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Sports

The Education of a Tennis Player

Ben Lee is making his way up the rankings.

Ben Lee is a rising senior at New Canaan High School. He is also a rising junior tennis player, currently ranked third in Connecticut, ninth in New England and 301st nationally in the Under-18s, according to TennisRecruiting.net.

The apple hasn’t fallen very far from the tree in the Lee family. Ben’s dad, Tommy, who also grew up in New Canaan, was in the low 400’s in the World Rankings in the early '80s and played in the qualifiers at the U.S. Open in 1980. The older Lee was a Top Ten player in New England for many years and has been coaching Ben since he was strong enough to hold a racket and swing it.

Ben recently completed his junior year at New Canaan High School earning first team All-State and first team All-FCIAC. His coach, Dan Borgman, says, “Ben is as good a player as I've ever had and the hardest worker I've ever had.”

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Borgman says that in addition to his talent and work ethic Ben is also the team leader. Ben was a co-captain as a junior, a post to which seniors are usually named.

Coach Borgman asked his players who wanted to be captain to write a 500-word essay on why they should be named. “Ben was the runaway winner,” Borgman said.” And he will be co-captain again, along with Kevin Budrawich, in the 2010 season.

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Ben has spent the summer playing in national and sectional tournaments for his age group: his best showing, advancing to the 16th round at Chapel Hill, N.C., from a field of 128. He has also played in Under-18 tournaments in Chicago, in the sectionals at Yale and in all of the New England tournaments.

His next major tournament will be the National 18s on Long Island on Labor Day weekend.

Ben’s climb up the tennis ladder has attracted college coaches, with some dozen or so actively recruiting him. With another year remaining at NCHS for Ben the recruitment list is expected to grow, and so will Ben. Ben is six feet tall and reed thin. College coaches interested in him have told his dad that they expect to see him mature physically over the next few years.

While Ben occupies most of Tommy Lee’s tennis time, coaching and accompanying him on road trips, a couple of other Lees are waiting in the wings. Fourteen-year-old Jensen Lee has started playing tournaments. She’ll enter NCHS in the fall. J.J. Lee, who will be nine in early September, may turn out to be even better than his brother.

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