Recruiting Profile
Sock Weighs Options After Winning U.S. Open Boys Championship
by
Colette Lewis, 22 September 2010
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"What are your plans for deciding between college and professional tennis?"
From his first U.S. Open press conference after an opening round main draw loss to Marco Chiudinelli of Switzerland, through the final press conference following his boys' singles championship 12 days later, Jack Sock has been asked over and over again about his tennis future.
But even as media attention grew and agents began watching with greater interest during his run to the boys' title, Sock never changed his answer.
"I'm just going to take it slow," said the class of 2011's top-ranked blue chip, who turns 18 on Friday. "I'm not going to make an impulsive decision, rush into it. I'll finish out 2010, see where my ranking is, see where my game is, how I feel about it. I'm going to take my five visits, or at least three or four visits, to colleges I like this fall and then go from there."
Sock's list is a long one, and it includes many of the top tennis schools in the country: Virginia, North Carolina, Southern California, Florida, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Tennessee, Michigan and Nebraska.
And although the Cornhuskers qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time in the school's history last year, Sock, a Lincoln, Nebraska native, believes they could contend for the final eight should he decide to join his older brother Eric there in 2011.
"I honestly think that if I went there, and hopefully brought along another couple of guys who are at a good level, I think they could complete in the NCAAs," Sock said.
"Obviously the NCAAs is a goal to win, singles, maybe doubles too and the team, but I'm going to go where I feel most comfortable, and Nebraska is definitely in the Top 5 for me. I love the campus there; I know a lot of the people there already, so that'd be a good fit for me.
"But I'm going to take my other visits too, meet the guys and see the campuses."
