Erik Kerrigan and Jake Berber – both had their signing ceremonies last night which were held in the ATA fitness center. They were surrounded by their families, as well as the ATA community to help them begin their transition to college.

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Erik Kerrigan signed his National Letter of Intent with the University of Chicago. He will play tennis for the Maroons starting in the Fall. He also received an academic scholarship for his outstanding SAT score of 2350! The university has a 7.8{37ef6ac642fae6f93f343032eb62785d28fa7a25a4a4f0267a12512c541c53a9} acceptance rate and only 10 percent of the accepted students get scholarships. The University of Chicago is ranked #4 according to US News and has had 89 Nobel Prize winners. Coach Strecker and Coach Newman shared stories about Erik and his time at ATA, congratulating him on the accomplishments he has had in his junior career thus far. Erik also stood up and thanked his family, coaches, friends, teachers at College Prep and the ATA community for supporting him through his journey at ATA.

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Jake Berber signed his National Letter of Intent with Claremont McKenna College. He will play tennis for the Stags in the Fall. Jake’s brother and Coach Newman are both alumni of Claremont McKenna College. Forbes ranked Claremont McKenna as the 6th best liberal arts college and 18th best college in the nation. Claremont has 1,349 students with a 9.7{37ef6ac642fae6f93f343032eb62785d28fa7a25a4a4f0267a12512c541c53a9} acceptance rate. Coach Brandon and Coach Newman had many stories to share from Jake’s experience at ATA since Jake was 5 years old. Coach Brandon knows the Berber family well, as he grew up playing tennis with Jake’s older brothers. Coach Newman had a few stories from his time at ATA but really spoke for Jake’s character. He was told that Jake was one of nine recruits for the Stags. When his future teammates had to pick who they wanted for a teammate, Jake was number 1 on all the players lists. Jake makes friends wherever he goes and is very well liked because of his calm, friendly and understanding personality. Jake has been a top 50 nationally ranked player since he was 12 years old. Combining his tennis abilities and his character, the Stags will have a great future teammate. Jake thanked his family, coaches, friends and ATA community for helping him get through some tough times and also sharing good times throughout his experience at ATA.

 

Congrats to both Erik and Jake on their accomplishments and their bright futures at their respective institutions!

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