Men's Tennis Signs Transfers for 2016-17 Season

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – University of North Florida men's tennis coach Mark Finnegan announces the addition of two transfers to the 2016-17 squad in Jefta Kecic and Charlie Sullivan.

"Jefta has a huge tennis game and a ton of experience to go along with it," said Finnegan. "We really think that he has a bright two years ahead of him after learning a great deal from his experience at Western Michigan. I know he is excited for a fresh start and helping the team reach its full potential these next few years. You know you have a quality player when he was named MVP of the conference."

After two seasons with Western Michigan, Kecic is heading south to join the team. He is a two-time all-conference first team honoree and was named the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Most Outstanding Player after helping the Broncos win its 11th MAC Tournament title. He posted a two-year mark of 41-25 in singles and 34-20 in doubles. In the 2015-16 season, Kecic ranked No. 37 in doubles play with partner Stephen Payne. He won eight of his 10 final singles matches and grabbed a win against No. 15 Illinois in the No. 3 doubles spot. Prior to college, Kecic was ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in Serbia. He competed in nine ITF Futures events, winning two qualifier matches.

"I am excited to add another Floridian of the quality of Charlie to the team," added Finnegan. "Getting another 5-star recruit from the state of Florida with experience at the collegiate level is extremely exciting. Like Jefta, Charlie has learned a great deal from his experience at Elon and I have no doubt he will use that to his advantage at UNF."

Sullivan joins the Ospreys after a semester with Elon. While with the Phoenix, Sullivan posted a 5-4 singles mark playing at the No. 4-6 spots. He is a native of Delray Beach, Fla. and had a career-high ranking of No. 76 in the country. He reached the finals of national level 3 and 4 tournaments. Sullivan was also a regional high school state champion at Spanish River High School and was named 2015 All-Palm Beach Player of the Year by the Sun Sentinel.

"We now have 10 players on the roster who can all contribute to keeping the momentum we created last year," said Finnegan. "We will once again have one of the toughest schedules in the nation and our roster allows us to compete and hopefully excel throughout the season."

Kecic and Sullivan join Dominic Lea who signed with the Ospreys in January. Lea most recently went undefeated at his schools' national championships in the top position. His team, Repton, finished ranked ninth in Great Britain.

"Dominic has been coached by a good friend of mine, James Rushby, for the past few years," added Finnegan. "He described Dominic as one of his favorite players to ever coach. It speaks volumes of Dominic and this will be the first time he has ever made tennis his number one priority so I have no doubt he will flourish here."

UNF returns seven players from the 2016 Atlantic Sun Tournament Championship team and lost just one senior, Julian Bradley, to graduation.

Players Mentioned

Julian Bradley

Jefta Kecic

Dominic Lea

Charlie Sullivan

Footer