April 9, 2009

Contact: Greg Murphy

CLEVELAND, Ohio - John Haley, a first team All-American at Tyler J.C. last season, will join the Cleveland State men's tennis program beginning with the 2009-10 academic year.

"I am excited to have John join the program for a variety of reasons," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "He is a very good tennis player and will undoubtedly be a starter right away both in singles and doubles.

"His doubles skills will lend themselves well to a team that takes pride in getting that doubles point. He has played and won big matches and I hope he gets that junior college national championship before he comes to CSU."

At Tyler J.C. last season, Haley was the captain of the squad, leading the team to a No. 2 ranking in the country and also winning the No. 2 doubles flight at nationals.

This season, Haley has gone 27-8 through half of the campaign, ranking in the top-30 nationally in singles. Along with doubles partner Dom McLuskey, the duo is ranked second in the country.

Prior to arriving at Tyler J.C., Haley was the team captain and three-time MVP at Judson H.S. in San Antonio. He played No. 2 singles as a freshman and No. 1 his sophomore and junior seasons.

Haley chose to train at John Newcombs Tennis Academy during his senior year of high school.

While playing in the United States Tennis Association (USTA) 18's division, Haley reached a top-25 singles ranking and a top three doubles ranking in Texas. He also was the recipient of the Sportsmanship Award during the National Team Championships while playing in that same division.

John will earn a degree in Professional Sport Management at Tyler J.C. and will major in Psychology here at CSU. His brother, Paul played for the Vikings from 2001-2005.