Completed Event: Men's Tennis versus Baylor on April 16, 2026 , Loss , 1, to, 4
Final Score
Men's Tennis
1
vs Baylor
4
The University of Utah Athletics
Dan Little: Finding His Potential
9/11/2018 3:12 PM | Men's Tennis
By Riley Elliott
Athletics Communications Student Assistant
Growing up in London, England, senior Dan Little had an early introduction to the sport of tennis. Both of his parents while he was growing up frequently played, and tennis became something that he started to take an interest in. Having played soccer for years before, he quickly came to learn which sport was the one for him.
"One day, my dad took me to our local tennis club," Little said. "Both of my parents played tennis and it just looked like a fun game and I was really into sports. I started playing tennis around eight, but I started playing soccer before that. After trying the sport, I realized that tennis was the best fit for me. Around age 15 I realized that I was better at tennis, and I felt like it was a sport that could take me somewhere."
Little then noticed his potential with the sport, and started trying to make a name for himself throughout the whole country. Earning two second place finishes and one national championship in Great Britain during the ages of 14-16, he then took his chance in the ITF Junior World Tennis circuit. During his time competing in the ITF, Little was able to capture three ITF junior singles titles and four ITF doubles titles, reaching as high as No. 192 on the ITF Junior World Rankings.
"It was great," he said. "It feels like it was a long time ago now. It felt amazing when I won the championship in Great Britain. I was still only a kid, but I had my country's flag draped over me and it was just awesome. Then when you reach an older age you get into Juniors, and then you're able to travel all over Europe for tournaments. Traveling throughout Europe also isn't super financially demanding, so I was thankful that it gave me the opportunity to travel and face European competition."
After his time in ITF Juniors was over with, Little then set his sight on where he was going to continue his tennis career after he graduated from the Ralph Allen School in London. There were plenty of options for Little both in Great Britain, and in the United States, but there was one University that stuck out to him the most.
"I came here on a visit after touring a couple different schools, and it blew me away," Little said. "Utah's facilities were amazing, Pac-12 tennis is extremely competitive and it was something that I wanted to be a part of. I really got along with the team when I came, and I got along with the coaches as well. Their program was great and it also included a schedule that was full of tough competition. It just seemed to be the perfect fit for me."
Attending the University of Utah in 2015 as a freshman, Little knew that it would be a big transition for him coming from a different country. Getting used to a new culture, new schooling system, and a different tennis schedule, was going to be one of the toughest adjustments that he had encountered in his life so far.
"Coming to Utah from Great Britain was a huge culture shock for me," he said. "It hit me more than I realized it would, and it took a while to get used to the whole American culture and American school system. The training for tennis threw me off a little too, you just jump straight into training in the morning and school right after. It's an everyday process that takes a while to get used to. The first few months I was definitely struggling to keep up with everything, but it was a good thing. Now I can look back at it and realize that it was a really good learning experience for me to be in a new culture."
Another tough thing that Little had to get used to was being so far away from home and his family. With all of his relatives living in Great Britain, Little had no family support system in the United States.
"It's definitely hard being so far away from home," he said. "It is tough, but nowadays we can talk through video chat and they can watch my matches through streaming. We're able to talk a lot, but it's still difficult to always be away from my family, especially since my whole family lives back in England. I think that they knew that it was the right decision for me and I don't think that they've ever regretted that. They're very supportive."
After adjusting to everything at the University of Utah during his freshman year, Little then flourished in the tennis program. During this past season as a junior, Little was a Pac-12 All-Conference honorable mention, as well as second-team Pac-12 All-Academic. Playing at Utah's number one singles position, he recorded 17 singles wins in dual action, winning 16 straight matches from January to March during last season. Being one of the main reasons for the Utes getting into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1997, Little would like to continue his success in the upcoming season.
"My expectations for this team are to improve upon last season, we don't want that to be our only season of reaching the NCAA's as a group," Little said. "We need to back that up, and we definitely have the players and talent to do that. Our main goal is to make the NCAA tournament easier than we did last year. As a player, my main goal is to help the team in any way possible, hopefully by doing that we will make the NCAA Tournament again this year."
With this past season being his best yet, and most successful with the Utes, Little is looking to make sure that he leaves a lasting impression on the program. As the spring season approaches, watch for Dan Little to continue to make his presence known in the Pac-12, and for the Utah Utes to try and make their second consecutive NCAA Tournament.
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Athletics Communications Student Assistant
Growing up in London, England, senior Dan Little had an early introduction to the sport of tennis. Both of his parents while he was growing up frequently played, and tennis became something that he started to take an interest in. Having played soccer for years before, he quickly came to learn which sport was the one for him.
"One day, my dad took me to our local tennis club," Little said. "Both of my parents played tennis and it just looked like a fun game and I was really into sports. I started playing tennis around eight, but I started playing soccer before that. After trying the sport, I realized that tennis was the best fit for me. Around age 15 I realized that I was better at tennis, and I felt like it was a sport that could take me somewhere."
Little then noticed his potential with the sport, and started trying to make a name for himself throughout the whole country. Earning two second place finishes and one national championship in Great Britain during the ages of 14-16, he then took his chance in the ITF Junior World Tennis circuit. During his time competing in the ITF, Little was able to capture three ITF junior singles titles and four ITF doubles titles, reaching as high as No. 192 on the ITF Junior World Rankings.
"It was great," he said. "It feels like it was a long time ago now. It felt amazing when I won the championship in Great Britain. I was still only a kid, but I had my country's flag draped over me and it was just awesome. Then when you reach an older age you get into Juniors, and then you're able to travel all over Europe for tournaments. Traveling throughout Europe also isn't super financially demanding, so I was thankful that it gave me the opportunity to travel and face European competition."
After his time in ITF Juniors was over with, Little then set his sight on where he was going to continue his tennis career after he graduated from the Ralph Allen School in London. There were plenty of options for Little both in Great Britain, and in the United States, but there was one University that stuck out to him the most.
"I came here on a visit after touring a couple different schools, and it blew me away," Little said. "Utah's facilities were amazing, Pac-12 tennis is extremely competitive and it was something that I wanted to be a part of. I really got along with the team when I came, and I got along with the coaches as well. Their program was great and it also included a schedule that was full of tough competition. It just seemed to be the perfect fit for me."
Attending the University of Utah in 2015 as a freshman, Little knew that it would be a big transition for him coming from a different country. Getting used to a new culture, new schooling system, and a different tennis schedule, was going to be one of the toughest adjustments that he had encountered in his life so far.
"Coming to Utah from Great Britain was a huge culture shock for me," he said. "It hit me more than I realized it would, and it took a while to get used to the whole American culture and American school system. The training for tennis threw me off a little too, you just jump straight into training in the morning and school right after. It's an everyday process that takes a while to get used to. The first few months I was definitely struggling to keep up with everything, but it was a good thing. Now I can look back at it and realize that it was a really good learning experience for me to be in a new culture."
Another tough thing that Little had to get used to was being so far away from home and his family. With all of his relatives living in Great Britain, Little had no family support system in the United States.
"It's definitely hard being so far away from home," he said. "It is tough, but nowadays we can talk through video chat and they can watch my matches through streaming. We're able to talk a lot, but it's still difficult to always be away from my family, especially since my whole family lives back in England. I think that they knew that it was the right decision for me and I don't think that they've ever regretted that. They're very supportive."
After adjusting to everything at the University of Utah during his freshman year, Little then flourished in the tennis program. During this past season as a junior, Little was a Pac-12 All-Conference honorable mention, as well as second-team Pac-12 All-Academic. Playing at Utah's number one singles position, he recorded 17 singles wins in dual action, winning 16 straight matches from January to March during last season. Being one of the main reasons for the Utes getting into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1997, Little would like to continue his success in the upcoming season.
"My expectations for this team are to improve upon last season, we don't want that to be our only season of reaching the NCAA's as a group," Little said. "We need to back that up, and we definitely have the players and talent to do that. Our main goal is to make the NCAA tournament easier than we did last year. As a player, my main goal is to help the team in any way possible, hopefully by doing that we will make the NCAA Tournament again this year."
With this past season being his best yet, and most successful with the Utes, Little is looking to make sure that he leaves a lasting impression on the program. As the spring season approaches, watch for Dan Little to continue to make his presence known in the Pac-12, and for the Utah Utes to try and make their second consecutive NCAA Tournament.
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Players Mentioned
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