Wake Forest Athletics
2001-02 Season Review
7/15/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
July 15, 2002
17-5, 6-2 ACC (3rd)
ACC leading 4 all-conference selections
ACC Championship semifinals
2nd straight NCAA Tournament
Head Coach Jeff Zinn led the men's tennis team to one of its most successful seasons in the history of the program in 2002. Boasting six conference victories, tying for the most in program history, and 17 total wins, the Demon Deacons stormed through the regular season. After stumbling out the gate with a 4-3 loss at Virginia Tech, the Wake peeled off 13 straight wins, including a 5-2 victory over No. 15 Minnesota and a 4-3 win over No. 29 Georgia Tech. Wake Forest, a fixture in the national rankings all year, broke into the top 20 for the first-time in the program's history on March 27, when it reached 19th. After reaching the semifinals of the ACC Championships, the Demon Deacons earned an at-large invitation to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the program's history and second year in a row.
David Loewenthal, who played at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles all season, was the runner up in singles play last fall at the Regional Championships, qualifying for the Intercollegiate Indoor Championships - where he advanced to the quarterfinals. Picked high in the rankings the rest of the year, Loewenthal was ranked as high as 24th in singles and 27th in doubles (with partner Trent Brendon). He finished the season 31-14 in singles action and 26-10 in doubles. An automatic qualifier for the NCAA Singles Championship, he advanced to the second round before falling to the top-ranked and number one seeded Matias Boeker from Georgia in three sets. Loewenthal was the only one to take Boeker, the eventual National Champion, three sets during the NCAA Singles Championship.
Wake Forest's true freshman Derrick Spice surprised everyone by leading the team in singles wins with a school record shattering 36 victories, earning ACC Rookie of the Year honors. Switching from the No. 2 singles position to No. 3 midway through the dual season, Spice rattled off 10 straight victories en route to a 12-4 mark at the 3 spot. He partnered with Mike Murray in doubles play to total a sparkling record of 20-10, including a 7-1 mark against conference foes.
Murray earned ACC Player of the Week honors Feb. 18 after going undefeated in singles and doubles play in upset wins over No. 41 Virginia Commonwealth and No. 15 Minnesota. Justin Kaufmann was named the ACC Player of the Week March 19 after going undefeated in singles and doubles play in wins over No. 50 Purdue and No. 61 San Diego. Spice took home the honor the next week after capturing victories in singles and doubles play in ACC road victories over Virginia and Maryland.
Wake Forest led all conference teams with four All-ACC selections, as Loewenthal, Spice, David Bere and Trent Brendon all garnered the honors. Spice (No. 3), Bere (No. 2) and Brendon (No. 5) each won their respective flights in league singles play and Loewenthal was elected to the team by the conference coaches. It was the first time in the program's history that more than two Demon Deacons received all-conference honors in the same season. The Intercollegiate Tennis Association named fourth-year assistant coach Shawn Heinchon the Region II Assistant Coach of the Year.
Kaufmann, the lone senior in Wake Forest's starting lineup, moved all the way up into second place on the school career singles victories list with 84 wins and he finished sixth on the school career doubles victories list with 62. He went 24-12 in singles and 14-13 in doubles in his final season.
