News & Features

College Commitment
Caledonia Heads for the Ocean
by Gregg Jones, 10 December 2007

When four-star recruit Nicholas (Nick) Caledonia arranged an official visit to the University of California-Santa Barbara last month, Coach Marty Davis made an unusual request.

"Bring your wet suit," the 2006 Big West Coach of the Year told the 17-year-old senior at Episcopal High School in Bellaire, Texas.

So it didn't come as a complete surprise to Caledonia when Coach Davis welcomed him to the UCSB campus in late October with a line the lanky Texan hadn't heard on official visits to Princeton and Indiana University: "Let's go surfing."

"We walked down Campus Point, and I caught my first wave in California," said Caledonia.

If that wasn't the precise moment when Caledonia set his heart on UCSB, it was pretty close.

"It was an amazing visit," he said. "I knew that UCSB was the best fit for me."

Shortly after returning to Texas, Caledonia - No. 75 on the latest Tennis Recruiting Network Class of 2008 rankings - made a verbal commitment to play for the Gauchos. He put his decision in writing during the early signing period in November.