Foran Tennis Star Gets All-American Nod

The following is a press release from the school.

The honors keep rolling in for Brad Orban, junior at Joseph A. Foran High School.

On the heels of winning the State Open for boys high school tennis a few weeks ago, Brad learned early last week he has been named an All-American boys tennis player by the National High School Tennis All-American Foundation.

The All-American list includes the top 40 high school tennis players in the country.

Brad’s win-loss record is 77-1 at the high school level.

Orban, the son of Betty and Alex Orban, has been playing tennis since age 9, when he first picked up a racket for fun and volleyed with his father at the Leroy Doolittle courts at Eisenhower Park in Milford.

A year later, he signed up for some introductory tennis lessons at the Trumbull Racquet Club and learned the basics of the game.

It was during these early years Brad’s skills were further refined and his play had received attention from Angelo Rossetti, a coach and family friend.  Brad’s game got increasingly better and it was clear there was something special about this young man.

Throughout his middle and high school years, Brad has worked with Isidro Martinez, a coach with an international following at the Tennis Central club located in Woodbridge.

Speaking of those years, Brad commented, “He (Martinez) was tough – but it was all done to make me a better player.” Much of his work conducted at Tennis Central focused on tough competition, strategy-building, and conditioning.

By the time Brad entered Foran High School, he was already a credentialed tennis player in the region and continued to play in several high level tournaments organized through the United States Tennis Association (USTA), most recently in the coveted Easter Bowl in California. During his very first season at Foran (spring 2011), Brad won the Class M State Championship.

Two years later and having just completed his junior year, Orban has amassed an incredible list of titles and awards, including being the State Champion in Class M for 3 years in a row, and the State Open Champion twice, (his one and only loss over his entire high school career was in the final match of the Open in his freshman year).  He served as team captain this year at Foran and is preparing for his final season at the school.

As a student, Brad enjoys Latin and the sciences and plans to continue taking the AP courses available in the district. He will be participating in several showcases over the summer, where he will be seen by the many national and college level coaches who attend.

Foran tennis coach Shelley Visinski was thrilled with the news last week.

“Brad’s dedication to tennis and the Foran High School team is certainly one to be admired," he said. "His talent speaks for itself, but it is certainly rare to find an athlete who, in addition to being one of the strongest players in New England, is a team player.”

“For me, it’s been fun – but the best part is being part of a team,” Orban said. “I have really enjoyed the level of competition and play here and am looking forward to what’s next.”

The National High School Tennis All-American Foundation (NHSTAAF) is a non-profit corporation formed to promote high school boys and girls tennis and to recognize the most outstanding high school players and teams from throughout the United States.

To be eligible to receive consideration as an All-American tennis player a student/athlete must maintain an above average academic and citizenship record, compete on a high school tennis team, and garner an individual national ranking. To earn an individual national ranking the player must compete throughout the year in sectional, regional, and national tournaments sanctioned by the United States Tennis Association. A player with a national ranking has a proven match play record that clearly demonstrates he/she has reached the pinnacle of national junior competitions and is one of the premier tennis players in his/her age division in America.