CHARLESTON, Ill. -- The Eastern Illinois men's tennis squad has signed two prep athletes, Justin Haag and Warren Race, for the 2009-10 season as announced by Panther head coach John Blackburn.

“We're really excited about Warren and Justin joining us,” said Blackburn. “They are both accomplished players in USTA and on our their respective high school tennis squads, but I feel they will be even stronger players as time goes on and will make strong contributions to our team this coming year. They are also both solid doubles players, which should help bolster our lineup this coming spring.”

Justin Haag (Eden Prairie, Minn.) competed at the Minnesota State Tournament and finished with a career-high second place in doubles and a fifth place honor in singles play for his high school squad. He also has ranked as high as No. 5 in the Northern States Section of the USTA rankings.

Warren Race (Dallas, Texas), who has been named MVP of his Garland High School tennis squad the past three consecutive seasons, has earned an USTA ranking as high as No. 30 for the state of Texas and No. 401 nationally.

The Panthers finished the 2009-10 season with a 10-13 overall and 3-5 Ohio Valley Conference mark, while earning a sixth place league finish to earn a spot in the end-of-season OVC Tournament.

... for more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID