By Taelim Ha

The prestigious college, United States Military Academy, commonly known as West Point, is definitely not an easy college to get into and many people are not able to make the cut.

Senior Allen Xu, however, was able to meet those high standards.

Allen decided to attend West Point, after receiving his letter of acceptance during March, which included an athletic scholarship.

He had said it was the obvious choice, saying, “West Point has many benefits. Besides being the one of the most prestigious schools, there are benefits in medical, retirement, etc.”

Cal High Geometry and Algebra 1 teacher, Fred Albano, who has known Allen for four years, also said that, “[West Point] would be a good fit for him.”

A large factor in getting into West Point was Allen’s skills as a tennis player.

“He’s a warrior,” said Albano. “He fights for every point and is very competitive.

Since middle school, Allen has become a skilled tennis player. He had trained at Thompsons Tennis, a tennis academy headed by Richard Thompkins.

“I’ve been playing for six years,” said Allen.

In order to stand out amongst the thousands of students who applied to West Point, Allen got help from Jim Poling, West Point’s head coach of tennis.

After deciding to apply to West Point the summer after junior year, Allen got in contact with Poling, who then proceeded to evaluate Allen’s skill as a tennis player.

“To see if I was an eligible student, he looked at my records, talked to the coach, and the people I trained with,” said Allen.

After proving to be a capable tennis player, Poling recruited Allen and assisted in his application so that he would have a better chance getting accepted into West Point.

Another big factor in getting into West Point was Allen’s strengths as a student.

“Tennis wasn’t everything. If I didn’t have the academics,” said Allen. “I wouldn’t have gotten in.”

Allen has consistently received high grades in his classes and has even taken multiple advanced placement courses.

“He’s a bright kid,” said Albano.

His friends and family have all said that they are very proud of him.

“I think it is an honor for my son to attend such a prestigious school,” said Allen’s mother Shanmei Yue. “He had worked very hard to get this far, and I am very proud that he has been able to achieve so much.”

Senior Jesse Kim, who is a friend of Allen’s, also said that he was happy for his friend.

“I was really excited that Allen was able to get into West Point,” Jesse said.

In college, Allen will be very busy in order to keep up with West Points high standards. Besides his schoolwork, it has been already planned for him to continue tennis. As of now, Allen has not decided what he will study in college, but he knows he will continue to work hard.

“My wish would be to have other players have the same competitiveness as Allen does,” said Albano.