BOONE, N.C. --  Appalachian State University men's tennis head coach Bob Lake is proud to announce the signing of two future Mountaineers for the 2017-18 season.

Appalachian will bring in a four-star recruit and a state champion in Spencer Brown, as well as Australian standout Ben Webster, who is the brother of current Mountaineer, Scott Webster.  The tandem will help build the Apps after they finished with a 12-8 mark for their second-straight winning campaign. 

“Both Ben and Spence are great student-athletes on and off the court,” mentioned Coach Lake. “They had great careers at their high schools, and we expect them to make an immediate impact at Appalachian in the classroom as well as on the court when they arrive in the fall. Both commits will help us continue to build off the past couple of seasons and contend for a Sun Belt Championship.“

Ben Webster | 6'4 | Perth Australia | Scotch College
Turning in a solid rating of 11 in singles and doubles play according to Univeral Tennis Rating (UTR), Webster had a very successful career where he was the WA State Captain in 2015 while making the All-Australian Merit Team in 2015.  At Scotch College, Webster was the team captain for two-straight years. He was all-colours for tennis all four years while making all-honours for tennis from 2012-2016.  In year 12, he was 4-0-2 in singles action and 5-1 in doubles competition. During his club years, Webster played under John Thorpe for the Dalkeith Tennis Club. The future Mountaineer was a junior state league champion in 2015 and a four-time U18 club champion while capturing a men's club championship in 2015 and 2016.  Further solidifying his career, he contributed to a Tennis West Team Championship as well. Through two seasons in 2014-15 and 2015-16, he posted a combined record of 22-1. During March and April this year, he turned in 3-1 records at the 2017 Esperance March Open  and the 2017 Bronze Zap AMT.  He also competed in the 2017 Silver Pro AMT and the 2016 Perth Winter Twilight Silver AMT.  In doubles play, he finished 4-0 at the Esperance March Open to capture the title. Born on Nov. 11, 1998, Ben is the son of Gordon and Alison Webster.  Has two older brothers, Robbie, who plays soccer at Queens College and Scott. Hobbies include poker. Will major in pre-law studies and minor in economics.

Lake on Webster
“Ben comes in with tons of knowledge about the program with his brother having been here for three years! He's a big athlete at 6'4, and he has a big game.”

Spencer Brown | 5'11 | Spartanburg, S.C. | Laurel Springs High School
Brown is ranked as a four-star recruit and in the top 100 athletes in the nation according to tenniscrecruiting.net while coming in at a 12 in UTR in singles and 11 in doubles. Playing under Todd Seagle at Laurel Springs, Brown couldn't have been more successful as he was all-conference all four years in tennis while being named all-state. His impressive skills earned him a nod to the North-South All-Star Team and helped lead his team to a state and national championship. His high school team has an unprecedented  83-match win streak and counting. He also holds a city league record in the butterfly stroke for swimming.  He most recently finished 4-0 at the DecoTurf Tennis Team Championships in March and is 11-2 over his last 13 matches including a six-match win streak.  Brown did an excellent job in the classroom, posting a GPA of 4.47. Born on  Jan. 21, 1999, Brown is the son of Steven and Sherri Brown and has an older brother, Chandler. His hobbies include swimming, four-wheeling, music and finishing. Major is undecided.

Lake on Brown
“Spencer is a local athlete that had a ton of success out of South Carolina as a top-100 recruit and a four-star recruit! Along with Ben, we can't wait to have him on campus.”