Matej Panik
Bobcats Bolster 2021-22 Men's Tennis Roster with Transfer Matej Panik
3/4/2021 9:10:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Panik arrives at Montana State as a sophomore
BOZEMAN, Montana – Montana State improved its 2021-22 men's tennis roster on Thursday when Division II All-America Matej Panik accepted a scholarship to join the Bobcats in the fall, MSU head coach Trey Morris announced.
Panik will transfer to MSU from Hawaii Pacific, where he earned NCAA Division II All-America honors in doubles play. Panik and his partner Ondrej Ctverak ranked atop the ITA West Region rankings a year ago, Panik's initial collegiate season, and as a team HPU began 2021 ranked fifth in the nation. Panik finished the abbreviated 2020 spring season 11-3 in doubles play (including 8-0 with Ctverak), 8-6 in singles competition, and earned Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) scholar-athlete honors.
Morris called Panik a perfect fit for Montana State men's tennis. "The first time I spoke with Matej I knew without a doubt that he is everything we look for in a student-athlete," Morris said. "He checks all the boxes for us. We truly believe that Matej's best tennis is ahead of him, and there's no doubt that he'll continue to grow and excel in his time at Montana State."
Originally from Cheb, Czech Republic, Panik possesses a career high Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) of 13.24, which would rank him among the top players in the Big Sky Conference this season. He held an ITF Juniors ranking of 580th, and he won Czech National Individual singles and doubles titles in 2019, played for the Czech National Championship team in 2019, and was also national singles runner-up in 2018. He was student-athlete of the year at Svoboda Chebska Skola, from which he graduated in spring, 2019.
Panik joins the Bobcat program next fall as a sophomore.
#GoCatsGo
Panik will transfer to MSU from Hawaii Pacific, where he earned NCAA Division II All-America honors in doubles play. Panik and his partner Ondrej Ctverak ranked atop the ITA West Region rankings a year ago, Panik's initial collegiate season, and as a team HPU began 2021 ranked fifth in the nation. Panik finished the abbreviated 2020 spring season 11-3 in doubles play (including 8-0 with Ctverak), 8-6 in singles competition, and earned Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) scholar-athlete honors.
Morris called Panik a perfect fit for Montana State men's tennis. "The first time I spoke with Matej I knew without a doubt that he is everything we look for in a student-athlete," Morris said. "He checks all the boxes for us. We truly believe that Matej's best tennis is ahead of him, and there's no doubt that he'll continue to grow and excel in his time at Montana State."
Originally from Cheb, Czech Republic, Panik possesses a career high Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) of 13.24, which would rank him among the top players in the Big Sky Conference this season. He held an ITF Juniors ranking of 580th, and he won Czech National Individual singles and doubles titles in 2019, played for the Czech National Championship team in 2019, and was also national singles runner-up in 2018. He was student-athlete of the year at Svoboda Chebska Skola, from which he graduated in spring, 2019.
Panik joins the Bobcat program next fall as a sophomore.
#GoCatsGo
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