James Zelinske II '24 Recruiting Profile

My name is James Zelinske II and it is my goal to play high-level competitive college tennis while pursuing a degree in business and finance with hopes to attend law school and specialize in business law. I have been playing tennis since I was 8 years old and it has always been my true passion. My current UTR and GPA are not indicative of my academic abilities and/or level of play.

I currently live in Peoria, IL and the HS that I attend did not have the resources in place to support a proper academic environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, I was also going through multiple trials with medications to get my ADHD stabilized. This made for a very difficult time period in my life, but I eventually found the right medication regimen for me, was able to find stability in the classroom, and have been able to increase my GPA over the last year – with my last semester, of junior year ending in all A’s and B’s and my Q3 and Q4 report cards ending with a 3.5 GPA.

It is my goal and intention to continue raising my GPA this year and I plan to take the ACT and SAT this fall after completing 2 different prep courses.

My UTR is the other aspect that needs addressing, and I plan to do as much as I can to increase it this year and showcase my true level of play. I was recently accepted to IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL for my senior year of HS but due to the financial constraints of my family, unfortunately had to defer. I originally planned to attend and raise my UTR there since I have been unable to do so here in central IL. I live 3 hours south of Chicago and 3 hours NE of St. Louis, so attending UTR tournaments was very limited to me last year. This year, I have a car and I am fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work with high performance tennis coach, Mario DiLonardo, so I will be attending as many tournaments as I can and I look forward to an exciting season and year of play!

Thank you for taking the time to view my profile and for your consideration.