April 18, 2007

Greenville, S.C. - Furman head men's tennis coach Paul Scarpa recently announced that Andrei Chvetsov has committed to Furman to play tennis in the Paladin purple next year. Chvetsov, a native of Geneva, Switzerland, comes to Furman after training for three years at the Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

"We are very excited to attract a player of Andrei's ability and passion for the game," stated Scarpa. "He obviously has a lot of confidence in Furman and we look forward to helping him reach his potential."

Born in Moscow, Russia, Chvetsov moved to Switzerland in 1991. As a ranked junior player, Chvetsov won 21 junior singles titles in Switzerland and at one point was ranked as high as fourth nationally and first in Western Switzerland. From 2003-06, Chvetsov trained at Bollettieri under the guidance of Mark Dalzell and Jose Lambert, while attending Pendleton High. While in Florida, he won the IMG Academies Boys U16 Grand Prix Event, the USTA Seminole Winter Classic and finished third in the Bollettieri Academy Masters. Competing in a variety of ITF junior tournaments, Chvetsov posted nine singles victories and 19 doubles wins. He reached the semi-finals in Trinidad, Tobago and Barbados, the finals in Panama and Denmark and won the tournament in Lucerne, Switzerland.

"Furman is just what I have been looking for -- an outstanding University with a very strong tennis team," Chvetsov commented. "I am grateful to Coach Scarpa for offering me this wonderful opportunity. I am very excited about playing on the team and look forward to becoming a Paladin."

Chvetsov is the son of Irina and Leonid Chvetsov. His father was a ranked tennis player in Russia in the early 70s.