I am a senior in high school and I realize that it is a little late to start getting recruited. I play tennis and am stressing out quite a lot. I have had a couple of offers from D2 schools, but they are far from home. I have a 4.0 GPA and am a great student. I know that I am good enough to go and play D1 tennis, but the problem is that I don’t play too many USTA tournaments and coaches see that as a negative. I have only been playing tennis since freshman year, and as a junior I got sixth at state. Also, I have never really had the opportunity to practice with high quality tennis players on a daily basis, like many other players get the opportunity to. I know that I could probably could go and try to be a walk-on to a D1 school, but I don’t want to be stuck not playing tennis, or just club tennis. My parents say suggests that I should just take a scholarship from the D2 school, but I don’t want to look back with any regrets, or hold myself back from being great.
Thanks for your time, and please list your suggestions.
The problem with D1 tennis is that, for women, it is a headcount sport which means that any scholarship has to be a full scholarship. Teams aren’t going to take a chance on you. They may offer a walk on opportunity, but can’t guarantee anything. If you are 6th in Florida, that will go a long way. If you are 6th in Iowa, not so much.
You shouldn’t take a D2 scholarship to a school you don’t want to attend.
Are you more of a student or athlete? If those two are equal, you would be better off playing D3. Look to NESCAC, UAA, and SCIAC conferences for top level competition AND top academics (including MIT, U of Chicago, Pomona College, Johns Hopkins, and many others.