WESTON, Fla., Sept. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Rising Tennis Star and University
of Miami Online High School (UMOHS) Senior Ryan Sweeting clinched the US Open
Junior Championship at Flushing Meadows, NY, two weeks ago, in a surprise
upset of reigning Wimbledon champ Jeremy Chardy of France. The 18-year-old
Sweeting, who will complete his senior year of online high school by the end
of this year, says his success on the court is due in part to the online
education he has been pursuing since his sophomore year. The unseeded Sweeting
defeated Chardy 6-4, 6-4 in the finals, which took place Sept. 11.
    "It would have been impossible to achieve the level of tennis I am at
currently without the flexibility [of UMOHS]," he explains.
    UMOHS, which opened its "portals" in 2002, provides an alternative
education delivery system for students, who complete their courses from
anywhere, any time - via the Internet. Sweeting enrolled as a sophomore at
UMOHS in 2004.  The tennis phenom's mom, Cindy Sweeting, says when the family
learned of the program at a tournament in Bradenton, Florida, several years
ago, they were impressed with the quality of the education offered in such an
unusual format.
    UMOHS was able to demonstrate, she says, that its program is geared toward
disciplined students who want to be both scholars and athletes. "The UMOHS
program is focused on preparing these kids for college study with the
flexibility that Ryan and other students in similar situations require to be
able to pursue their dreams," Cindy Sweeting says.
    Sweeting's tournament play as a member of the ITF's Junior Development
Touring Team, for example, takes him around the world as a matter of course.
He has played in four Grand Slam tournaments this year alone: the Australian
Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, as well as the Italian Open
in Milan, the Banana Bowl in Brazil and the Canadian Open in Montreal. All
courses at UMOHS are challenging and appropriate for disciplined and focused
students, while the advanced placement courses are geared toward high
achievers, school officials note.
    Toward that end, the Bahamas-born/Fort Lauderdale-based Sweeting will
enjoy the opportunity to parlay the winning combo of his tennis prowess and
his college-prep UMOHS education into a full scholarship at the University of
Florida to play for Coach Andy Jackson and the Gators. "I have planned to
start in January," Ryan says. "In the meantime, I will play futures and
challengers on the ATP circuit and train in San Antonio at John Roddick's
academy for the next month."
    "Ability and competitive spirit are the key, not just for elite athletes
in general, but for our students in particular," notes Howard Liebman,
Principal of the online high school.

    University of Miami Online High School (UMOHS) is a fully accredited,
college-prep high school serving grades 8 through 12. UMOHS is a leader in
providing high-quality, personalized online learning experiences to high
school students throughout the world. For more information, call
1-877-871-8163 or email info@umohs.org.

     Contact:

     Howard Liebman, Principal
     305-689-8639
     hliebman@umohs.org

    This release was issued through eReleases(TM).  For more information,
visit http://www.ereleases.com.

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