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Sunday, October 22, 2006

Clayton Commits to Stanford



It was shaping up to be a slow news weekend until Alex Clayton called me this evening to tell me he had verbally committed to Stanford.

I had run into him at the U.S. Open last month, and the 18-year-old from Ft. Lauderdale told me he was going to visit Harvard, where his older brother Chris is on the tennis team. (His younger sister Missy just won the ITF event in Tulsa, and Mary, the youngest, plays too). There didn't seem to be many other contenders, so I was fully expecting he'd tell me he was following Chris to Cambridge.

But he decided to take a visit to Palo Alto, and he told me he just loved the campus, the school, the area, everything about it. He also said that he felt the competition in the Pac-10 would be better for his tennis. Stanford's academic requirements are notoriously stringent, but Alex had no trouble in that regard, saying it was only days between application and acceptance for him.

He admitted that Chris was a bit annoyed with his choice, and it was a difficult decision because of that, but he (and his father) felt Stanford was the right fit for him. He also considered and visited the University of Florida.

Because Alex can't sign a National Letter of Intent until November 8, nothing is official until then, but Stanford coach John Whitlinger and his assistant Dave Hodge must be very excited about landing one of nation's prize recruits.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's a good move for Alex, way to go. But hello.... better tennis in the Pac-10 than the SEC? Yeah, he'll get great competition from Oregon and ASU, that will really help him go places!! The only team worth their salt in the PAC 10 is Stanford and UCLA. Maybe the comparison is to competition in the Ivy League. Congratulations, I bet Whitlinger and Hodge are thrilled....no sarcasm there.

Colette Lewis said...

Yes, Alex said that in reference to the Ivy League, not the SEC.

Anonymous said...

Cal and Washington were both in the top 21 at the end of last year also. USC is going to be very good this year. The Pac-10 is much better than you think. ASU finished as a ranked team last year and beat Auburn, the only SEC team they played. Uhh, dont have any defense for Oregon. And the west coast is where its at. Especially the bay. We fresh.

Anonymous said...

are you joking? how can you be so ignorant and make criticism of a conference if you think that harvard is in the SEC? Also the pac 10 is legit

Anonymous said...

We have watched Alex Clayton for years because our son also plays tennis , and if he is in fact going to Stanford then, congratulations to the Cardinals ! He is going to make a big impact on the team . Clayton is one of the most sought after Seniors along with McClune . Goodluck Alex!

Anonymous said...

To Anonymous #3...
How can you be "so ignorant " to not read the text. Let's review what Anonymous #1 said. Alex thinks that the Pac -10, that would be Stanford, will be better for his tennis. While it isn't clarified in the article, but verifed by Colette, he must be using the word "better" in reference to Harvard, that would be an Ivy school. He also looked at Florida, an SEC school.

The Pac-10, for the most part is a weak conference, better than Ivy, nowhere close to the SEC. Period.

Anonymous said...

from what i know, mcclune is taking a year off

Anonymous said...

At least in the Pac-10 we get stupid, dumb, and hyphy while riding the yellow bus. Yadidimean?

Anonymous said...

haha this is so weird. ok first of all you arent matt bruch!!! he's sitting right here laughing at this, so dont pretend to be. the yellow bus??? who are you?

Anonymous said...

To Anonymous #1,

You have to be kidding me when you say that the Pac-10 is weak. First of all USC is going at least top 10 in the nation this year. Cal and Stanford are going to be really good this year also. The Pac-10 is definitely one of the toughest conferences in the nation. Don't dis the Pac-10, especially schools from the bay where we thizz all day, and ghost ride scrapers on dubs. yadddaamean.

Reppin the trojans,
E-40

Anonymous said...

How dare you insult the PAC-10. IT's all about the bay, planet of the apes. home of the purple, home of the grapes. Cal and Stanford go completely dummie in the club on the weekends and work their behinds off on the court. Pac-10 is bomb, especially USC. I ride the yellow bus with pride next to Matt Bruch and shake my dreads.

Thai 2 reppin east oaktown