Men’s Tennis Signs Impact Transfer, Reid deLaubenfels
PORTLAND, Ore. --- Men’s tennis player Reid deLaubenfels will transfer to the University of Portland for his final two seasons of eligibility, Pilots head coach Aaron Gross announced on Tuesday. deLaubenfels, a Seattle native, helped Fresno State to the 2012 NCAA Tournament as a freshman and was the team’s primary No. 1 player as a sophomore in 2013.
“We are really excited to have Reid join our team starting next fall,” Gross said. “Reid had some really good experience at Fresno State. In his freshman year he played lower in the line-up, but Fresno was one of the best teams on the West Coast. The experience of playing in some really high level matches, as well as competing in the NCAA Tournament with Fresno was great for him. Reid then played mainly the No. 1 position and had some very good wins as a sophomore.”
deLaubenfels helped the Bulldogs reach No. 14 in the ITA team rankings, win the Western Athletic Conference title and make an NCAA appearance in 2012. He picked up 14 singles victories and 10 doubles wins, primarily at the No. 6 and No. 3 positions, respectively. Highlights included singles wins for deLaubenfels in an upset of No. 9 Stanford and the clinching point in a victory over No. 55 UC Santa Barbara.
This spring, deLaubenfels played a majority of the time at the No. 1 position for both singles and doubles. He finished the year with a 16-18 overall singles record and 13-19 doubles mark to earn All-WAC First Team honors. His most impressive victory came against No. 32-ranked Juan Spir of Georgia Tech in a three-set thriller.
“We have a great group coming back next season and Reid will really add a lot to that group,” added Gross. “If we can stay healthy I think we can do some special things next year.”
Portland will return five of its six top players from last year’s team which finished 10-12 overall, including All-WCC singles honorees Ratan Gill and Michel Hu Kwo. Gill and Alex Ferrero also earned All-WCC doubles recognition.
“It is a hungry, veteran group coming back that is really excited to finish their collegiate careers strong,” Gross said. “I think by bringing in someone of Reid’s talent level and experience it really bolsters our chances of having a great season. Even the very best freshman recruits have some growing pains when coming to college. Reid has already gone through those and will be ready to jump right in at a high level immediately, which is exciting for me as a coach and I surely exciting for his future teammates."
The addition of deLaubenfels further strengthens Portland’s grasp on the top Pacific Northwest talent. Most of his future Pilot teammates are either from the region, or have strong ties to the area.
"We have turned into almost an entire team of players from the PNW region,” Gross noted. “Obviously Kent Andreasen and Reid grew up in Vancouver, Wash. and Seattle, respectively. Ratan Gill and Justin Guay are from British Columbia, which is considered part of the PNW in the U.S. junior system. Michel Hu Kwo spent his last two years of high school in Seattle. Only Alex Ferrero doesn't have roots from the region. I think it is really exciting to have those local roots. We did not set out to become a team of just Northwest talent, but I do think that in a sport that has become more than 60 percent international overall in Division I tennis, it is fun to have a little more local flavor. Hopefully it is a point of pride for all of these kids who have grown up together as well as a motivator for other PNW players to come to UP. It is a great place to develop their games and hopefully be able to play at the next level beyond college."
