411OnTheForty — Part 4: Get to know Yuya Ito

By Riley Zayas

• Part 1:Tough breaks for Texas Football
• Part 2:Rowing receives high marks from the CRCA
• Part 3:Big 12 to give men's basketball players Election Day off
• Part 5:This week in Longhorn history: 2006 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships

Yuya Ito was constant force for the Texas men's tennis team, playing a key role in the 2019 national championship victory over Wake Forest and in huge dual match wins over No. 1 Florida, No. 8 Stanford and No. 18 Georgia during the 2020 spring season. After graduating with a degree economics this past May, Ito has decided to turn pro, and leaves a legacy of success on the Forty Acres behind.

3 Facts:

1. A native of Yokohama, Japan, Ito represented his home country in both the 2017 and 2019 World University Games and 2018 Asian Games, where he earned a bronze medal in doubles play.
2. He traveled over 4,800 miles for high school at St. Peter's College in Australia, which his parents believed would teach him English (he knew hardly any when he arrived) and further his academic and tennis career.
3. Throughout high school, Ito was mentored by two time NCAA All-America and UNLV alum Luke Smith. "Having Luke as my mentor and coach was just incredible to me," Ito said of Smith.

2 Accomplishments:

1. In 2019, Ito became just the third player since 1979 to win the singles title of the ITA All-American and ITA Fall Nationals in the same year.
2. He finishes his career on the Forty Acres ranked fifth all-time in career singles victories with 111.

1 Quote:

"Simply being on the team gave me so much joy on and off the court, so it was definitely one of the hardest decisions I've had to make in my life," Ito said. "The resources that we were given as student-athletes at Texas were just incredible, and it was nothing close to what I imagined before coming. I was surrounded by great teammates throughout my four years, so I'd like to thank everyone for making my time at Texas so incredible."