome. Eric and Nico both play an all-court brand of tennis that figures to translate successfully at this level. Coach Bayliss and I couldn’t have asked for two better additions to our recruiting class for next year.”
With the addition of these two signees, tennisrecruiting.net, the premier site for junior tennis, has ranked the Irish with the ninth-best class in the country. The ranking also puts them tops in the BIG EAST and tops in the USTA/ITA Midwest Region.
Montoya, a five-star recruit, is from Scottsdale, Ariz., and is ranked third in the state. He is ranked 11th in the southwest and 49th nationally.
“Nico is extremely quick and has outstanding all-court skills,” said Bayliss. “He seems equally at home on the baseline, where his forehand and speed allow him to do many things at the net and where his instincts place him in good position to put the ball away. His best tennis is ahead of him.”
Schnurrenberger is a native of Switzerland and has earned a reputation for playing very well in men’s tournaments in Europe over the last year.
“Eric has a natural serve-and- volley style that gives him great potential in both singles and doubles,” said Bayliss. “He has terrific instincts around the net and moving forward and plays a very aggressive game.”
In other Notre Dame men’s tennis news, Sachire has returned for a second year as a member of the coaching staff for the USTA Collegiate Team.
The USTA Collegiate Team is an elite training program for the top American collegiate tennis players. The program began in 1996 and is funded by the USTA. It is designed to provide college players with valuable exposure to the USTA Pro Circuit in a team-oriented environment during the year.
In addition to competing on the USTA Pro Circuit, USTA Player Development is hosting two Pro Tour Transition camps – one for men, one for women – for the selected players. The men’s camp is being held June 7-13 on clay courts in Boca Raton, Fla., while the women’s camp will be conducted June 10-14, on clay courts in Boca Raton. Additional training opportunities for top American Collegiate players will also occur over the summer in Boca Raton and Carson, Calif.
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