Wake Forest Athletics
2003-04 Men's Tennis Preview
9/12/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Sept. 12, 2003
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.-- The 2002-2003 Wake Forest Men's Tennis team finished the season ranked 30th in the nation with a 14-9 overall record. The Deacs placed fourth in the ACC with a 5-3 mark and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in Wake Forest history.
"It was the best season we've had in the history of the program," said head coach Jeff Zinn. "We got the farthest that we ever had in the NCAA's. That was our goal at the start of the season. To get through a round and preferably to the Sweet 16. The other goal was to win the conference and quite frankly, I thought we were the second best team in the conference behind Duke. Duke was obviously the top team by beating us three times last year but all three of those matches were extremely close. Looking back on the season I felt that with the talent level we had, we accomplished so much. I was pleased with the season that we had."
This year, the Demon Deacons return two seniors, including All-ACC selection David Loewenthal. Zinn enters his eighth season as the head coach of Wake Forest and is looking to improve on last season's impressive record.
"This year, the talent level has gotten a little better as it does each and every year. This year is an exciting one for the coaching staff because we feel on paper its the best team we've had in the eight years we've been here. This is where we want to take it to another level. That's what each year we're trying to do. We feel like this is a very fine, talented group of players," says Zinn.
Along with Loewenthal, the Deacs return Andrew Simpson, Derrick Spice, Brett Ross and Liron Strauss. Zinn is also enthusiastic about his new crop of freshmen which includes Joe Bates, Will Chewning, Andrew Hamar and Todd Paul.
"When you bring back your top two players, Loewenthal and Spice, that shows you that you still have a good upper half of the team," said Zinn. "We had a redshirt player last year, Strauss who is going to make an immediate impact on our team. Andrew Hamar is going to make an immediate impact on the team and so will Todd Paul. We feel really good about the talent level we've brought in to replace some of the seniors that graduated last year. I think that's what is so exciting to our coaching staff. We feel like we've reloaded very well."
The Deacs open up the fall season on September 19th when the travel to Athens, Georgia for the UGA Fall Intercollegiate Tournament. Wake Forest will then make a few more stops before finishing up the fall in Chapel Hill at the ITA Regionals.
During the spring season, Zinn and the Demon Deacons take on the always- dangerous ACC teams in addition to facing some talented non-conference competition.
"In the spring, I feel good about Miami coming in this year. It is always hard to get a Florida team out of Florida, so its good they're coming up to play us," Zinn said. "We always try to play the close by teams like Virginia Tech and South Carolina. Then we'll go up north to Michigan, Michigan State and Minnesota this year. We've played them the past two years when they've been a top ten team and we've beaten them, so we feel good about that."
Zinn and the Deacs have high expectations for the 2003-04 tennis season. "We're looking for a big year this year," said Zinn. "We can solidify ourselves in the Top 20. We got there last year but dropped out at the end of the year. This year, our goal is not only to get in the top 20, but stay in it throughout the season."
Players Mentioned
