With four offers on the table from three D1 and one D2 university in North America, talented tennis athlete Donte Armbrister has decided to join the Pirates Men’s Tennis Team at Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia. The D1 Team plays in the Big South Conference. Southpaw Donte received his Acceptance Letter on April 13 and also signed his National Letter of Intent last month with the University on a tennis scholarship. Hampton University is currently ranked in the top four historically black colleges/universities (HBCU) in the United States.
Donte’s junior tennis career has been punctuated by serving on over 15 national tennis teams for his country. He was also a 12U National 2-Member Team winner in Jamaica; 14U JITIC finalist in El Salvador; World Junior National Team semifinalist in the Dominican Republic and the lone male Tennis athlete for The Bahamas at the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games held here in New Providence. Donte has also won three (3) Doubles titles on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Junior World Tour circuit and made four (4) Singles semifinal appearances. Donte was The Bahamas’ Men’s National Tennis Champion in 2018. Additionally, in 2019, he was recognized as “Student of the Week” in March by the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas; served on the Davis Cup Team in June in Costa Rica and was nominated “Junior Male Athlete of the Year” in November by the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture. He is proudly coached by Ceron Rolle. This 2019 Temple Christian High School Head Boy and Honors graduate also received the coveted Principal’s Award. Donte‘s motto in life is taken from Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”.
After taking a gap year off from college Donte has been “giving back” to local Tennis by volunteering his time and talent to the young people of the nation via the BLTA’s, “Play Tennis Program” for beginners on Saturdays, the “Ranfurly Home for Children” and the “Nazareth
Children’s Centre” junior outreach programs. Donte is looking forward this Fall to pursuing his undergraduate studies with a concentration in Business Management at “Hampton University by the Sea”. Donte has this to say about going off to college: “College search is tedious, especially if you want to be a collegiate athlete and trying to find the best fit possible for yourself. This was very important to me, finding a college that has most of what I’m looking for. I’m excited to explore this new chapter in my this new chapter in my life and looking forward to playing some real good college tennis. I also know that getting good grades is important so I’d have to be focused on my studies as well. I thank God for blessing me with this great opportunity.”
Donte is the son of Darnette Weir and Trevor Armbrister.
The Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association congratulates Donte on his tennis scholarship. Donte has represented his country with pride over the years and we wish him all the best as he begins this new chapter in his life.
Original Post Date: 3/5/2020
