Commitment Announcement
Fall Signing Week '14: Dan Stefan Declares for the Commodores
by
Gary Curreri, 12 November 2014
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St. Petersburg's Dan Stefan likes working with cars and engines, so his tennis career should certainly be on the fast track now that he has chosen to play at Vanderbilt University next year.
"I like cars, and my friends and I will cruise around and play with our engines a little," said Stefan, whose friend, Jesus Lopez owns a 2007 Corvette. The two friends started working on different things to increase the horsepower. "We tested the car on a track, and it finished .4 seconds faster in the 1/8 mile. We also do cosmetic modifications to change the general appearance of the car."
One thing is for sure, Stefan continues to make modifications to his tennis game, and it has paid off.
Stefan, 18, who has won back-to-back Florida High School Athletic Association Class 2A state singles championships as a sophomore and junior at number one singles, chose the Commodores over North Carolina, Michigan, Wake Forest, and Florida.
"I've always dreamed of a school like Vanderbilt, but I never knew where I'd find it," said Stefan, who is a senior at Boca Ciega High School in Gulfport, Fl. "After months and months of searching, I discovered that my dream school was in the heart of Nashville!
"Vandy has everything I've ever wanted in a school," added Stefan, who took an unofficial visit to Florida and then three official visits to Vanderbilt, Michigan, and North Carolina. "There are teammates with the strongest bonds I have ever seen, two of the best coaches (Ian Duvenhage and Jamie Hunt) in the country, a beautiful campus, great facilities, and great academics. You can't find a school like Vandy anywhere else in the world. I would be stupid if I turned down this amazing opportunity to be part of such an incredible team."
Stefan is also excited about the prospects of joining fellow Floridians Gonzalez Austin (Miami, senior), Ryan Smith (Weston, sophomore), Baker Newman (Miami, freshman) and Tate Allwardt (Boca Raton, freshman) on the squad.
"Tate and Baker are very good friends of mine, and they had only positive things to say about Vanderbilt," Stefan said. "Tate would always tell me to come to Vandy, and after I started talking to the coaches I decided to take a visit. I'm really glad I did. After that visit, I knew what all the hype was about."
