Peters Township's Connor Bruce gets early start to college tennis career at Dayton

Connor Bruce made quite a debut for the Dayton men’s tennis team during the shortened 2020 season.

The Peters Township product, who graduated high school in December to get an early jump on his college career, exploded onto the Division I scene, earning five Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week awards for the Flyers while playing at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles.

Now, Bruce, who wrapped up his first academic semester three weeks ago, has his eyes on building upon his immediate success.

“I can’t get lazy right now,” said Bruce, who trains at the Fox Chapel Golf Club and also and helps teach younger tennis hopefuls at the club.

“I have to stay laser focused on my fitness and my game for the fall.”

Bruce said he is excited to be able to take advantage of the NCAA’s ruling that all spring athletes are able to recoup the season of eligibility. The 2021-22 season tentatively is scheduled to begin in September with singles tournament opportunities, and Bruce will go in designated as a true freshman with a full four years remaining.

All of his 2020 stats count in the record books.

“Even though the season was shortened, it was totally worth it,” Bruce said.

Bruce went 10-6 overall at No. 1 singles. That included a run of eight wins in his final 10 singles matches.

He won three of his four singles matches in Atlantic 10 play.

Bruce and fellow Pennsylvania product Joe Demarco, a sophomore from Cathedral Prep, teamed to win six matches at No. 1 doubles, including two in conference play.

“At the beginning, I had to make some adjustments because I wasn’t playing the juniors or the high school players anymore. I was playing grown men,” he said.

“I struggled off the bat trying to do too much. I had to critique my game with the help and support of my teammates and my coach. I changed some things up, and I was able to find my game and be myself on the court. It was fun to help my team win matches.”

Bruce committed to Dayton in January 2019, and after a conversation with Dayton coach Ryan Meyer, the ball began rolling toward the possibility of enrolling early.

“I knew you could do those kind of things, but I never thought I would see that opportunity come to me,” Bruce said. “It took me a few weeks to think it over and weigh the pros and cons, but I just felt it was time to move on to the next level and start college tennis.”

In order to graduate early, Bruce took classes at PA Cyber Charter School. From August to November, he completed a year’s worth of schoolwork.

“It was a long grind getting all that work done, but I had a goal set for myself,” said Bruce, who also kept up his tennis and weight training during that time.

“I was pretty busy during the day, but it was totally worth it.”

After completing his classes, Bruce had almost an entire month to train and prepare his body and mind for the start of his academic and athletic career at Dayton in January.

Bruce, an operations and supply management major, began classes at Dayton on Jan. 13.

The winter/spring season began the day before with a nonconference matchup at Louisville. Dayton also faced nationally ranked Ohio State during the first week of play.

“I was just so happy and grateful for the opportunity to play at such as strong university with great teammates and a coach who really puts you in the best position to succeed,” Bruce said.

Meyer said he was confident Bruce would find his footing and contribute right out of the gate.

“I wanted Connor to be able to go out and face some of the best players in the country and feel stress free,” Meyer said. “He showed up and proved he belonged on the court with these top guys. Towards the end of the season, he was playing some really good tennis. He quickly figured out all the things he needed to do to go from the boys’ game in juniors to the men’s game in college.

Bruce arrived at Dayton a four-star recruit with a loaded prep and junior resume which saw him ranked as high as No. 61 nationally.

He capped his high school career in 2019 with a PIAA Class AAA doubles championship in Hershey with partner Elian Ascencio.

Bruce also helped Peters Township finish third at the WPIAL team tournament and reach the state playoffs. The Indians met Cathedral Prep in the first round, and Bruce fell at No. 1 singles to current Dayton teammate Matt DeMarco as Prep, the District 10 champion, took the match 3-0.

Bruce captured the WPIAL Class AAA singles title as a freshman in 2017.

“Connor is going to have that much more experience going into what will be his true freshman year,” Meyer said. “I know he will do whatever he can to be ready. I expect him to be even better this coming year.”