Head men's tennis coach Grant Asher beefed up his roster for the 2010-11 season as he announced the signings of Dean Butts (Grosse Pointe Woods, MI/Grosse Pointe North) and Pablo Nunez (San Jose, Costa Rica/Educacion Abierta). Butts joins the team after a successful high school career, while Nunez comes to Detroit after a year at East Carolina.

“Butts is a local kid with a great work ethic and an all-around game,” said Asher. “Pablo is a very experienced international player and has a year of collegiate tennis under him. He is going to give us a big boost and help fill out the top end of our lineup.”

A four-year letterwinner at Grosse Pointe North, Butts served as team captain in his final three seasons, where he was also named All-MAC (Macomb Area Conference). He reached the quarter-finals in the state championships at No. 3 singles as a junior and was honored with the Meli/Ciaramitaro Team Player Memorial Scholarship Award as a senior.

Nunez, a member of the Costa Rica Davis Cup team since 2008, played his first collegiate season at ECU, posting a 5-3 record in singles and a 6-1 tally in doubles. He had a single victory at No. 3, a pair at No. 4 and added another at No. 6, while recording four of his doubles wins at No. 3. He was ranked the No. 1 junior player in Costa Rica in 2007 as he reached the semi-finals in the IFT Grade 3. He was also runner-up at the Panama ITF Championships and was part of the Doubles winning tandem at Copa Diana El Salvador Grade 4 ITF in 2009.

The Titan men's tennis team just finished its second year as a varsity program since being reinstated and has quickly made a name for itself in the Horizon League with back-to-back conference tournament appearances, a two-time HL Player of the Year in Pjotrs Necajevs and a second team member in returning sophomore Cesar Escobar Serrano.