Botzer, Allen joining Virginia Men’s Tennis in the fall

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Virginia director of tennis and head men’s tennis coach Andres Pedroso announced that two transfers, Bar Botzer (Tel Aviv, Israel) and Jackson Allen (Shakopee, Minn.), have signed financial aid agreements and will be joining the Cavaliers in the fall of 2021 while pursuing graduate degrees at the University of Virginia.

Botzer earned his bachelor’s degree in finance in December from Wake Forest with a 3.9 GPA. He will be entering the two-year program at the Darden School of Business next fall. Botzer, a 2019 ITA All-American in singles, was a member of the Demon Deacon’s 2018 NCAA Championship team, clinching the deciding point in the finals. In his three seasons at Wake Forest, he amassed a 94-21 record in singles, including going 40-6 in his sophomore season, and a 52-19 career mark in doubles. He has twice earned All-ACC honors and has been ranked as high as No. 21 in the ITA singles rankings. Prior to arriving to Wake Forest in 2017, Bar served for three years in the Israel Defense Forces. Additionally, he has won 123 career matches, singles and doubles combined, on the ITF Pro Circuit and has been ranked as high as 482 in the ATP singles rankings while also representing his native Israel in the Davis Cup on two separate occasions.

Botzer has opted out of playing this season.

“Our team is beyond excited to welcome Bar to UVA next fall,” said Pedroso. “Bar brings a wealth of experience and leadership to our team, as well as being one of the best players in college tennis over the last two years. I know Bar is ecstatic about starting his experience at Darden and I am looking forward to him applying a lot of what he learns at our prestigious business school to our overall team culture and the development of our student-athletes and coaches.”

Allen earned a bachelor’s degree in May in accounting and entrepreneurial management at Minnesota, finishing with a 3.6 GPA. He is completing a masters in finance there as well. He will be entering the masters in accounting program at the McIntire School in the fall. In his first three seasons with the Golden Gophers, he amassed a 54-31 record in singles, primarily playing at the No. 4 position. Before joining the Gophers, he was a Blue Chip recruit ranked No. 19 nationally in his class and was No. 31 in the USTA National Rankings of 18 and under, winning the Minnesota state high school championship as the top ranked player in the state.

Allen is playing this year at Minnesota and will have one year of eligibility remaining when he joins the Cavaliers.

“At the University of Minnesota, Jackson has been the ultimate student-athlete, thanks to his tremendous performance both academically and athletically,” Pedroso said. “Jackson is known as one of the toughest competitors in Big Ten Tennis and the type of leader that personifies the character, work ethic and team mindset that we preach within our culture on a daily basis. I know he cannot wait to start his experience at the McIntire School’s MS in Accounting program, while competing for the orange and blue in some of the biggest moments in college tennis.”