Class of 2015 recognized nationally

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – After capturing the 2011 Northeast Conference regular season title this past Spring, the Bryant University men's tennis incoming freshmen have gained national attention, as the Bulldogs class of 2015 received honorable mention distinctions in the 2011 Tennisrecruiting.net Top 25 Mid-Major Men's Recruiting Classes rankings.

Joining the likes of Air Force, Mary Washington and Lehigh as programs receiving strong consideration outside the top 25, Bryant's latest recruiting class is highlighted by Zachary Morris (Garden City, N.Y.), Juan Gonzalez-Paz (San Juan, Puerto Rico), Jake Malman (Denver, Colo.) and Joshua Rubinstein (Trumbull, Conn.).

Morris, a senior at Garden City High School, is rated as a four star recruit by the Tennis Recruiting Network.  He has been Garden City's top player since seventh grade, earning all-division and all-conference honors every year. As a freshman, Morris finished third in the Nassau Championships and then took second as a sophomore, before claiming the title as a junior. He is currently ranked No. 15 in New York and No. 189 nationally by the Tennis Recruiting Network.

Gonzalez, out of the Antonio Bonnet Tennis School, is rated as a three star recruit by the Tennis Recruiting Network, who ranks him as the top high school tennis player in Puerto Rico. Gonzalez won the 2010 USTA Caribbean Section Championship. He has won several additional tournaments this year at the Boys' 18 singles level including the Jr. Challenger V, Caribbean Jr. Sectional, Jr. Championship IV, and Jr. Challenger III. He was named the MVP of the Puerto Rico High School Athletic Alliance League each of the past three years as his high school won the title. The USTA ranks Gonzalez as the top player in Puerto Rico in Boys' 18 singles and he has compiled a 31-6 record this year.

Malman, a senior at Denver East High School, is currently ranked as the No.6 high school player in Colorado by the Tennis Recruiting Network. He captured the Denver Junior City Boys'-16 Championship and the 2009 Junior Jewish Olympics tennis championship. At second singles his sophomore and junior years, Malman finished first in the region and third in the Class 5A state tennis tournament. Malman advanced to the semifinals at first singles in this year's Class 5A state tournament. He is a member of the Advantage Tennis Academy.

Rubinstein, a native of Trumbull, Conn, has spent the last two years training in Geneva, Switzerland. This past October, he took the opening round of the Farmington Valley BG18 Level 6 Tournament.