Recruiting Profile
Merchant Finds Great Balance at Carnegie Mellon
by Rhiannon Potkey, 6 December 2024
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Rian Merchant always wanted to attend a college with strong academics. Last summer, he started to realize playing tennis could be part of the package as well.
Merchant experienced good results at national tournaments, where he was able to compete with some of the top players in the country.
Senior Rian Merchant Has Committed to Carnegie Mellon
© Bill Kallenberg
“I was like, ‘If I can hang with these guys, and I'm also very serious about my academics, I'd like to continue this in college,’” Merchant said. “It was really my results from last summer that convinced me, and just how much I enjoy playing the sport.”
The four-star senior from Duluth, Georgia recently committed to Carnegie Mellon University, a Division III college in Pittsburgh.
Merchant contacted Carnegie Mellon head coach Mike Belmonte last April, and Belmonte began tracking his results. Merchant made a visit to campus in August, and was excited about everything the school had to offer.
“I saw the athletic facilities and I was very shocked. There’s a stereotype that Division III athletics aren’t as serious about their athletes, but I honestly felt the complete opposite at Carnegie Mellon,” Merchant said. “They have a team that is specifically for sweat analysis. They have nutritionists on board. They have very strong player support for the mental and physical game. I was very impressed by how serious they take their athletics.”
Merchants plans to study business at Carnegie Mellon. He is considering starting his own business or pursuing a career in investment banking or real estate.
Merchant has been managing his own stock portfolio for the last two years and has his own multi-purpose reselling LLC that he’s been working on for the last several years.
His dad started his own staffing firm and has included Merchant and his older brother in some of the industry activities.
“He's been quizzing us for the last several years about simple business terminology. We’ve eavesdropped on his business calls, so we've always been interested in his business and we've always been learning from him,” Merchant said. “That is what kind of inspired me to start my own business.”
Merchant participated in several sports as a child, including swimming, basketball, baseball and track. He played basketball until the seventh grade, when he didn’t make his middle school team.
“That really upset me, so I signed up for a tennis tournament that weekend because a buddy told me to. That actually went awfully well,” said Merchant, who was learning the rules during the tournament. “I am a very result-driven person, so when I saw this immediate success I decided to pursue it. I started playing recreationally a lot more in my neighborhood with my dad and brother.”
As Merchant became more serious about tennis, he sought out higher-level teaching and competition. He trains three hours a day, balancing tennis with his rigorous academic course load at The Westminster Schools in Atlanta, Georgia.
“Others in the tennis community had the upper hand as they could train while I often found myself memorizing physics formulas or reading my English book minutes before practice or between matches at tournaments,” Merchant said. “My inherent desire to succeed in school has brought its challenges. I brought my own customized lunches, rich in protein and carbs, and supplements in my gallon-sized water bottle, which often sparked curiosity from classmates.”
By pursuing both academics and tennis with the same intensity, Merchant discovered he doesn’t have to choose between the two. He knows he will find teammates with similar backgrounds once he arrives at Carnegie Mellon.
“I learned that the key to managing both was nurturing relationships with friends and family, who provided solace amid the pressures. While expressing my frustration, they encouraged me to embrace my unconventionality and transform it into pride,” he said. “Their support incessantly reminded me I wasn’t alone in this journey, culminating in a transcendent and resilient high school experience. The ups and downs taught me to appreciate my individuality and disregard the need to fit into someone else’s mold.”
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About Rhiannon Potkey
Rhiannon Potkey is a veteran sportswriter with more than two
decades of experience in journalism. Potkey has covered many
sports at many levels and has a passion for finding great stories.
Potkey has covered the U.S. Open, junior sectional and national
events, college conference championships and Davis Cup matches.
Potkey is currently Content Strategist for Tennis Recruiting. You
can reach Rhiannon by email at
[email protected].
