Five recruits sign ACU Tennis NLI

11/20/2020 10:00:00 AM | General, Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis

ABILENE – Abilene Christian Director of Tennis Juan Nunez today announced the signings of four recruits to a National Letter of Intent: Eva Arranz, Cesar Barranquero, Paula Garrote, Benjamin McDonald and Tyler Stewart.

Arranz, Barranquero and Garrote all hail from Spain. McDonald is from Plano, Texas, while Stewart, a native of Midland is the younger brother of current junior Wildcat Allison Stewart.

“I’m really excited about this class of recruits,” said ACU Director of Tennis Juan Nunez. “I found people who are ready to work and want to be on the court as much as possible.

“Both of our current teams have really set the tone as far as the energy and intensity in which we want to approach practices and competition. I have no doubt that Eva, Paula, Benjamin, Cesar, and Tyler will not only fit right in but will immediately contribute and continue to raise the bar. Now it's our jobs as coaches to continue to challenge them and push them as hard as we can for them to become the best version of themselves on and off the court.”

All five recruits will begin competing for ACU in the fall of 2021.

Eva Arranz

Eva Arranz’s Accomplishments

No. 106 Spanish Open ranking
Five-time regional champion at No. 1 singles from 2015-19
2018 doubles national championship semifinalist
Babolat and Marca No. 1 singles champion in 2017
2017 Madrid finalist at the Nadal Championship
Recorded 17 victories over players with high Spanish Open ranking
Registered four wins against current college student-athletes, including Maialen Morante of Kentucky (6-7, 6-3, 6-4) and Uxia Martinez of Oregon (0-6, 6-4, 6-4)

We’re very excited about getting someone of Eva’s caliber on our team. She is very mature and it shows in the way she carries herself on the court … calm, cool and collected. She has competed at a very high level so she is very comfortable with tough competition. The game comes easy to her and she keeps everything extremely simple and consistent.
We like the idea of having someone right of the bat who would be okay playing towards the top of the lineup and she is that someone. She understands the game, has a feel for it, and knows how to play to win. We’re extremely happy for her and her family to be a part of the ACU tennis family.”

ACU Director of Tennis Juan Nunez on Eva Arranz

Cesar Barranquero

Cesar Barranquero’s Accomplishments

Ranked No. 1 in his region (Cantabria) since 2018
Ranked 15th in Spain U18
No. 188 Spanish Open Ranking
Winner of 18 singles matches and five doubles matches against players / teams with high Spanish Open ranking
Recorded five wins against current college student-athletes
Winner of 13 Absolute Tournaments from 2018-20
Winner of the Regional U18 Teams and reached quarterfinals of the Spanish Championship doubles U16

Cesar is a very high player from Spain that will immediately contribute to the team based on his level and the fact that he has grown up playing on hard courts his whole life. His net game is very strong so I’m excited for him to make his presence felt in our doubles lineup.
Cesar is a top player in his age group in Spain, and also in the open ranking. And despite his youth, Cesar’s playing experience is that of a veteran player just like our current Spanish players (Matias Montanes and Jose Maria Rastrojo). On top of all his (tennis) accomplishments, Cesar carries a 4.0 GPA and a 1300 SAT. This shows his commitment to excellence and the discipline in which he approaches his game and studies. We're very lucky to have Cesar as part of our team.”

ACU Director of Tennis Juan Nunez on Cesar Barranquero

Paula Garrote

Paula Garrote’s Accomplishments

Regional Babolat Championship winner in 2018
2018 regional championship finalist
Regional team championship winner in 2017 and finalist in 2015
Recorded nine wins over players with high Spanish Open rankings
Registered win over ITF/WTA players Lina Nikolova and current collegiate student-athletes Aitana Comas and Maria Saez

We’ve been interest in signing Paula from our very first conversation. She brings tremendous energy, enthusiasm, and physicality to the court, and I think she will bring a lot to the college tennis format. She feeds from others but also lightens everybody else up with her positiveness and intensity. I can't wait to watch her in team competition. Her game matches very much so her personality. She has a big game, which is very aggressive and produces a lot of power. ACU's campus will feel Paula's presence next fall!

ACU Director of Tennis Juan Nunez on Paula Garrote

Benjamin McDonald

Benjamin McDonald’s Accomplishments

Four-star recruit
Ranked ninth in Texas and 97th in United States
2019 Kalamazoo Qualifier
Scored a win at the Metroplex Level 3 Super Champ Major Zone
Made a finals run at the Grapefest Tennis Classic, which included a win over a Blue Chip recruit ranked Top 10 in the US.

“I could not be happier about Benjamin’s signing to complete our class of recruits! He is one of those kids that from his sophomore/junior year of high school until now had his eyes on ACU! He’s exactly the kind of guy that we want for our team. He's always on top of his stuff (tennis and/or academics) and his work ethic is incredible! Over the last few years he's developed a relationship with some of the guys on our team so he will contribute a lot to the team chemistry from the first day he's on campus. He has a big game that will immediately contribute in singles and doubles. He has all the tools you need to play the game.

ACU Director of Tennis Juan Nunez on Benjamin McDonald

Tyler Stewart

Tyler Stewart’s Accomplishments

Ranked eighth in Texas and 90th in the United States
Four-star recruit
Reached semifinals of the Houston Super Champ Major Zone Level 4, which included three wins over five-star recruits
2019 Kalamazoo Qualifier
Two-time regional qualifier
2020 First Team All-District Singles and Doubles

I’ve known the Stewart family for a decade and have seen Tyler grow as a tennis player over that period of time. He is the perfect fit for not just our tennis program but ACU. He’s already a very accomplished player in Texas and I look forward to him reaching his full potential as a Wildcat.
He is left handed so we're adding one more to the three left-handed players that we already have in our roster (Riley Tran, Ryan Flanagan, and Mihaly Deli). He’s also grown up on a tennis court (dad Scott Stewart, former UT tennis player and current head pro at Midland Racquet club), just like his sister Allison. I am very excited to see what will happen with Tyler when he starts practicing day in and day out with D1 players. We're blessed to have not just Tyler but the Stewart family as part of our program

ACU Director of Tennis Juan Nunez on Tyler Stewart