DAVIS, Calif. — UC Davis men's tennis signs two junior standouts during the opening of the National Letter of Intent (NLI) signing window, with one set to compete in January 2019.
Nil Giraldez comes to Davis as a two-time U18 State Champion from Barcelona, Spain. Giraldez has also won a National Championship of Spain, and will join the Aggies at the start of the 2019 spring dual season.
"We haven't had a player join us in January in my time at UC Davis, which makes adding Nil now a bit more exciting for our team," said head coach Eric Steidlmayer. "The guys have all reached out to Nil and welcomed him. Coming from Barcelona will be a big adjustment, and yet we know from our conversations that Nil will handle it well. He is a very good athlete and we think he will be able to fit right into our squad."
Giraldez has held a Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) as high as 13.05, and has collected individual titles at the Nike Junior Tour National Championship and the State Championship. Throughout his junior tennis career, he has been ranked among the top 20 boys in Spain in the U16's, and in the top 125 of U18 in Spain.
The second signee, Andrei Volgin, will join the Aggies in the fall of 2019 as a Molecular Biology and Biochemistry major. The Menlo School senior hails from Fremont, Calif., and has made tremendous strides in both his section and national ranking recently, jumping from 157 (2016) to as high as 67 (2018) in the country in the recruiting class of 2019, earning him a Five Star ranking on the Tennis Recruiting Network.
"Andrei is one of those guys we are lucky to get, as his academic profile was certainly good enough for any school in the country," said Steidlmayer. "His tennis has improved each of the last three years so that he is now in the top [five] of Northern Cal and top 70 in the country for his class. He has a unique feel for the court, a fantastic competitive spirit, and we expect he will work harder than he ever has over these next nine months to come into Davis and be an impact player immediately."
Volgin has helped Menlo maintain its dominant 22-year Championship streak in the West Bay Athletic League, contributing to first place team finishes all three years, as well as an undefeated team season (25-0) his junior year that led to a CIF Central Coast Section Championship. Volgin has competed in various positions in the lineup for the Knights, and earned First Team All-League honors in the WBAL every year. In his most recent season, he earned National All-America All-Tournament Team distinctions while playing No. 2 singles.
It has been two years since Steidlmayer added players during the early portion of the signing window, and the first time during his stint at UC Davis that he will have a player start in January.
"We are happy to be adding two young student athletes this week. While they come from different parts of the world, both are exemplary students, have great tennis backgrounds, and both are excited to come to UC Davis to play the sport they love," said Steidlmayer.
With the signing of two NLI's, Steidlmayer also announced the release of the full 2018-19 tennis schedule. Featuring six double-headers, three Pac-12 powerhouse programs, and the Golden State Invite, the Aggies will see action in 27 dual matches before heading to Indian Wells for the Big West Conference Tournament in April. First look at the team will be at home with a double header against Pacific at 8:30 AM and Fresno State at 3:30 PM on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019. Their full schedule can now be found online here, with a downloadable PDF version also available here.
_________________________
ABOUT UC DAVIS
Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley. The No. 5-ranked public university in the nation, according to the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education, offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.
AGGIE EVO
Established during the 2017-18 academic year, the Aggie EVO System is UC Davis Athletics' investment in the primary mission of preparing student-athletes for a successful "launch" after graduation. Thanks to a collaboration of alumni, university resources, corporate partners, coaches and Student-Athlete Outcomes staff, all Aggies are guided over four years to acquire the skills, knowledge, opportunities and tools to better know and navigate the "World of Work" after graduating from UC Davis. Follow the Aggie EVO system on Twitter and Instagram at @AggieEVO.
