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Men's Tennis
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1999-2000 Men's Tennis Season Outlook
12/6/1999 12:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Dec. 6, 1999
SALT LAKE CITY - The Utah men's tennis team is ready to toss the ball, lean back and ace its way to another successful season. Head coach F.D. Robbins, assistant coach Brad McIntosh, five returning lettermen and four newcomers team up for Utah's first season of a new millenium.
Utah's tennis tradition, one that brims with high hopes and success, carries the Utes into the new era. Utah is consistently competing for championships, at both the individual and team levels. Thirteen team conference championships have been awarded to the Utes, including seven in the eighties and one in the nineties. Five conference singles champions have been crowned at Utah, as well as five doubles conference champions. A legacy of topnotch tennis lays the groundwork for great expectations.
The Utes are coming off a challenging season that included many scintillating highlights. An 8-11 regular season record doesn't accurately measure Utah's success as a team last year. The Utes faced many top ranked schools, including Pac-10 powers Arizona, Arizona State, Southern California and No. 1 ranked Stanford. Some of Utah's biggest wins last year came from instate and conference rivals. Defeating Weber State, Utah State and splitting matches with BYU gave the Utes a 3-1 instate record in ?99. On an individual level, Ben Coates played at the No. 1 position all year and the team in singles wins, posting a 19-14 overall record. At the Rolex Region VII Intercollegiate, Coates advanced from a field of 128 players to the semi-finals, losing in a three-set thriller to Fresno State's Rob Cheyne, 7-6, 3-6, 3-6. Coates also advanced to the finals of the Boise State Invitational and the semifinals of the Fresno State Invitational. Newcomer Ashley Dyer, from Australia, provided more highlights by posting an 11-9 dual record and playing all his matches in the top three slots. Dyer proved to be an integral part of last year's team as he very ably filled in for injured senior Philippe Rodrigue during a two month stretch. Despite Rodrigue's injury, he still manage to tally 20 singles wins and combine with Coates for one of the most memorable doubles seasons in school history. The tandem earned a 20-4 overall record, an 8-2 dual record, the Region VII doubles title and a berth in the National Intercollegiate Championships. Coates and Rodrigue achieved the highest national ranking ever for a doubles team from Utah, at one point No. 8 in the nation. All of last year's accomplishments pave the way for the Utes to excel in 1999-00.
Robbins is filled with optimism as he prepares for his 14th year as head coach at Utah. "A lot depends on if we can get confidence going," states Robbins. "It is not dependent on any individual player." Team cohesion is one of Robbins' primary focal points for this year. He is insistent on the fact that a contribution from each player is integral for the Utes to have a successful season. "We definitely need contributions from everyone to have success as a team," says Robbins.
Robbins is especially excited about competing in the new Mountain West Conference. "We are excited about being in the new conference," comments Robbins. One advantage to playing in the new conference is the similar playing conditions at the six schools. "There are only six teams," he explains, "so five of the six years, the conference tournament will be played at some sort of altitude. No one really understands how hard it is to go from practicing all of the time at an elevation, then drop down to sea level. Before we played most of our matches outdoor at sea level, whereas we practice indoor and at an altitude."
Losing four seniors leaves the Utes with a very young team. "We have a pretty young team this year," admits Robbins. "Trevor (Ferguson) is our only senior. Kevin (Zenger) is a junior and everyone else is either a freshman or a sophomore." Robbins knows that much of this year's success is contingent upon the younger players progressing quickly. "We have a lot of potential on the team," he says. "If some of the young guys can step up, I think that we'll be right in the mix of things at the conference championships."
In light of his young team, Robbins is very pleased with the combination of players, and what each individual brings. Returning from last year's squad is Ashley Dyer, Patrick Wallebring, Nik Yip, Kevin Zenger and Trevor Ferguson. "We've got a great group of guys coming back," exclaims Robbins.
Dyer looks to assume the No. 1 singles position now that fellow Australian Ben Coates has gone the way of graduation. "Ashley is back after a great summer," says Robbins. "He is going to have a great year." Last year Dyer tallied an 11-9 overall mark after transferring to the U. in January and missing all of the preseason tournaments. Most of the year, he filled in at No. 2 for injured senior Philippe Rodrigue. Dyer was a stellar athlete in Australia, winning national doubles titles in ?96 and ?97, and being named to the all-Australian junior team.
Along with Dyer, Wallebring also transferred in January to Utah. "Patrik is playing very well right now and has improved a bunch," comments Robbins. Wallebring originates from Stockholm, Sweden, where his Team Viskjo placed second nationally in ?98. He was consistently ranked in the top ten in Stockholm and was once ranked as high as 27th nationally. Wallebring earned a 3-6 record in dual play and a 2-4 mark with various doubles partners last year.
Ferguson and Zenger are the only two upperclassmen on the team this year. "Trevor is our only senior and has the most match experience on the team," says Robbins. Ferguson played at No. 4 through most of last year and recorded a 11-20 overall record. Ferguson was all-conference at Weber State before coming to Utah after his sophomore year. Zenger, a Salt Lake City native, will be a junior this year. "Kevin is one of our two upperclassmen and has been with Utah longer than anyone on the team," says Robbins. "He will provide valuable team leadership." Zenger logged a 3-3 dual and a 5-6 doubles record last year.
Yip returns to Utah for his sophomore year and looks to improve upon his 4-11 overall singles mark from last season. "Nik was here last year, and we've worked a lot with him, so it's his turn to step it up," says Robbins.
Newcomers include David Mercier, Tyler Poulson and Kaisorn Chaichana. "I like the kind of games that the new guys play," smiles Robbins.
Mercier comes as a sophomore after one year of competition at Division II National Champion Lander University. "David transferred in from Landers and is a good player," says Robbins. "He is going to help us out a lot and is a very good doubles player." Mercier originates from Quebec, and replaces Rodrigue as the team's french speaker.
As a highly touted recruit from nearby Cottonwood High School, Poulson comes to the U. with a very impressive resume. He was ranked No. 1 in ?99 5A singles, and went on to win the Utah state singles championship. He never finished lower than fourth in the Intermountain Sectionals throughout his junior career. "Tyler has a really good game to play at No. 4,5 or 6," remarks Robbins. "He really just finds a way to win."
The last of the new recruits is Chaichana, from Sandy, Utah. He compiled a 61-2 singles record in high school and won two team state championships at West High School. "Kaisorn will help us to be stronger at the bottom of the lineup, which is where you win matches," says Robbins.
The new millenium is full of promise for a youthful Utah team that has immense potential. "One thing the players have to commit to is giving 110 percent and being intense in practice," states Robbins. "If everyone helps each other to come along and builds team confidence, this season should be exciting."
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