Men's tennis signs Ofek Shimanov

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

Chen Announces The Signing Of Shimanov

DALLAS (SMU) — SMU Men's Tennis Head Coach Grant Chen announced the addition of Ofek Shimanov to his squad on Tuesday. Shimanov will compete with the Mustangs in January.

Shimanov comes to the Hilltop from Ramla, Israel, and is the current 1152nd-ranked singles and 1086th-ranked doubles player in the ATP. He reached his career-high singles ranking of 822nd in April.

"I am deeply honored and excited to join the SMU tennis team. This opportunity means so much to me, and I am eager to contribute my heart and dedication to this incredible group," said Shimanov.

A junior national champion of Israel, Shimanov is 93rd in the ITF junior rankings after winning three singles and two doubles titles.

Shimanov made the championship round of the Senior Israel National Championships. Most recently, he reached the quarterfinal round of the M25 Heraklion in Greece.

He also made the Future 25K semifinals in Netanya, Israel, and won the Israel Tennis Championship Team League.

"We are so excited to welcome Ofek to the SMU family. He is a very accomplished player from a wonderful family," said Chen. "Thank you to his parents Ariel and Marin for trusting us with their son's future, education and development. Can't wait to have Ofek on the Hilltop."

Shimanov was selected to play for the Israeli Davis Cup team and is training in Ramat Hasharon under caches Yonathan Ehrlich and Yonatan Charovani.

"I look forward to growing, learning, and creating meaningful memories with my teammates as we strive for success together," said Shimanov.

The Mustangs will begin their inaugural ACC season at the Manoa Classic on Jan. 4.