Commitment Profile
Countdown: Zoë Spence Joins the Irish
by Sonny Dearth, 3 November 2015
Special from the
Newport News (Va.) Daily Press, HRVarsity.com
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From the tournament she helped originate in West Africa, to numerous countries she has visited to play on the International Tennis Federation circuit, Zoë Spence is well-traveled even by junior tennis standards.
When next summer arrives, though, she'll settle at a place she and her family know extremely well:
Notre Dame.
It makes perfect sense for a youngster from Chicago who is a 5-Star prospect, according to the Tennis Recruiting Network.
"I wanted to go to a school that had a top tennis program and top academics," she said. "It's a school with such a rich history in college athletics."
It's a history that, while mythical, extends to her household. Her father, Marvin, was a cornerback for the Fighting Irish from 1984-87, completing his career just before Coach Lou Holtz's crew won a national championship in '88. Zoë's mother, Benét, was a team captain in field hockey at Notre Dame.
Spence, 17, has a sibling in college athletics, too. Her brother, Shelby, is a quarterback for the University of Chicago.
Zoë said she considered other schools, but she said of Notre Dame, "I also appreciate the spiritual values."
Spence is a senior at Francis W. Parker School in the Windy City, but she has learned to fly as a matter of routine. In ITF events, Spence recently captured titles in singles in Guatemala and Trinidad & Tobago. She also competed in Mexico, Aruba and Delray Beach, Fla., among other venues.
The ITF said she won 21 of her first 29 singles matches and 11 of her first 19 doubles matches. Her USTA participation has yielded 2 gold balls, a silver and a bronze.
"This summer, I started playing the ITF circuit, and it's a cool experience to play players from around the world," Spence said. "The 'one and done' is a different kind of pressure," as opposed to USTA tournaments that offer feed-in consolation brackets.
