[Men's Tennis] Montreat Men's Tennis Signs Herman

MONTREAT, N.C. – On Thursday, the Montreat Cavaliers' men's tennis team was thrilled to sign local student-athlete Ben Herman to their incoming class of fall 2018. Herman currently plays tennis at the nearby Cheshire Raquet Club in Black Mountain and is a sophomore at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College in Asheville. 

Herman is originally from the Charlotte area and attended Nation Ford High School in Fort Mill, South Carolina where he played tennis. 

His path to Montreat is one of goal-setting and accomplishment. While attending AB Tech, which does not have an athletics program, he developed the idea of playing college tennis. Herman receives instruction at Cheshire from its pro, Bo Webb.

"I came to him (Webb) about six months ago with the idea of playing for a college team. I started working with him and slowly my game got to the level where it is now," said Herman. "He basically said 'I know a guy locally' and that was Andrew [Cobb]. I wanted to stay local and it turns out that this is a great school and I fit in with the team."

Herman plans to major in biology and would like to attend P.A. (Physician's Assistant) school after college. "I'll be here for at least four semesters and I'll be able to continue to play tennis after I graduate with a flexible schedule," he added.

Herman was joined at his signing by his father, John, who played in USTA tournaments as a teenager but like many, played less as he gradually moved into his working career following college.

"Recently Ben got back into playing tennis and wanted to play for a college team. Our whole goal was to keep him academically strong. He's earning honors at AB-Tech," said John. "Bo knew Ben's desire to play on a college team and this opening came about, and it just all fell into place. Andrew came over and watched Ben play. He probably played one of his best matches, against a guy that plays at big regional tournaments. Ben just did really well against him," said John. "It's awesome to see. Back in the day, I had to make a decision at 18, and he's had a few years extra and I think that's a big plus." 

Coach Andrew Cobb would agree. "Bo called me and wanted one of my players to go hit with one of his players," said Cobb. Anh Hoang (JR/Miami, FL), a junior on this year's team went to Cheshire to hit with Herman. "So Anh went and hit with Ben and told me about him, so I went to watch a match. Anh really clicked with him." Herman has been practicing with the team on a regular basis since then. 

"Even when we skipped practiced to do conditioning, he ran four miles. He's a phenomenal worker. He's feeling really called to be here and the team really welcomes him."