Top-Ranked American Michelsen Signs Letter of Intent with Georgia
December 05, 2022 | Men's Tennis
ATHENS, Ga. — The University of Georgia men's tennis program has signed Alex Michelsen, the top-ranked American-born player in the 2023 class according to tennisrecruiting.net, head coach Manny Diaz has announced on Monday morning.
Michelsen comes from Aliso Viejo, Calif., and will graduate from Laurel Springs School this coming spring. He holds an International Tennis Federation Junior world ranking of No. 25 and has the seventh-highest Universal Tennis Rating among all 18-and-under players internationally.
"We consider Alex to be a tremendous player that is going to be capable of playing towards the top of the lineup in both singles and doubles," said Coach Diaz. "His resume speaks for itself. We cannot wait for Alex to get here and start working with him. He's been on our radar for quite a long time, and we feel great about him officially becoming a Bulldog."
Michelsen climbed inside the ATP Top 600 at No. 597 in the world after defeating a top-200 player in main draw at 2022 ATP Tiburon Challenger, reaching the Round of 16. This ranking is a new career-best for the 18-year-old.
Michelsen's loaded resume is highlighted with a 2022 Grand Slam doubles title in the boys' division of Wimbledon. He also was a 2022 Australian Open doubles finalist, the 2022 International Tennis Federation Easter Bowl champion in both singles and doubles and was a quarterfinalist in singles and finalist in doubles at the 2022 USTA Boys' Nationals in Kalamazoo, Mich. He also advanced to at least the quarterfinals in four ITF Futures events this calendar year.
"Alex is no doubt an incredible talent, but the thing that drew us to him the most is the passion that he plays with and the fact that he is such a fierce competitor," said associate head coach Jamie Hunt. "We love his drive and just how he battles on the court."
He holds an impressive 22-10 record at the ITF Futures and Association of Tennis Professionals Challenger level in 2022, including most recently reaching the finals of the Winston Salem 15k on November 13 and winning the singles and doubles titles at the East Lansing 15k on November 20.
Michelsen holds a 39-11 record since November 2021, including an impressive 14-2 tally going against fellow blue-chips, including a win against Nishesh Basavreddy of Stanford, the current No. 2 singles player in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings.
He is No. 1 of the 25 blue-chip prospects in the incoming graduating class. Michelsen stands at 6-foot-4, 175 pounds and plays right-handed.
The incoming freshman trains at the acclaimed Tier 1 Performance Academy in Newport Beach, Fla., which is led by Coach Diaz's son Eric and his partner Jay Leavitt.
Michelsen joins an already loaded 2023 recruiting class, consisting of fellow blue-chip Ignacio Buse, five-star Davis Taylor and four-stars Parker Jacques and Parker Mariencheck. This marks the first time since 2016 that the program has both signed multiple blue-chip prospects and at least five incoming players.
"We're extremely excited about this class," said Coach Hunt. "What stands out is that they're all great kids that happen to be great tennis players as well. We cannot wait to start working with them."
The son of Erik and Sondra Michelsen, Alex comes from a family of tennis players. His dad Erik was a three-time All-American for the men's tennis team at the University of Redlands in Redlands, Calif., winning the 1983 Division III singles and team title with the school. His mother Sandra also had a storied career at San Diego State. She anchored the top court during her junior and senior seasons, helping lead the Aztecs to a conference championship her senior year and capped off her career with the National ITA Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship in 1989.
The Bulldogs will return to action at the start of the 2023 spring season, where the team will compete at the Miami Winter Invitational beginning at the University of Miami on Friday, January 6, 2023.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Bulldogs by following UGA Men's Tennis on social media on Twitter and Instagram @UGATennis, on Facebook @UGAMensTennis, and on the web at GeorgiaDogs.com.
Michelsen comes from Aliso Viejo, Calif., and will graduate from Laurel Springs School this coming spring. He holds an International Tennis Federation Junior world ranking of No. 25 and has the seventh-highest Universal Tennis Rating among all 18-and-under players internationally.
"We consider Alex to be a tremendous player that is going to be capable of playing towards the top of the lineup in both singles and doubles," said Coach Diaz. "His resume speaks for itself. We cannot wait for Alex to get here and start working with him. He's been on our radar for quite a long time, and we feel great about him officially becoming a Bulldog."
Michelsen climbed inside the ATP Top 600 at No. 597 in the world after defeating a top-200 player in main draw at 2022 ATP Tiburon Challenger, reaching the Round of 16. This ranking is a new career-best for the 18-year-old.
Michelsen's loaded resume is highlighted with a 2022 Grand Slam doubles title in the boys' division of Wimbledon. He also was a 2022 Australian Open doubles finalist, the 2022 International Tennis Federation Easter Bowl champion in both singles and doubles and was a quarterfinalist in singles and finalist in doubles at the 2022 USTA Boys' Nationals in Kalamazoo, Mich. He also advanced to at least the quarterfinals in four ITF Futures events this calendar year.
"Alex is no doubt an incredible talent, but the thing that drew us to him the most is the passion that he plays with and the fact that he is such a fierce competitor," said associate head coach Jamie Hunt. "We love his drive and just how he battles on the court."
He holds an impressive 22-10 record at the ITF Futures and Association of Tennis Professionals Challenger level in 2022, including most recently reaching the finals of the Winston Salem 15k on November 13 and winning the singles and doubles titles at the East Lansing 15k on November 20.
Michelsen holds a 39-11 record since November 2021, including an impressive 14-2 tally going against fellow blue-chips, including a win against Nishesh Basavreddy of Stanford, the current No. 2 singles player in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings.
He is No. 1 of the 25 blue-chip prospects in the incoming graduating class. Michelsen stands at 6-foot-4, 175 pounds and plays right-handed.
The incoming freshman trains at the acclaimed Tier 1 Performance Academy in Newport Beach, Fla., which is led by Coach Diaz's son Eric and his partner Jay Leavitt.
Michelsen joins an already loaded 2023 recruiting class, consisting of fellow blue-chip Ignacio Buse, five-star Davis Taylor and four-stars Parker Jacques and Parker Mariencheck. This marks the first time since 2016 that the program has both signed multiple blue-chip prospects and at least five incoming players.
"We're extremely excited about this class," said Coach Hunt. "What stands out is that they're all great kids that happen to be great tennis players as well. We cannot wait to start working with them."
The son of Erik and Sondra Michelsen, Alex comes from a family of tennis players. His dad Erik was a three-time All-American for the men's tennis team at the University of Redlands in Redlands, Calif., winning the 1983 Division III singles and team title with the school. His mother Sandra also had a storied career at San Diego State. She anchored the top court during her junior and senior seasons, helping lead the Aztecs to a conference championship her senior year and capped off her career with the National ITA Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship in 1989.
The Bulldogs will return to action at the start of the 2023 spring season, where the team will compete at the Miami Winter Invitational beginning at the University of Miami on Friday, January 6, 2023.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Bulldogs by following UGA Men's Tennis on social media on Twitter and Instagram @UGATennis, on Facebook @UGAMensTennis, and on the web at GeorgiaDogs.com.
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