Yu and Tapak to play at Carnegie Mellon

Recent Herrmann Tennis Academy players Johoo Yu and Alex Tapak have announced that they will play collegiate tennis at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh for head coach Andrew Girard.

Yu, a 2009 graduate of Glenbrook North High School, is ranked 46th in the USTA Midwest Section. This past spring Jooho finished in the top 16 at the IHSA State Championships and he qualified for the state tournament three times in his high school career.

“I knew Jooho was an excellent match for our tennis program right away. His academic success and interests combined with his continually improving tennis game and results are exactly what we are looking for here at Carnegie Mellon,” said coach Girard. “He has had some great results over the last season against some of the Midwest’s best players. He’ll come in well-prepared to battle against the top players in Division III.”

The Tartans made it to the NCAA Division III Regional Finals in 2009, where they came within one match of reaching the NCAA Championships before falling to Kenyon 5-4. They finished the season ranked #14 in the ITA Rankings. Over the last four years CMU has combined to go 57-23.

Tapak was a three-time state qualifier for Hinsdale Central High School, and she helped lead the Red Devils to three consecutive IHSA State Championships. Her sophomore and junior years Tapak joined forces with Emily Lombardi and the pair finished top 12 in 2006 and fourth in 2007. As a senior Alex and Kate Klein were fifth at state.

“We’re really excited to have Alex at Carnegie Mellon this coming year. She should be able to step in and be a major contributor for us right away in both singles and doubles. I expect we’ll be in the national title hunt over the next few years and think that Alex will be a key player in that effort. As a tennis player, student, and person she is a great fit for our program,” noted Girard.

CMU had one of its best seasons in school history in 2009 as it advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament and finished the season 21-3. Additionally, the team captured the very first ITA Division III Indoor Championships. Each of the team’s three loses were to opponents ranked in the top five of the ITA rankings. Over the last five years Carnegie Mellon is 85-32.

“Alex and Jooho both have very solid games and we expect them to contribute greatly to their team’s success over the next four years,” stated Ken Herrmann. “They both are continuing their education at one of the top academic institutions in the nation.”

U.S. News and World Report ranks Carnegie Mellon as one of the top twenty-five National Universities in the United States.