By Natalie Tran
Almost every high school athlete’s dream is to make it to the Division I level or to receive a full scholarship to their dream school. Luckily for junior Alan Ton, he’s able to live out both dreams as he recently committed to the United States Military Academy (West Point) for tennis in early January.
Tennis has always come as second nature to Ton, especially after having grown up with the sport running in the family. Although he didn’t particularly like the sport at first, he soon got accustomed to it with his father’s encouragement and eventually became a natural at the sport.
“I started playing tennis when I was about 7 [years old],” Ton said. “I grew up with my dad really liking tennis and he began to teach my brother and I, but I didn’t really like it until I joined with group lessons. I’ve trained at several academies that helped me develop [into] the athlete and person I am today.”
West Point is home to 25 Division I sports for both men and women, making it very competitive to get accepted into. But with Ton racking up numerous accolades throughout his tennis career, it doesn’t come as a huge surprise that he was accepted into the prestigious academy.
In June 2021, Ton was honored with the National High School Tennis All-American Award for Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) tennis, an award recognizing the most outstanding high school tennis players in the United States. Ton was one of 40 boys selected for the award, making him the first in FVHS’ program history.
Having also been on FVHS’s boys’ varsity tennis team since his freshman year as Singles No. 1, Ton has brought much success and recognition to the team with his achievements. Just last season, Ton brought home the Surf League singles title, defeating Corona Del Mar’s Sea Kings–a mighty achievement for the Barons.
With strong performances across the years, Ton’s hard work definitely paid off this year with the multiple offers he received from colleges around the country. Choosing to commit to West Point was a difficult decision, but for Ton, it was the right one.
“I started getting more offers during the beginning of [this] year, but I’ve been in contact with the coaches at schools I had interest in since the start of the recruiting season in June,” Ton said. “I chose to commit to West Point because of the opportunities I would be able to get myself into after my education there. The full scholarship for all cadets there, the leadership, discipline and people you meet there is unmatched at any other school.”
With exciting opportunities coming his way and an undying passion for the sport, Ton hopes to finally achieve the goals he set for himself years ago.
“My favorite thing about tennis is the people you get to meet throughout your career,” Ton said. “My future aspirations with this sport is to help other kids gain a passion for tennis and be able to break the top 25 in my recruiting class.”
