Commitment Profile
Countdown: Reto Heads to Melbourne and Florida Tech
by James Hill, 26 March 2015
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Alahna Reto of Plano, Texas, has signed the National Letter of Intent with Florida Tech, an NCAA Division II institution.
Reto, a four-star recruit, had a number of reasons for wanting to become a member of the Panthers women's tennis team next fall. Of course, the 5-foot-7 right-hander, who signed the NLI in November 2014, hopes to make an impact in the competitive world of college tennis. But there is another aspect as to why Reto signed on the dotted line.
"I chose Florida Tech because it is a private engineering research university," said Reto, who attends Plano West High School. "I will major in biomedical engineering (as pre-med), with my ultimate goal to apply to medical school after college and one day become a cardiologist. Florida Tech offers scholastic programs where studies and research labs focus on cardiovascular areas."
Reto is spot-on concerning the academics of Florida Tech. The Melbourne-based campus is one of three Florida universities ranked in the top-200 in the world by Times Higher Education. The research program drew special citation.
The Panthers women's and men's tennis teams are led by Bill Macom, who is in his 10th season at the Florida Tech helm. His women's tennis team won Florida Tech's Female Team GPA Award with a 3.48 cumulative average. The Panthers qualified for the Division II Championships for four straight years from 2009-2012. In February 2013, Florida Tech earned its highest national ranking in program history, coming in at No. 16 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches Association Poll. Macom ended the 2014 campaign with 365 career victories - 227 of those coming at Florida Tech.
"Alahna brings extensive tennis experience to our program," said Macom, who is assisted by Ken Obermeier. "Her high school teams have done well in state tournaments, and she has excelled individually on all levels. She possesses a very high tennis IQ, especially in doubles. She is very goal oriented, and I predict Alahna will have a great career with us."
Reto considered a number of other schools before expressing her desire to attend Florida Tech: Penn State, Drexel, Rutgers, University of California-San Diego, Maryland, Toledo, Howard, Creighton, and Pacific.
