Benn Marler made a relatively short trip when transferring from Cowley County Community College in Wichita, Kan., to Eastern this semester.

The freshman, who joined the Eastern men’s tennis team in January, spent his early childhood in Sydney, Australia.

He began playing tennis down under at the age of five. Marler crossed the Pacific at the age of nine, and played competitive tennis at 12.

Marler spent his prep years at Ladue Horton Watkins High School in St. Louis. He also played in numerous United States Tennis Association events during his years in the junior ranks.

After noticing Marler’s talent, Eastern head coach John Blackburn is thankful Marler isn’t in Kansas anymore.

“He’s made a big impact,” Blackburn said. “He has a lot of potential.”

After high school, Marler began his college career at Cowley in the fall where he competed with the men’s tennis team.

He finished the 2007 fall season 2-1 at No. 1 singles for the Tigers and 1-0 at No. 1 doubles paired with Jim Blacketer. Marler also went 3-1 at the Witchita Invitational on Sept. 18, losing only to teammate Diego Motivar in three sets with the last set going to 14-12.

Marler then attempted to transfer to Southern Illinois-Carbondale, whose coach then put him into contact with Blackburn.

In the end, Marler decided to transfer to Eastern, and has made an immediate contribution to the team.

It isn’t surprising Marler, who is from a foreign country, made the transition to Eastern with the two foreign tennis players already on the team. Junior

Freshman tennis walk-on Benn Marler returns a forehand volley back over the net during tennis practice in Lantz Fieldhouse. (John Bailey/The Daily Eastern News)

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