We are excited that our 10th Annual DecoTurf High School Tennis Team Championships presented by IcyHot is just around the corner. We kick off our coverage of the event by highlighting the Top 10 Players boys and girls that will be participating in this year's event, as rated by the UTR system. The boy’s top 10 is made up of five juniors, four seniors and one sophomore. The girls’s top 10 is comprised of five seniors, three juniors, one sophomore and one freshman. We did a profile on three boys and three girls and listed their accomplishments to show you why each belongs in the UTR Top 10.
BOYS
#1 Drew Singerman (Saint Xavier High School, Senior – Louisville, Kentucky)
Singerman, a Furman signee, has pretty much done it all during his time in at Saint Xavier. The senior is a five-star recruit by www.tennisrecruiting.net and the top-ranked player in Kentucky. He has been honored as a National High School Tennis All-American (2016) and a three-time All-State Tennis selection. He is a two-time Kentucky Tennis Junior Player of the Year and was selected as the Louisville Metro High School Player of the Year as a junior. Singerman who advanced to the state semi-finals in singles as a freshman has been dominant the last two years making back-to-back appearances in the singles State Championship. As a junior Singerman led his Saint Xavier squad to their eighth straight Kentucky Team State Championship and claimed the Kentucky Singles State Championship. Singerman is a three-time DecoTurf High School Tennis Team Championships All-Tournament Team selection and led his Saint Xavier team to a runner-up finish at the 2016 DecoTurf High School Tennis Team Championships. This summer he was named the top seed at the prestigious 2016 New Balance High School Tennis Championships.
Watson has dominated the Louisiana high school tennis scene since his arrival two years ago. The junior is a five-star recruit by www.tennisrecruiting.net, the top-ranked player in Louisiana, and the 52nd ranked junior in the country. Last season as a sophomore Watson win his second straight Louisiana Division I Singles State Championship. He has led the Catholic High team to back-to-back Louisiana Division I Team State Runner-Up finishes. Watson finished his first two seasons of high school tennis with an unbeaten 30-0 record. He was named The Advocate All-Metro Tennis Outstanding Player of the Year in 2016. His other outstanding accomplishments include winning the boys’ doubles title at the Grade 4 ITF Junkanoo Bowl junior event in the Bahamas.
#8 Chambers Easterling (Spartanburg High School, Senior – Spartanburg, South Carolina)
Easterling, a Clemson signee, has set the bar pretty high for the rest of the South Carolina high school tennis players the last three years. The senior five-star recruit is currently ranked 69th in the nation in the senior class by www.tennisrecruiting.net. Easterling was a 2016 National High School Tennis All-American selection, a three-time All-State Tennis selection, and a two-time Herald-Journal/GoUpstate Preps Boys Tennis Player of the Year. He has won back-to-back South Carolina Class 4A/3A Singles State Championships and has led the Spartanburg team to three straight South Carolina Class 4A Team State Championships. Easterling finished his junior season with a 15-0 record and comes into his senior season with an 81-2 all-time record in high school matches. He is a two-time All-Tournament Team selection at the DecoTurf High School Tennis Team Championships including earning Most Valuable Player honors last season while leading his team to the tournament championship.
GIRLS
Norman, a James Madison University signee, provided a major spark to the Walton line-up when she joined the program last season. The senior is a five-star recruit according to www.tennisrecruiting.net and is heralded as the top ranked senior in the state of Georgia and the 72nd ranked senior in the country. Norman finished her junior year with a Norman was 15-1 record leading Walton to their fourth consecutive Georgia Class 6A Team State Championship. Her performance earned her Atlanta Journal-Constitution Girl's Tennis Athlete of the Year and Marietta Daily Journal/Cobb County Girls Tennis Player of the Year accolades. Norman earned All-Tournament Team honors at the 2016 DecoTurf High School Tennis Team Championships leading the Walton team to a fifth place finish.
McKamey, an Indiana signee, has been in the spotlight of Kentucky high school tennis since she was in 5th grade. A four-star recruit, McKamey is the top ranked senior in the state of Kentucky and the 99th ranked senior in the country according to www.tennisrecruiting.net. She is a six-time Kentucky All-State Tennis selection and has led the McCracken County squad to the state finals for the last seven years claiming the Kentucky Team State Championship as a 7th grader, sophomore and junior. McKamey claimed the Kentucky Singles State Championship as a freshman and returned to the state finals last season as a junior. Last season McKamey earned All-Tournament Team honors at the DecoTurf High School Tennis Team Championships while leading McCracken County to a 3rd place finish.
Hawkins, a Belmont signee, looks to continue her recent success both on the individual and team level. A four-star recruit, Hawkins is the 2nd ranked senior in Tennessee and is ranked the 157th senior in the country according to www.tennisrecruiting.net. After breaking into the starting lineup as an eighth grader Hawkins has led Baylor to four consecutive Tennessee Division II state titles. She is the defending two-time Tennessee Division II-AA Singles State Champion and finished her junior season with a 12-4 record. She is a four-time Times Free Press Best of Preps selection and two-time girls' player of the year. Hawkins is a two-time DecoTurf High School Tennis Team Championships All-Tournament Team selection and was named Most Valuable Player as a junior. She has been a member of two Tournament Championship teams as an 8th grader and junior.
So you’ve seen the DecoTurf High School Tennis Team Championships UTR Top 10 which is filled with plenty of talented players.
So you’ve seen the DecoTurf High School Tennis Team Championships UTR Top 10 which is filled with plenty of talented players.
The Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) system provides tennis players worldwide a common scale to determine their level of play. The 16-level scale (from beginners to elite world-class professionals), precisely and reliably determines individual players’ ratings based on actual match results without regard for age, gender or where the matches are played. The Universal Tennis website allows visitors to view more than three million tennis results.
College tennis coaches utilize UTR ratings for recruiting, for scouting opponents, and also to track the levels of their current players. The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) currently uses UTR ratings to assist with selections and seedings for select regional and national events.
A UTR subscription is required to search and view player ratings on the UTR system, with pricing starting at forever free for UTR Basic. The UTR Premium Plus allows subscribers access to search and view college team profiles.
