A young tennis phenom who trains at the Royal City Tennis Club is heading to an American University with a full scholarship and is taking her double-handed backhand with her.
Seventeen-year-old Rebecca Herrington of Alliston has been recruited by Lake Superior State University (LSSU) in northern Michigan for the upcoming school year.
Royal City coach Harry Greenan — who was chosen as coach of the year by Tennis Canada in 2013 — said Herrington is a natural.
“There aren’t many people who can hit the ball as aggressively as she can with little effort. She doesn’t look like she’s working hard at all,” said Greenan.
The university’s tennis coach, Eric Sturgis, who announced the signing in November, said he is looking forward to working with Herrington.
“She is an outstanding student and tennis player and will make a huge impact on our team right away,” said Sturgis.
Although Herrington will live on campus at LSSU, she will be only a few kilometres across the bridge from her aunt, uncle and cousins who live across the border in Sault Ste. Marie.
“It’s nice to have family connections close to the school. That was part of the reason I chose Lake State,” said Herrington, who says she was also being courted by larger universities.
“She is an outstanding student and tennis player and will make a huge impact on our team right away,” said Sturgis.
In her three years playing for Banting Memorial High School in Alliston, Herrington amassed an impressive 24-0 record in singles play.
In each of those years Herrington qualified for the All-Ontario High School Championships, finishing as high as third in the Open Division and she will compete for Banting in those championships one more time in 2016.
At age 12, Herrington — and her teammate at the time — reached the Final Four in the doubles category in the Ontario Provincial Championships and she has played in the Canadian Nationals in both the 16 and 18 age groups.
All of her hard work has paid off with the full ride scholarship.
“I am very excited. I have been playing tennis for most of my life — about 10 years,” said Herrington.
She hasn't finalized her plans, but thinks she may enrol in the Political Science program at the university.
While Herrington is home on breaks, Greenan plans to continue working with her at the Royal City Tennis Club in Guelph.
“All of the other students get along great with her. She will be a great teammate,” said Greenan.
