DES MOINES, Iowa - Drake head men's tennis coach Davidson Kozlowski has announced the signing of Ben Stride (Bognor Regis, England/Henley Sixth Form College) to a national letter of intent to join the Bulldog program for the 2014-15 academic year.

“We are excited about adding another hardworking talented Englishman to our team," Kozlowski commented. "Ben had a great visit to Drake and he fit in extremely well with the team. I know the guys are excited about having him arrive on campus and we are all looking forward to the positive impact he will bring to this Bulldog team.”

Stride is ranked seventh in the Lawn Tennis Associations' Nike British Tennis Rankings in Sussex and No. 223 nationally. He reached the semifinals of the Boys 18 Oslo Open this past February. In 2013, Stride advanced to the finals of the ITF Petit Camp Junior Open (Phoenix-Mauritius), Belfast City ITF Junior Tournament (Belfast, Ireland) and the Donnybrook Junior International Tournament (Donnybrook, Ireland).

Stride is the first student-athlete to sign a national letter of intent with Kozlowski and the Bulldogs for the 2014-15 campaign.