KENNESAW, Ga. - Head Coach Brandon Padgett and the Kennesaw State men's tennis team is coming off an impressive debut season and things are looking brighter for the Owls as the program was ranked No. 11 in the TennisRecruiting.net's Top 25 Mid-Major Men's Recruiting Classes for the 2009 season.
The Owls incoming recruiting class made a jump from last season when its class of 11 recruits was ranked No. 28 among mid-majors in the country. This season the Owls have three stellar recruits in Gokalp Ozdemir, Gianni Kubin and Elliott Kahler.
"We are very proud of our recruiting class this year," said Padgett. "All three of these young men are extremely talented and dedicated competitors who will be important contributors to our program's future success."
The Owls recruiting class is ranked ahead of Brigham Young, East Carolina, Central Florida, James Madison, George Washington and service academies Army and Navy.
"To move from 28th last year to 11th this year is a testament to the direction our program is heading," added Padgett. "Being a second-year program and to have this strong of a class makes us proud that we are able to attract a high-level student-athlete."
Gokalp Ozdemir, a native of Turkey and graduate of Walton High School, has been ranked as high as No. 847 in the world. He has played No. 1 singles for the Raiders for the past three years after moving to the United States from Ankara, Turkey before his sophomore season.
Though he has played a limited junior tournament schedule since his move, Ozdemir has attained a ranking as high as No. 2 in the state in under-16 and No. 6 in the state in under-18. He won the under-18 title at the Southern State Top 32 Junior Super Championship in 2007 as he garnered a tennis RPI ranking of No. 13 according to tennisrecruiting.net.
Ozdemir had a stellar junior career on the European and Turkish circuits, climbing to as high as No. 19 in the European Tennis Association under-14 rankings. He also attained the top under-14 ranking in Turkey, twice earning a chance to compete for the Turkish National Team.
"Gokalp is very seasoned after competing at a high level in junior tennis," added Padgett. "He has defeated the No. 87 player in the world in three sets, so his talent level far exceeds his ranking."
Kubin, an 18-year-old from also from Ankara has extensive experience competing internationally on the ITF Circuit, where he is currently ranked No. 1570 in the world. He has won multiple doubles titles and has been a runner-up in numerous singles events during his junior career on the ITF, gaining a ranking as high as No. 1 in Turkish juniors.
He is currently ranked No. 6 on the U-18 circuit in Turkey, and is in the top ten at the senior level. Kubin has also represented his school in the Turkish Schools Championships, leading his team to the 2007 title and a trip to the semifinals of the World Cup. His team also was a runner-up and region champions this season.
"We expect Gianni to make an impact in the doubles line-up immediately, and hope that he will bring a strong singles game to our team as well," said Padgett on his most recent signee. "He is the second player from Turkey to commit to KSU, and we are excited about the connection."
Kubin has been playing tennis internationally since he was 12, competing across Europe in countries such as Norway, Greece, and Bosnia-Herzegova. He has spent the last three seasons representing his club team from the Ankara Tennis Club on the Turkish national circuit, leading them to a No. 2 finish last year.
Kahler, one of the most promising young tennis players in the region, played No. 1 singles for two seasons at Carrollton High School before moving to Florida where he played for two years at the Saddlebrook Tennis Academy.
At Saddlebrook, Kahler is ranked No. 3 in the academy's nation wide ladder rankings and won the single's draw of Saddlebrook Junior Super Series where he defeated a 5-star player in the semifinals and a 4-star player in the finals. He also advanced to the final of the doubles draw. "We are excited to have Elliot join our program," said Padgett. "He has acquired some great experience training at Saddlebrook, and his game is starting to show that benefit."
While in Georgia, Kahler was ranked in the Top 15 in the Georgia U-16's and recently competed in two International Tennis Federation events in Atlanta and El Paso where he defeated both a 5-star and 4-star in the first round of each event.