News & Features

Blue Chip recruit Dennis Nevolo took the maximum five official visits this fall, but in the end, it was an unofficial visit to the University of Illinois that convinced him to join the Fighting Illini.

"I'm from Illinois," says Nevolo, a resident of Gurnee, in Chicago's northern suburbs, about three hours north of Champaign-Urbana. "I felt more comfortable there."

But it was far from an easy decision for the 17-year-old right-hander, who is ranked fifth in the class of 2008 by the Tennis Recruiting Network. After visiting Kentucky, Alabama, Ohio State, North Carolina and Florida, Nevolo, who was interested in exploring his warm weather options, had a lot to evaluate.

"When I went down south, it was a little bit different from what I was used to in the Midwest, but one thing I realized was all the programs I went to were very, very, very good. All of those places have unbelievable programs," says Nevolo.