Westmont College Athletics

By Tim Heiduk
April 3, 2020
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Ethan Ha of Carpinteria has committed to join the Westmont men's tennis team beginning in the 2020-21 school year, head coach Mark Basham announced.
 
"I am very excited to have such a quality young man like Ethan on our team and I am confident that he is going to thrive spiritually, academically and athletically at Westmont," Basham said. "It is exciting for us to bring such a quality player from this area who also has a strong faith."
 
Ha is a senior at Cate School, where he has been the Rams' number one singles player for the past three seasons. He was Cate's number two singles player as a freshman when his older brother Kevin, who now plays for Skidmore College, was number one.
 
Ethan Ha is a three-time Tri-Valley League singles individual champion. His Cate team advanced to the CIF-SS Division 3 semifinals in 2016-17 after entering the tournament as the top seed.
 
"Ethan has an excellent tennis IQ, a strong passion for the game, and lots of match experience," Basham said. "He has a very solid overall game which will become even better in the coming months.
 
"I would consider Ethan more of a counter puncher than an attacking player and I believe he will develop more of an attacking game in the years ahead."
 
Ha is listed as a three-star recruit by the Tennis Recruiting Network, ranked 332nd nationally, 82nd in the Southwest region and 76th in California.
 
When asked what he was most looking forward to as a member of the Westmont men's tennis team, Ha said: "I'm excited about bringing my strong leadership skills and energy to the team. I can't wait to improve on my weaknesses."
 
Ha said what appealed most to him about Westmont was the coaching staff and the college's proximity to his Carpinteria home.
 
"The coaches are very smart and kind," Ha said. "Assistant coach Christian Mathis has been like a big brother to me and has always been someone I could rely on.
 
"Westmont is also 15 minutes away from home and it means I can be close to my family and my friends, who have become a second family for me."
 
Ha said his goals for his Westmont career include being an NAIA Scholar-Athlete. "I want to push myself to be an All-American," Ha said.
 
Ha joins a program that has reached the NAIA National Tournament in nine of the 10 seasons that have been completed since Basham became Westmont head coach.