Men's Tennis Signs U.S. Open Junior Champion Ryan Sweeting
Thursday, November 17, 2005 | Men's Tennis
University of Florida Head Men's Tennis Coach Andy Jackson announced that Ryan Sweeting, who is currently ranked as the No. 4 junior in the world by the International Tennis Federation, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Gators. Sweeting, who is originally from Nassau, Bahamas, is a dual citizen of both the United States and the Bahamas and currently resides in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He will complete his senior season at the University of Miami Online High School by the end of the year and is set to begin courses and compete for Florida in January of 2006.
"We are very, very excited that Ryan will be a Gator," said Jackson. "He is an outstanding tennis talent and he has also done well with his academics. Ryan is very personable and a fine young man. We strongly believe that the University of Florida will be great for Ryan's continued development as a world-class athlete and as mature and educated young man. Clearly, he is a huge addition to our program as we work to continue to be among the best. We are all really eager to get started in January."
Sweeting has played in all four Grand Slam Tournaments this past year and became the Bahamas first junior grand slam champion at the U.S. Open Junior Championship in September in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., by upsetting reigning Wimbledon junior champ Jeremy Chardy of France (6-4, 6-4). His ride to the U.S. Open Junior title nearly ended in the first round where he was down five match points to 12th-seeded Carsten Ball before pulling out a 2-6 6-3 7-6(1) victory. Sweeting, who was unseeded in the 64-player singles field, scored victories over Andrea Arnaboldi of Italy; Holden Seguso of Boca Raton, Fla.; No. 3-seeded Leonard Mayer of Argentina and No. 6-seeded Sun-Yong Kim of Korea before he took on Chardy.
Sweeting is a currently a member of the ITF's Junior Development Touring Team. During his career, he has been chosen for the ITF's junior touring teams to South America from 2001-03 for 14U and 16U, and has represented the Bahamas in both the World Youth Cup and Junior Davis Cup Competitions. He is currently a member of the Bahamas Davis Cup Team. He has two wins this year over Donald Young, the world's No. 1 ranked junior. The latest win coming in the finals of the ITF Pan-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla.
He is the son of Cindy Sweeting and has been coached by Nicolas Guizar.
2005 Grand Slam Tournament Finishes
Australian Open Junior Championships - Round of 16
French Open Junior Championships - Round of 64
The Junior Championships, Wimbledon - Round of 32
U.S. Open Junior Tennis Championships - Champion
2004-05 Grade A Event Finishes
Banana Bowl (Sao Jose, Brazil) - Quarterfinals
Italian Open (Milan, Italy) - Semifinalist
Orange Bowl Tennis Championships (Key Biscayne, Fla.) - Round of 64
