CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Eastern Illinois head men's tennis coach John Blackburn has announced the additional signing of international recruit Rui Silva to a National Letters of Intent for the upcoming 2012-13 season.

Hailing from Portugal, Rui Silva recently finished his prep career with a No. 2 and No. 16 rank for respective 16-and-under and 18-and-under listings. He's also a three-time singles semifinalist and two-time doubles champion at the Portuguese Northern Championship, earning quarter-finalist honors in duos.

“Rui has had a lot of solid results and rankings having played a very active tournament schedule,” said Blackburn, “while also being a very strong student. These two characteristics are exactly what we're looking for when it comes to student-athletes here at EIU.”

Updates for Robert Skolik from Huntington, West Virginia, who previously signed a National Letter of Intent last fall, includes earning all-state and All-Conference honors.  Robert recently earned AAA state champion titles in both singles and doubles play back in 2011, while currently owning a Top 3 USTA ranking in the Ohio Valley District.  He also reached as high as No. 61 in the Midwest Section and 437th nationally.

“Robert and Rui are set to join a very experienced Panther team this fall,” added Blackburn.  “We are excited about where we can go in the coming year and I think this will be one of the more talented teams that we've had at EIU in some time. I can't wait to get started in August and see how this group develops.”

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