TYLER, Texas – Adam Cohen and Joe Vann, The University of Texas at Tyler Men's Tennis Coaches, announce that Jorge Sala and Brandon Ponomarew have signed to play for the Patriots starting in the fall of 2019.
Sala is currently at Mesa Community College, where he helped the Thunderbirds to a top 10 finish in the NJCAA Men's National Championships at the #1 flight. Sala will finish his sophomore year at Mesa Community College before transferring in the fall where he will begin his junior year of eligibility. "I am incredibly excited to have Jorge joining us in the fall. "He understands college tennis and what it means to be a great teammate," says coach Cohen. Mesa Community College has been a breeding ground for talented collegiate athletes that move on to play at a higher level. "I know that because he was coached by Ali Borhani (now the Asst. Men's Coach at Boise State) we have a player that will come in and make an immediate impact as we move into our first Division II conference schedule," says Coach Cohen.
Ponomarew was born and raised just outside of Toronto, Canada. As an incoming true freshman, he will be majoring in Marketing and minoring in Finance, while attending UT Tyler. Introduced to the game of tennis at 4 years old by his dad, Brandon has won over 15 provincial level tournaments and has made a splash in the Junior ITF World Ranking Tournament. A single digit handicap golfer and a winner of 8 high school cross country races, Brandon is a well-rounded athlete. "We had the pleasure to get to know Brandon last fall as he was on his official visit. It was immediately apparent that we wanted him to come join our program. I have no doubt he is going to be a huge asset to our program as we make a splash in the D2 world," Says Coach Cohen.
"We have an incredible base of players as it is. The addition of these two men, will surely help us make a splash in the Lonestar conference come fall of 19," says Coach Cohen.
The UT Tyler coaching staff plans to announce more male additions to the program in the near future, so stay tuned!
