Mark Merklein (born June 28, 1972) is a

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the archi ...

-born former college and professional

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball c ...

player. He played for the

Bahamas Davis Cup team The Bahamas men's national tennis team represents the Bahamas in Davis Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association. The Bahamas currently compete in the Americas Zone of Group III. They reached the World Group p ...

from 1999–2004. Merklein was born in

Freeport, Bahamas Freeport is a city, district and free trade zone on the island of Grand Bahama of the northwest Bahamas. In 1955, Wallace Groves, a Virginian financier with lumber interests in Grand Bahama, was granted of pineyard with substantial areas of s ...

. He grew up in

Coral Springs, Florida Coral Springs, officially the City of Coral Springs, is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is located approximately northwest of Fort Lauderdale. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 134,394. It is a ...

, and attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School in nearby

Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

. Playing for the St. Thomas Raiders high school tennis team, he won six Class 3A high school titles – two at No. 2 singles, one at No. 1 singles, and three at No. 1 doubles.Dave Heeren,
Every Little Step He Takes Brings Mark Merklein Closer To His Goal Of Tennis Stardom
" ''Sun-Sentinel'' (July 10, 1991). Retrieved July 26, 2014. Merklein accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for the

Florida Gators men's tennis The Florida Gators men's tennis team represents the University of Florida in the sport of tennis. The Gators compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team hosts its ...

team in

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athlete, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic sports, ...

(NCAA) and

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

(SEC) competition from 1991 to 1994. As a Gator, he won the NCAA national championship doubles title with partner David Blair in 1993. The following year, Merklein won the NCAA national championship singles title in 1994 in dominating fashion, losing only one set. Merklein was a four-time All-American, a three-time All-SEC selection, and the SEC Player of the Year in 1994. He was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2005. Merklein turned professional in 1994, and won four doubles titles during his career. He won matches at all four Majors. On July 7, 1997, he reached his highest singles ranking of world No. 160, and reached his highest doubles ranking on January 12, 2004, when he became world No. 37. On May 24, 2013, Merklein was hired as the University of Florida men's tennis assistant coach. Gator Great Mark Merklein Hired as Men's Tennis Assistant Coach
" GatorZone.com (May 24, 2013). Retrieved May 24, 2013. Merklein currently resides in Gainesville, Florida.

Grand Slam tournament performance timelines

Singles

Doubles

References

External links

* * * 1972 births Living people Bahamian expatriates in the United States Bahamian male tennis players Bahamian people of German descent Florida Gators men's tennis players Sportspeople from Gainesville, Florida People from Freeport, Bahamas Tennis people from Florida Tennis players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic tennis players of the Bahamas St. Thomas Aquinas High School (Florida) alumni {{Bahamas-tennis-bio-stub

Grand Slam tournament performance timelines

Singles

Doubles

See also

References

External links