COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ty Tucker, head coach of the Ohio State men's tennis team, announced Dino Marcan and Nelson Vick will join the Buckeyes in 2010-11 after signing a Big Ten Tender last week. Marcan, a native of Rijeka, Croatia, is a right-hander, who took up the game at the age of 4.
"Dino is one of the most talented junior players in the world," Tucker, the 2009 ITA National Coach of the Year, said. "He won a grand slam junior title at the French Open this past May. Dino has a chance to be great, but he understands it will take hard work and he wants to do it."
Marcan's current combined junior ranking is 36th in the world and he peaked as high as 24th to start the year. For his career, he has a singles record of 68-46 and a doubles ledger of 73-42.
Marcan and Marin Draganja, also a native of Croatia, paired to win five matches for the French Open Junior title May 31-June 7. Included in that impressive run was a 6-0, 7-6 (4) victory over Evan King (Michigan) and Denis Kudla in the quarterfinals.
Marcan and Draganja have been quite the tandem in 2009 as the two initially had success at the Loy Yang Power Traralgon International Jan. 9-14 in Australia. The duo advanced to the finals where they lost a 10-3 super tiebreaker.
Partnering with Toni Androic (Croatia) in the Istres International Junior Tournament April 13-19 in France, Marcan captured his second doubles crown of 2009. This time, it took only four consecutive wins, but it was nonetheless a dominant run. Marcan and Androic were pushed to a super tiebreaker in their opening-round match, but cruised to three-consecutive straight-set victories the rest of the way for the title.
Marcan is not just a doubles sensation though. He had a notable outing in the singles tournament at The Junior Championships, Wimbledon June 28-July 6, in Great Britain, advancing to the quarterfinals.
Vick, a native of Milwaukee, Wis., is a right-hander who is currently the top-rank recruit from his home state of the Boys' Class of 2010 on tennisrecruiting.net.
"We are excited about Nelson coming to Ohio State," Tucker said. "He is one of the best juniors in the U.S. and a great young man. He has the right work ethic and his uncle has trained him well."
In singles, Vick's current combined record is 48-19 and is currently No. 23 on a national poll by a panel of junior tennis experts on tennisrecruiting.net. The blue-chip five-star recruit advanced to the round of 32 at the 2009 USTA National Boys' 18 Singles Championship (Aug. 7-16) in Kalamazoo, Mich., after winning three-consecutive matches. Vick advanced to the final of the 2009 USTA National Open (Feb. 14-18) in Cincinnati, Ohio, compiling five wins in the tournament.
Most recently, Vick won the 2009 St. Louis Gateway Championships Nov. 6-8 in St. Louis, Mo. On his way to the Boys' 18 Singles title, Vick defeated three players ranked in the Top 25 tennisrecuriting.net national poll, including No. 24 Casey MacMaster in the final round with a 6-3, 6-2 victory.
At Marquette University High School, Vick led the Hilltoppers to three-consecutive Division IWIAA state titles (2007-09). In 2007 as a freshman, Vick won the state singles championship with a 30-1 record. Vick has been state-runner singles champion for the past two seasons. In each of the three final appearances, Vick faced teammate Billy Bertha, who is now a member of the Wisconsin Badgers men's tennis program. Standing at 6'3,'' Vick has also led his team to three-consecutive Greater Metro Conference championships.
In doubles, Vick won the title with Sekou Coker Bangoura (USA) at the 2007 USTA Boys' 16 National Winter Championship in Scottsdale, Ariz.
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