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Virginia Men's Tennis Program Adds Collin Altamirano
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Dec. 2, 2014
CHARLOTTESVILLE – The Virginia men’s tennis team announced Tuesday (Dec. 2) that Collin Altamirano (Sacramento, Calif.) has joined the program and will begin competing for the Cavaliers in January. The top-rated recruit in the nation is the first USTA Boys 18s national champion to join the Virginia program.
“Everyone in our program is excited for Collin to join our team,” said head coach Brian Boland. “I have had the opportunity to get to know Collin over the past year and he is the type of player and person we want in this program. He loves the game and is incredibly focused and committed to developing his game to play at the highest level. With that being said, he is also extremely serious about doing a great job with his academics as he wants to get the most out of his time at UVa. He recognizes the importance of being the best you can be in everything you do. I love his work ethic, discipline, integrity, competitiveness and his deep desire to develop to be the best, both on and off the court. We are all excited to see him wear the orange and blue.”
Altamirano is currently ranked No. 740 in the ATP singles rankings. In 2013, he won the USTA Boys 18s National Championship, becoming the first unseeded player to win the title in the tournament’s 72-year history. As champion, he earned a main draw wild card into the 2013 US Open where he was the youngest player in the field at age 17, falling to No. 22 seed Phillip Kohlschrieber in the first round. That year he also reached the quarterfinals of the US Open Junior Championships, defeating UCLA All-American Mackenzie McDonald in the round of 16.
This year, Altamirano was the runner-up at the USTA Boys 18s and earned a wild card into the US Open qualifying draw, where he defeated current world No. 151 Luca Vanni of Italy in the first round before falling in three sets to current top-100 player Ricardis Bernakis in the second round. He has competed on both the Futures and Challenger Tours, posting several wins over former collegiate All-Americans, including former Cavaliers Michael Shabaz (Class of 2011) and Sanam Singh (Class of 2011). In February, he won his first Futures Tour title, teaming with Deiton Baughman to win the doubles draw of a clay court event in Boynton Beach, Fla.
“The reason I chose Virginia is because I believe this is the United States’ university, having been founded by Thomas Jefferson,” said Altamirano. “To be a student there is something special. I feel like I’m going to be a part of something that’s greater than tennis, something more important. I can’t wait to show UVa what I can bring to the university.”