The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
10.26.2018 | Men's Tennis
Cleeve Harper will join the Longhorns in the spring and compete beginning in the 2019-20 season.
AUSTIN -- University of Texas Men's Tennis has signed Canadian standout Cleeve Harper to an Athletics Scholarship Agreement (ASA), head coach Michael Center announced Friday. He will join the program in January and begin competing for the team in the fall of 2019.
A native of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, who attended high school at Hilton Head Preparatory School and trained at the Smith Stearns Tennis Academy in South Carolina, Harper has had a great deal of success on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior circuit and just competed in the Atlanta ITF, finishing as a quarterfinalist.
"I'm really excited and feel honored to be able to join the Longhorns Men's Tennis team and to work toward an undergraduate degree at such a great university," Harper said. "The facilities and support to the athletes are second to none. I felt really welcomed by the players and coaches. UT are always one of the top-ranked teams in the nation, and I knew it was an environment where I will be able to continue to improve as a player with great teammates and coaching. I love that Texas is one of the best tennis programs in the country with a great reputation and history for excellence."
Of recent note, he was a doubles champion and singles quarterfinalist at the Canada World Ranking Event. He also earned the doubles championship and was a singles semifinalist at the Canadian Junior U18 Outdoor National Championships, along with receiving his second Tennis Canada Sportsmanship Award there.
"I couldn't be more excited about Cleeve becoming a Longhorn," head coach Michael Center said. "He is first of all a terrific young man who will make an outstanding teammate. He brings a very solid all court game that is going to translate very well at the collegiate level, and I have been very impressed with his improved results and competitiveness when I watch him play. Cleeve has a very bright future at Texas."
Additionally, he was a singles semifinalist at the Davis Trading Junior ITF Vancouver Championships, won the singles championship at the Canadian Saville ITF U18 in Edmonton, was a doubles champion and singles semifinalist at the Yonex Calgary U18 ITF Junior Event, and won the doubles championship at the Barbados Junior International. Harper also eared the 2018 Leadership Award at the Smith Stearns Tennis Academy.
Prior to this year, Harper claimed both the singles and doubles titles at the Alberta U18 Provincial Championships in 2017, along with winning the doubles championship of the Canadian Saville Junior ITF that year. He also represented the Province of Alberta at the Canada Summer Games where he played No. 1 singles and was undefeated in the team competition.
In 2016, he was a doubles finalist at the Eddie Herr International Championships and he was the singles champion of the Alberta U18 Outdoor Championships. He earned the first of his two Tennis Canada Sportsmanship Awards that year also.
An honors student at Hilton Head Prep, Harper is fluent in French and studied Spanish. He holds interest in studying in economics, computer science and architecture when he arrives at Texas. He has also been active in the community at his high school and has coached youth tennis.
