Eastern Illinois director of tennis
Paul Jarzynka has announced the addition of two players to the men's roster for next season. Set to join the Panthers for the 2022-23 season are William Hays and Alex Dinkov.
Hays comes from Evansville, Ind., where he played at Francis J. Reitz High School. He is rated a 2-star recruit by TennisRecruiting.net and ranked as the one of the top ten boy's tennis recruits in the state of Indiana. In 2019 he led Reitz to the IHSAA Team State Finals losing in the state quarterfinal round as the team posted a 25-1 record. Hays was a four-time All-District and All-Southern Indiana Athletic Conference selection. Hays was ranked in the Top 200 nationally in Boys 14 and under and ranked in the Top 30 in the Midwest in Boys 16 and under. He was the Central Indiana Closed Boys 16s Doubles Champion and helped the Central Indiana District to a 3rd place finish at the 2022 Midwest Team Cup.
"We are so excited to welcome William into the program. He has consistently been a top player in the Midwest during his junior career and I believe he has the tools and drive to be an impact player for Panther Nation," said Jarzynka.
Dinkov comes from Portland, Ore., where he played at Lincoln High School. He is rated a 3-start recruit by TennisRecruiting.net and ranked as high as 184 nationally during the 2022 season. He becomes the highest ranked American recruit to join EIU men's tennis since 2007 and is ranked No. 2 in the state of Oregon. He was a two-year team captain and the 2022 Team MVP. Dinkov helped lead Lincoln HS to a Oregon Class 6A State Championship as a senior placing fourth in the state in singles play at the OSAA State Tournament. He helped Lincoln HS place as the state runner-up at the tennis championships during his junior season. He helped lead Lincoln HS to a sixth place finish at the National High School All-American Tournament.
"We are thrilled that Alex is going to be a Panther. He is one of the best players in the Pacific Northwest and has developed into a top-tier player. I believe that he will help strengthen the team as we continue to move the program forward," said Jarzynka.
