PHOENIX, Ariz. --- Derek James will make the journey from one sunny southwestern state to another as he commits to Biola University Men's Tennis from Thunderbird High School in Phoenix.
 
He played varsity tennis from 2013 through 2016 for the Chiefs and was the best player in the program for all four seasons. He played No. 1 singles and was a part of the No. 1 doubles pairing in each of his seasons.
 
"We are very excited to have Derek join our tennis team next year," said Head Coach Brent Worthington. "He competes with a lot of focus and intensity and has a great deal of tennis ability. He will be a great addition to our team both on and off the court."
 
James was so good in high school that he went all four years without losing a league match. He was the 2016 Division II state doubles champion and was also a state singles finalist in 2014.
 
He also did a solid job of leading his team. He helped his team to a state quarterfinals appearance in 2016 and a semifinals appearance in 2014.
 
James will enter Biola in the fall of 2016 and begin to work out with his new men's tennis team. He plans to major in computer science and be a software engineer after graduation. His ultimate career goal is to engineer some software that changes the world for good.
 
He will graduate with honors in May of 2016 and currently has a high school weighted grade point average of 3.9.
 
"I chose Biola because of the great Christian community and all of the amazing opportunities available to its students," said James.