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Andrew Zhang’s confidence level was rising. Paco Trinidad could see it in his eyes when Zhang arrived for his lesson.

Zhang was having more success at tournaments, and wanted to test himself against his coach. The 14-year-old Zhang asked Trinidad if they could play a set.

Trinidad agreed, and didn’t take it easy on Zhang.

Blue Chip Andrew Zhang Is Signing With Duke
© Bill Kallenberg

“I beat him pretty bad, and I have never seen a kid so upset that the coach beat him. To me, that showed the kid really cares about his game,” Trinidad said. “Usually a kid gets beat by his coach and they are like, ‘He is the coach. He is supposed to beat me.’ But he was upset and that let me know he had the fire in him.”

Zhang’s desire has been the guiding force throughout his tennis career. The blue chip senior from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan loves being on the court and striving to improve.

He will be signing to play for Duke next month when the signing period opens. Zhang chose the Blue Devils after also considering Columbia, Harvard, Michigan and Michigan State.

“I loved the team and the team spirit and the coaches. Something that really stood out to me about Duke was their Duke tradition and their team spirit and their school spirit,” Zhang said. “I thought that was something that really set them apart from all the other colleges.”