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Jake Albo, Grayson Goldin, Jose Gracia, Jr. and Jack Haffey have long battled it out on the tennis courts as junior tennis players. Starting next season, they will no longer be rivals as they hit the courts as members of the Florida State University men's tennis team.

"I have played against every commit going to FSU, and we are all so psyched that we can be side by side fighting to win an NCAA Championship together," said Albo, 17, of Plantation, who is a senior at The Sagemont School in Weston.

"A lot of things went into my decision to attend FSU, but the main points were who my teammates were and are going to be," said Albo, who is ranked number 4 in Florida; No. 9 in the Southeast and No. 27 nationally. He started playing at age 4 and fell in love with the sport. "FSU is a school that can take me to the next level in my tennis game, and I felt that FSU could fit me perfectly in that way. I decided before my visit."

Albo said didn't lose a set in winning the Class 1A individual state Florida High School Athletic Association championship at No. 1 singles last year. He also went on to win both the " target="_blank">overall singles title and then teamed with Camilo Escobar to go 14-0 and win the Class 1A overall doubles title. Albo also reached the semifinals of an ITF in Delray Beach.

"What I love about tennis is that you have the right to your own destiny and that you can choose how far you want to go in the sport with how much effort you put into training," said Albo, who plans to study engineering because he loves math and science. "When I am on the court, the only thing that goes through my mind is to stay focused and take one point at a time. I also think about playing every point the way it should be played in the sense of playing every point as smart as I can play it."