Jan. 21, 2010
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico men’s tennis team will open its spring campaign on Saturday, Jan. 23, hosting No. 58 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at the Linda Estes Tennis Center in Albuquerque. The Lobos check in at No. 49 in the first ITA polls released Jan. 5, 2010.
It will be the first match of the season for both squads. UNM holds a 3-0 record all-time over the Islanders, including a 4-2 win in 2009. TAMCC finished 2009 14-9 and with a ranking of 56th. Like UNM, they lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, a 4-0 defeat to then-ranked No. 24 Arizona.
The match is also a United States Tennis Association (USTA) Campus Kids’ Day, which is designed to expose more junior players (and their parents and coaches) to college tennis. Local and state junior tennis players are encouraged to attend Saturday’s match, which will include free food and the opportunity to interact with the team.
2010 Outlook
What the University of New Mexico men’s tennis team lacks in experience, it hopes to make up for in talent. The Lobos, coming off an NCAA Tournament season, return five players, however, just one is an upperclassmen in junior Joe Wood. Still, the Lobos garnered two top junior prospects and welcome back four sophomores, three of which saw plenty of playing time in 2009.
The Lobos checked in at No. 49 in the Jan. 5, 2010 ITA polls after finishing 2009 at No. 46. The 2008-09 squad finished 20-6, won the Mountain West Conference tournament, and earned its first NCAA team bid since 2004. New Mexico lost MWC Player of the Year Johnny Parkes, and All-MWC honorees Miles Bugby and Graeme Kassautzki, the top three spots in its singles lineup who produced a combined spring record of 53-16.
Still, head coach Alan Dils, embarking on his 14th season, sees plenty of potential in the corps of players in tact for 2010. Dils was impressed with his teams showing in four fall events in 2009 in preparation for the dual season. Four players compiled a 9-4 record and the Lobos went 51-32 in fall singles overall. In doubles, the Lobos were 19-10 with Jadon Phillips and Ben Dunbar leading the way with a 7-1 mark as a tandem.
“We have had very experienced teams, which is always a tough thing to replace. We knew we would be young,” Dils said. “We have a good system in place in how to learn, how to act, how to improve, what we expect. It is all out there. Especially with the freshmen coming in, they have learned how to act on a tennis court. They have learned the intensity to play day in and day out at this level. In 20 years coaching, this group of guys has improved the most in a three-month period than any team I have ever seen. “
Junior Joe Wood saw little singles action last season, appearing in just two singles matches with a 1-1 record. Wood, however, teamed up with Kassautzki to compile a 21-9 doubles mark, 17-6 in the spring, and 6-0 in the MWC. Wood went 9-4 in singles this fall and Dils looks to add him to the singles lineup.
“Joe has never had problems being ready to be in a match to play,” Dils said. “I think he is going to pick it up in singles this year. I think he will be playing a lot, if not all, the matches.”
The strongest sophomore returning will be Carl Ho, who went 11-3 during his freshman fall, but did not see action in the singles lineup until the latter half of the 2009 season. Ho, dubbed “the quiet assassin” by Dils, seized the opportunity with a 10-2 mark, including a perfect 9-0 record at the No. 6 position to end the season. Ho, who has won the Balloon Fiesta Fall Invite the past two years, went 9-4 this fall. Ho was also inserted late into the doubles lineup last season, going just 2-4, but has a 12-5 fall record over the course of two seasons with Phil Anderson, who he will likely pair up with this spring.
“Of all the guys who have improved over the summer and fall, Carl may be the top. Anybody who plays Carl knows that it is going to be a really, really long day. He has already gained respect within our region.”
Anderson checks in as the next strongest sophomore, having been a regular in the singles lineup for the Lobos in 2009 going 12-10. The Nova Scotia, Canada product went 7-3 at the No. 6 position, but faltered in MWC play finishing with a 1-5 record. Anderson saw just three doubles matches.
“Over the summer he developed a desire to not just be good, but be the absolute best he can be. His potential is astounding and he is climbing fast.”
Ben Dunbar rounds out the sophomores who saw spring action last season. Dunbar went 9-11 on the singles scene after not seeing any action in the fall of 2008. He played all his matches at the No. 4 or 5 position while also going 12-8 in doubles play with three different partners. Dunbar looks to have found his doubles cohort in Phillips as the two went 7-1 this fall, ending with a three-match win streak.
“Ben has learned a lot especially over last year. I expect him to play in the top half of the lineup somewhere.”
Sophomore Matt Neeld was out of the Lobos’ fall lineup in the spring last season, but looks to jump into the mix this season. Neeld went 1-6 in fall singles, but several of the matches were pushed to the very end. Neeld’s fall record from 2008 is 4-6, and he hopes to edge his way into the lineup.
“This year it is more about learning how to win. Early matches have shown that he gets to the point of winning and struggles to finish things off. I am very happy how he has improved technically and how he has worked.”
New Lobos Jadon Phillips and Conor Berg will undoubtedly be present in the Lobos’ lineup. The two combined for a 17-8 singles record this fall and come into New Mexico with strong prep backgrounds. Phillips, out of Macon, Ga., won the 2008 ATP Gator Bowl Junior Tennis Championship, defeating two top-10 U.S. juniors in the semifinals and finals and is a three-time National Open Champion (Boys 14, Boys 16 and Boys 18 in Macon). He also defeated 85th-ranked (preseason) Texas’ Atila Buck of Texas, 6-2, 6-2 in consolation action at the Midland Collegiate Invite. Phillips, a blue-chip recruit, finished ranked 40th in the nation in the boys’ class of 2009 after being ranked as high as 10th during 2009.
Berg comes to UNM from Tamiscal High School in southern California where he lost just one match in his four years on the tennis squad. His high school team was Marin County Athletic League champions all four years. He finished 2009 ranked 81st nationally in the boys’ class of 2009 and was listed as a four-star recruit. Berg won the “B” flight of the UNM Balloon Fiesta Invite this spring and finished with an overall singles record of 8-5 and doubles mark of 4-4.
“We have only scratched the surface with Jadon. He has lots of potential and is learning so fast. I expect him in the top half of the lineup somewhere. Conor has made huge improvements in just a couple of months. He is kind of a diamond in the rough. He is going to explode potential-wise. Both Jadon and Conor are ahead of the curve. Both are real smart and above average for freshman.”
Evan Corona-Saunders, another newcomer from Houston, Texas, will redshirt for the Lobos this season.
Facing the young Lobos is a powerful schedule that includes 15 out of 21 opponents ranked in the ITA Top 75 as released on Jan. 5, 2010, with 10 teams holding a better ranking than the 49th spot held by the Lobos. In addition, six of the seven MWC men’s teams are ranked. New Mexico has gone 14-3 at home the past two seasons.
In just the second match of the season, the Lobos will face third-ranked Ohio State at the ITA Indoor Expansion Event. The Buckeyes were NCAA Championship runner-ups in 2009. New Mexico also faces its foe from the NCAA Tournament last year in Minnesota, who ousted the Lobos in the first round 4-0. New Mexico hosts nine matches, opening the season with No. 58 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Jan. 23. UNM will host three straight matches in February before hitting the road for nearly a month with seven matches, including Minnesota, Washington, Fresno State and Texas Tech. The Lobos will return home with five of their next eight matches in Albuquerque, including three MWC contests against Utah, BYU, and TCU while also hosting Boise State. This year’s MWC tournament is in Las Vegas, Nev., from April 29-May 1.
2008-09 Season Recap Quick Hits
20-6 finish, second season with 20 wins
Best winning percentage since the 1984 season
Best start through 17 matches (15-2) since 1984
Ranked in the Top 45 nationally all season, including at No. 32, and finished at No.49
Won three matches to clinch the Mountain West Conference tournament championship
First NCAA team appearance since 2004 and 11th overall; Lost to Minnesota, 4-0, in the opening round
Johnny Parkes: MWC Player of the Year, ITA Regional Senior of the Year; 1-1 at the NCAA Singles Championship; finished career with all-time mark of 97-42, most singles wins by a Lobo
Head coach Alan Dils earned the MWC Coach of the Year and ITA Mountain Region Coach of the Year honors
Parkes and Graeme Kassautzki made All-MWC singles team; Parkes and Miles Bugby made All-MWC doubles
Serving Up A Cure
The University of New Mexico men’s and women’s tennis teams are partnering up with the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association (ALSA) to help in the fight against ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. The tennis teams will begin a season-long campaign, Serving Up A Cure, this weekend to help raise money for ALS research.
Serving Up A Cure will allow people to get involved in a couple of different ways. Donors can pledge money per match or per set won for either the men’s or women’s tennis teams. Forms to make donations and instructions for submitting them can be found at GOLOBOS.com on either the men’s or women’s tennis page. All donations will be coordinated by women’s tennis head coach Roy Cañada.
ALS affects adults of all ages, sexes and races. Every 90 minutes someone is diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease and every 90 minutes someone dies from this disease. There is no known cause or cure and the cost for an ALS patient is $200,000 per year.
Please help the men’s and women’s tennis teams fight against ALS. For more information contact Roy Cañada at rcanada@unm.edu or at 925-5780.