Since then, Ingles has been pretty sure that’s where he would go, and this past Thursday, he made it official, signing a National Letter of Intent with the Division II school in Ohio.
“I’ve kind of been planning it for a while,” Ingles said. “There weren’t really a whole of other colleges I was looking at. I wanted to go into industrial design, and that’s one of the only schools that had that major, so that kind of narrowed my decision down.”
Ingles, who is home-schooled, but also takes classes at New Life Christian Academy and St. Clair County Community College, has been training at the Port Huron Tennis House since he was 10. While he doesn’t play for a high school team, he’s established himself as one of the area’s top players while participating in United States Tennis Association events, as well as locally in the Francis J. Robinson and Kromer tournaments.
“Tennis is kind of individual, but also a team sport, it’s kind of strange, I guess,” he said. “It’s up to you if you’re not playing high school tennis (to find a college team). Thankfully, I’ve played in USTA Tournaments.
“It will be fun to join a team environment. I’ve played junior team tennis, and we went to nationals. I’ve played mostly singles, just because there’s not as many doubles tournaments, but I’ve played doubles, too.”
Ingles said he plays at least three times a week, taking private and group lessons at the Tennis House with Dave Brown and Steve Pillon. His main hitting partners are Port Huron Northern’s top two singles players, Franklin Brozovich and Chris Adams.
He was the 2013 winner of the Mike Clary Award at the Robinson, which is given to a junior player who exhibits strong dedication to the game.
When he joins the team next season, Ingles is hoping to be able to contribute to Cedarville right away.
“They’ve been building the last few years,” he said. “They have somewhat of a young team, but they’ve been getting better as the years go by. They’re getting myself and a player that’s a three star. We’ll definitely be able to help them.”