CdM’s Matthews among 4 who sign with UCI tennis

The UC Irvine men’s tennis program’s quest to become one of the elite programs in the country has gained traction according to Coach Trevor Kronemann, who recently announced that four players have signed national letters of intent to play for the Anteaters.

The quartet of high school standouts includes Corona del Mar High senior Fabian Matthews, as well as Tyler Bowman, Steven Henderson and Jon Kazarian.

“UC Irvine’s 2008 recruiting class comes in as one of the top-ranked classes for mid-major universities nationally and will be considered one of the top 10 in the country among all colleges,” said Kronemann, a former Anteaters star in his second season as coach of his alma mater. “We believe that this is one of the best recruiting classes in UCI history and will surely lead UC Irvine toward its goals of NCAA appearances and a high national ranking.”

Matthews and Sea Kings partner Dustin Hladek won the CIF Southern Section doubles championship in 2007 and 2006. Matthews, ranked No. 22 among blue-chip prospects by tennisrecruiting.net, chose UCI over USC.

“The signing of Fabian brings immediate impact to realizing our goals,” Kronemann said. “We believe he has all of the tools to have a great career, not only at UCI, but also playing professionally.”

Matthews, expected to play No. 1 singles for CdM Coach Tim Mang this spring, teamed with Ryan Cheung to win the boys’ 18 doubles crown at the 105th Southern California Junior Sectional Championships over the summer.

Bowman, from Rancho Palos Verdes, is ranked No. 49 by tennisrecruiting.net, which lists him as a five-star prospect. Bowman and Kazarian teamed to win the Southern California Boys’ 18 Sectional doubles championship and advanced to the semifinals of the National Open Boys’ 18 doubles event held over Thanksgiving in Newport Beach.

Henderson, from Poway, is ranked No. 79 by tennisrecruiting.net, a four-star prospect.

“Steven brings a mature, methodical approach to the game and is considered one of the most talented prospects in the country,” Kronemann said. “We are extremely excited about Steven joining the Anteaters and believe that he is a talent that will flourish at UCI.”

Kazarian, from Rancho Palos Verdes, is ranked No. 125, a four-star prospect, by tennisrecruiting.net.

“It is our belief that Jon is highly underrated by most coaches throughout the country and he will be a force to deal with in college tennis immediately,” Kronemann said.

Kronemann guided UCI to an 11-12 record last season, 3-1 in the Big West Conference. The ’Eaters were eliminated in the semifinals of the conference tournament by UC Santa Barbara.

“We are excited about our program and look forward to our continued climb back into the top 20,” Kronemann said. “These four ‘Incredibles’ are part of the resurgence of UCI and we look forward to each one building the tennis legacy of Eater Nation.”

The Anteaters begin the dual-match portion of their schedule Jan. 23, when they visit UCLA.

— From staff reports