DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) – Alleman tennis star Nicholas Patrick committed to Notre Dame Saturday. The Alleman junior also was considering Vanderbilt where he took an official visit but ultimately, decided Notre Dame was the right choice after an official visit to South Bend two weeks ago.

“It was everything that I could have imagined and more just being down there and it wasn’t even a specific thing, it was just kind of the feeling of it and just feeling how much love and support Notre Dame had, and it’s something where I really feel like it’s something I want to be apart of where it’s like obviously just an incredibly good academic school but at the same time they’re so into athletics and so into supporting every aspect of the team culture there that it was just an absolute dream come true. Obviously an absolute dream to make it happen” said Patrick.

Notre Dame is near and dear to Patrick’s heart. When he was 8 year old, he attended a Notre Dame football game with his father and grandfather. Before the game, Notre Dame punter Tyler Newsome gave Patrick one of his gloves that Patrick has kept in his room ever since.

“They have a tradition where before every football game, they come out of the locker room high five all the fans that are there and I was lucky enough, call it fate or whatever it might be, high fived one of the players and he actually dropped this glove, and in the moment it wasn’t that big of a deal, well it was a huge deal to me then he dropped the glove and I offered to give it back and he let me keep it. So you know looking back that kind of started it all, I was interested in Notre Dame but that just kind of opened my eyes to the environment of Notre Dame it really is something that a super small act of kindness kind of changed my life for sure.”

Patrick is a back to back undefeated State Champion at Alleman. He was named National Boys Tennis Player of the Year by USA Today.

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