Wake Forest Athletics
Men's Tennis Ranked 23rd In Preseason Poll
1/13/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Jan. 13, 2003
Wake Forest led the ACC last year with four all-conference selections. David Loewenthal, David Ber?, Derrick Spice and Trent Brendon each earned All-ACC honors and all four return this year for the Demon Deacons. Combine those four with seasoned senior Mike Murray, doubles weapon Andrew Simpson and fabulous freshman Brett Ross and Wake Forest has a recipe for success in 2003.
"It is the most promising season that we have ever had with four All-ACC performers coming back," said Wake Forest head coach Jeff Zinn, who begins his seventh year at the helm. "They were all very deserving of it and that makes the expectations and projections extremely high for us this year."
The Demon Deacons won 17 matches last year, returned to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season and third trip in the last five years, finished third in the ACC and cracked the top 20 in the national rankings. Picking up where they left off, Wake Forest won more individual matches this fall than ever before and the Deacs are ranked 23rd in the nation coming into this season.
"What every coach wants is to always see progression," Zinn explained. "That is what I have always believed in. You want to see that progression each year and once you bring your program into the top 25, which we are in now, the key is to aim for the top 10. We are never satisfied with the status quo. We do not want to drop out of the top 25, so we have to not only maintain the level we are at, but improve upon it. Consistently having your name out there as a top 25 team year in and year out will then make recruiting a lot easier.
"We played in a bunch of tournaments this fall and we want our guys to be sharp at all times. As a collective group we won more matches than we have ever had in the fall. Hopefully that is a precursor for the coming spring. You always have to worry about injuries, but we should be a good club. We have put in the hard work. I am never one to downplay. If we are good, I am going to say we are good. It is so important for the guys to believe in themselves." Getting after it on the tennis courts is not the only place the Demon Deacons have been hard at work this fall. Wake Forest has logged some serious hours in the weight room and the results seem to be paying off.
"Fitness is a big thing this year," Zinn said. "We are doing a lot more fitness this year, in the weight room especially. Our guys are a lot stronger and it really seems to be helping." Advancing to the semifinals of the ACC Championship the last two years, Wake Forest has set its sights on the crown this year.
"If there ever was a year to make a run for the ACC Championship this is it," Zinn said. "We have such a great senior class with Mike Murray, Trent Brendon, David Ber? and it is just a tremendous senior class. They deserve it. Everybody always asks me how we got this far, how we got this good so fast and I always say it is because of those three guys." It all started in the fall of 1999, when Ber?, Brendon and Murray arrived on the campus of Wake Forest. The Deacs had followed up the programs' first NCAA appearance in 1998 with a disappointing season and Zinn told these three freshmen what he expected from them.
"When they got here I brought them into the locker room together and sat them down. I told them - their freshmen year - that they were the future of this program. I said 'How we do rides on your shoulders. If Wake Forest is ever going to get out from the bottom tier of the ACC, it is going to be because of you guys'. And they did it. As a coach that is so rewarding to make a challenge and see them step up like that."
The program's most successful three-year class since 1988, this year's senior group will certainly leave Wake Forest with their names firmly etched in the record books. Ber?, Brendon and Murray are all within seven singles wins of breaking the 15-year old school record for career victories.
"They all have been leaders in some way," Zinn said. "At different points in their careers and in different matches we have counted on all of them at different times. All four of them have improved their games tremendously and I could not be more proud of them. That is why we are where we are today."
Returning number one doubles team David Loewenthal and Trent Brendon were tied for 50th in the preseason rankings. Mike Murray and Derrick Spice led the squad last spring with a 16-6 dual record including a 7-1 conference mark. Junior Andrew Simpson won seven doubles matches this fall and is playing well. New addition Brett Ross gives the Demon Deacons the versatility to stack all three doubles positions this year.
"We have the flexibility this year of changing our lineups around," Zinn said. "With our freshman, Brett Ross, who is one of, if not the best junior doubles player in the country, we have the flexibility of playing him with some different partners. We still have the old solid group of Trent Brendon and David Loewenthal. They are always going to be consistent and give us a good match. Andrew Simpson, who has not seen a lot of action these last two years, is going to play some more for us in doubles. We are going to get him in the mix a little bit and I feel good about that. We should win quite a few more doubles points this year just because we have more doubles players."
Even a stronger suit for Wake Forest may be its singles play.
"Again we have the flexibility of switching it around," Zinn said. "Mike Murray had a terrific fall. He's always been a consistent performer for us and we're really hoping he steps up big his senior year. Trent Brendon and David Ber? always give great effort and they are basically interchangeable. Derrick Spice has the potential to have the greatest spring. We are so lucky to have the options that we do."
Quietly leading the way is Loewenthal. Playing at the number one slot last year and collecting 31 wins, he qualified individually for the NCAA Singles Championship, where he advanced to the second round before falling to the top-ranked, one-seeded, eventual national champion in three sets. Only a junior, Loewenthal is a mere 19 wins away from breaking the career singles wins school record. He was ranked 28th in the preseason singles poll and won 14 matches in the fall.
"Having a great player like David Loewenthal is essential because he can carry the team on his back," Zinn said. "He was 14-6 last fall and had the quietest record this fall. You just do not realize he had so many wins. Even last spring we did not think he was playing as well as he could have, but he was winning all the time. That is the making of a great player - when he is winning and not even playing at his best and David does that a lot. We are hoping for some good things from him this spring."
Kicking off the season with two challenging tournaments for individual play in Hawaii and at home, the Demon Deacons will be met with some stiff competition playing against individuals from Texas A&M, Illinois and Oregon in Hawaii and some conference rivals at home in the ACC Indoors. Taking on regional foes East Tennessee State, Old Dominion and William & Mary at home in the early goings, Wake Forest will then host Michigan. Traveling to Richmond, Va., over Valentine's weekend, the Deacs will mix it up with perennial powerhouses VCU and Minnesota before playing at Brown the following weekend.
Home matches against Virginia Tech and Furman could be Wake Forest's outdoor debut and the team will travel to Arizona State over spring break for a match with the Sun Devils.The Demon Deacons will step out of conference play once more down the final stretch when they return to Columbia, S.C. to face South Carolina.
"We always try to choose teams within a certain ranking," Zinn said. "The ACC is going to be tough enough and then we always try to throw in an SEC match. We're playing South Carolina this year. I like to get one or two Big Ten matches on the schedule because they've got a big name and reputation. We've got Minnesota this year. Our players get excited about playing big name schools like that."
The 2003 chapter of the Wake Forest men's tennis book could be an exciting one. It has all the makings of a great season. The Demon Deacon fans should enjoy seeing this team play. Opponents might be weary of seeing all the familiar faces back again this year, with even more determined looks about them.
"If it all comes together, it should be pretty fun to watch," said Zinn, who cannot wait to get it started.
Players Mentioned
