May 12, 2003

* Conor Taylor and Andre Iriarte signed in the fall for 2003-04

Men's tennis head coach Jon Choboy has announced the signing of five players for the 2003-04 season in addition to the two recruits who signed in the fall. The group is high on athletic ability and competitiveness all five should make a strong impact during their freshman seasons at NC State. Joining Conor Taylor and Andre Iriarte are Tyghe Carstens, Ryan Johnson, Dennis Myers, William Noblitt, and Matt Simeon. These seven players compose Coach Choboy's first full recruiting class at NC State.

Tyghe Carstens is a seasoned junior who has played international competition in Morocco, Tunisia, Curacao, Aruba, Jamaica, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. A 1st team selection from 1998-2002 in tennis at St. Stephen's Episcopal School in Bradenton, Fla., Carstens won the IMG Academic IPI Award in May of 2002. He attended the IMG/Bollerttieni Tennis Academy in 2002-03 and is a seasoned junior player.

"Tyghe has an outstanding work ethic and he consistently flashes his athletic ability on the court as well," Choboy said. "He is very fit, and will be at the top of our team as far as conditioning goes already. Carstens has alot of potential in his game and has trained and played against some very good players."

Ryan Johnson is out of Louisville, Ky. where he was the MVP of his tennis team his sophomore and junior years at Trinity High School. He is the No. 1 junior tennis player in the state of Kentucky and he also made the quarterfinals of the National Doubles Clay Court Championship in 2001. Johnson made the quarterfinals in doubles at the state championships as a freshman, and advanced to the semifinals in singles that same year. He is ranked No. 151 nationally in 2001, and is No. 25 in the USTA Southern Region.

"We feel that Ryan is a well kept secret as a junior tennis player," Choboy said. "He is another player that is gifted athletically and has good size. His best tennis is still ahead of him, and we think he will be able to develop in our system."

Dennis Myers hails from Charlotte. N.C. where he competed for four years on the varsity squad at Myers Park High School. Myers is ranked among the top-15 junior players in the USTA Southern Region and was a four year All-Conference selection in high school. He qualified for the National Hard & Clay court championships in 2002 and is the No. 3 player in the state of North Carolina according to the USTA.

"Dennis is a good athlete and is a strong kid who played soccer and tennis for four years in high school and he managed to excel in both," Choboy said. "To also be able to qualify for nationals in tennis shows the type player he can become."

William Noblitt is ranked the No. 27 player in the USTA Southern region and played No. 1 singles and doubles in high school and was on the 2A state championship team in 2002. Noblitt won the individual conference, regular season, and state singles titles his junior year, and was the conference player of the year. He went undefeated as a junior in singles and doubles through conference, regular season and in states. Competed in the National Clay Court Championship under-18 and the National Hard Court under-16. Noblitt was also the recipient of the Charles Tischner Award for outstanding junior player at the Cleveland Country Club.

"William is a good size player who rarely saw defeat in high school," Choboy said. "He was a dual sport athlete who made nationals out of a competitive southern region despite playing soccer for several months of the year. He really fits into our system here and has a work ethic that rivals any player we have seen.. He loves NC State and really wants to be a part of what we are trying to do here."

Matt Simeon is from Lexington, N.C. and attended Westchester Academy in High Point and is ranked in the top-50 in the USTA Southern Region. Simeon rarely saw defeat on the courts in his four year high school career, posting impressive records of 62-2 in doubles and 58-4 in singles. He qualified for the USTA clay court nationals, and played on the North Carolina Junior Davis Cup team. He won the state doubles title his 10th and 11th grade year, as well as the singles title in 11th while being named team MVP for three years. He received the 2002-2003 Coca-Cola Scholar Athlete Award for his accomplishments on and off the court.

"Simeon was an outstanding player in the state of North Carolina, which is an area we really tried to focus on," Choboy said. "Matt is a very quick and agile player who is a strong competitor. We love his speed, enthusiasm and competitive nature and feel that he can be a key contributor for us next year."

This seven man class is filled with talented players who have the strong upside potential to lead NC State to the ultimate goal of ACC and National Championships.