Cameron Norrie, a New Zealand native and the latest addition to the TCU men’s tennis team, has made a smooth transition from his junior event competitions overseas to his collegiate career.
Norrie, a first-year student, was able to post two straight singles victories in his first collegiate tournament, earning his spot in the singles finals.
Norrie then teamed up with fellow freshman Trevor Johnson, the top ranked player out of Nevada, to win a semifinal match to make it to the doubles finals as well.
Johnson and Norrie join fellow signee Guillermo Nuñez, who has been ranked as high as No. 9 in the ITF junior rankings, as fresh faces on the tennis team.
All three players were highly recruited and offered scholarships from numerous top-10 programs in the nation.
“I feel I have made the right decision signing with TCU,” Norrie said. “I think it is the best place to develop my tennis, gain a high quality education and make international connections.”
Norrie has been ranked as high as No. 10 in the ITF Junior World Rankings and as high as No. 636 in the ATP rankings, making him one of the highest-ranked players to sign a National Letter of Intent in the 2014 recruiting class.
“Hopefully, I’ll have a big impact on the team,” Norrie said. “Not only with results, but with positive energy at practice and just making the team a better unit.”
According to the Tennis Recruiting Network website, TCU men’s tennis is nationally ranked at No. 11 in the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Recruiting Class of 2014.
“The reason why I believe we have one the best recruiting classes is just based on their World ATP ranking,” head coach David Roditi said. “So, with all three freshman combined, no other school has had the same [outcome].”
An outstanding 2014 recruiting class wasn’t the only new addition to the TCU men’s tennis team.
Devin Bowen, a TCU men’s tennis student-athlete from 1991-94, signed on as assistant coach in September after spending over 12 years as a professional tennis player in the ATP.
Bowen feels that recruiting on international scale, as opposed to only reaching out to domestic talent, is important for the squad.
“A majority of our team is made up of Americans, but just competition alone has made it a global recruiting arena,” Bowen said. “We’ll go anywhere looking for talent. You’ll see that in a majority of top division one schools.”
Of the six men’s tennis teams competing in the Big 12 Conference, four are ranked in the ITA Men’s College Tennis Division I Top 25.
“The Big 12 Conference, on the men’s side, is the most competitive top to bottom in the nation,” Roditi said. “With the experience that we have from our seniors, and the addition of this great recruiting class and the energy that those freshman are bringing in, we like our chances in conference play.”