Head tennis coach John Blackburn has won the international lottery with acquiring foreign student-athlete standouts, Juliana Frey and Matyas Hilgert, to complete the 2008-2009 recruiting class.

Frey is a talented player from Brazil who competed in the 18-and-under division. She ranked as high as the third best player in the country and will move to America to join the women’s squad at Eastern.

Blackburn was notified by his Brazilian contact, Mauricio Cabrini, about Frey. The coach never saw her play live, but he viewed a video of Frey’s play, and liked what he saw.

“She’s a player with a lot of talent, and she should be able to help us right away,” Blackburn said.

Other schools pursued Frey, but Blackburn said she didn’t inform him of who they were.

According to the website, TennisCore, Frey competed in the Copa Gerdau and Banana Bowl Tournaments this past March. However, she struggled in these international tournaments by losing in the first rounds.

Hilgert, the men’s team recruit, is a Czech Republic native. He was ranked 70th in his country’s 18-and-under division and 215th in the senior division. He has also won several national titles.

Blackburn also had a contact in the Czech Republic with Hilgert’s recruiting coordinator, who provided the recruit’s contact information.

“I was impressed with his rankings and results in the Czech Republic and the video he provided,” Blackburn said.

Frey finalizes the women’s tennis recruiting. Blackburn signed Shannon Brooks of Aurora, Annie Egan of Rochester and Amanda Dibbs of Allentown, Penn.

On the men’s side, Drew Grimaldi of Saginaw, Mich., and Brendan Pontow of Orland Park join Hilgert as future Panthers.

Bob Bajek can be reached at 581- 7944 or at rtbajek@eiu.edu.