Tennis Programs On the Rise
8/14/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Aug. 14, 2000
Editor's Note: Articles such as this one by Dave Campbell appear in each edition of the Baylor Bear Insider Report, available upon membership in the Baylor Bear Foundation. For information on joining the Bear Foundation, click here.
Take a short drive on Waco's South University Parks Drive these days, arrive at a point just southeast of the Baylor marina and then permit yourself a quick glance or two toward the Brazos River, toward that area known as the Jim and Julie Turner Riverfront Athletic Complex where the new Baylor Ballpark and Getterman Stadium now rise in all their splendor.
And what you will see is a big hole in the ground.
I mean, this is no small hole, which means you may have difficulty believing that what you are seeing is the long-anticipated start of construction on Baylor's fancy new state-of-the-art tennis complex.
When Phase One of construction is complete, late next winter or early spring, Baylor will have six new varsity courts where the Bears and Lady Bears can take on all opponents, and Bears coach Matt Knoll and Lady Bears coach Dave Luedtke and new Baylor women's softball coach Glenn Moore and their assistants will have a nice building that will provide them offices and their teams new locker rooms.
"Because we host the Big 12 men's and women's tennis tournaments next spring, we anticipate completion of phase one of this project -- six new varsity courts and offices and locker room facilities for tennis and softball -- by next April at the latest," said Baylor athletic director Tom Stanton.
"And no question, we feel a facility of this type will help us in our ability to acquire top student-athletes for those programs."
Those tennis programs already have a blue-ribbon look. Knoll's Bears won the school's first-ever conference championship last spring and for the second year in a row won their way to the NCAA championship tournament in Athens, Ga. Luedtke's Lady Bears advanced to the NCAA regionals after finishing second in the Big 12.
So the goal is for those programs now to move onward and upward. And to get there you begin by digging a big hole in the ground?
Oh, but these new courts are going to be recessed six or eight feet below the surface of the surrounding land, thus providing excellent viewing possibilities for more than 1,200 spectators, and there will be room between the recessed courts and the office-locker room building for quite a bit more prime seating.
"This (the start of construction) really gives us a lift," said Knoll. "I think the new facilities will help our tennis program immeasurably. I think we'll be able to compete for players we haven't been able to recruit heretofore. Some of them have been turned off by the facilities we've had (the Streich courts)."
Said Lady Bears coach Luedtke: "To see that digging get started might have been the most exciting day of my life. Now a recruit can come in here and not have to go on just hope. This is something they can see for themselves."
Equally enthused was Dr. Scott Livesay, chairman of the Big 12 Tennis Committee for Waco's Big 12 Task Force. Said Livesay: "Our new tennis complex at Baylor will be a dream come true for many who have envisioned our school as a (continuing) national power in the collegiate sport of tennis. All past efforts have not gone in vain as Baylor's president, regents and athletic director have now made a long-term commitment.
"Now only the sky is the limit, and we are truly excited about the future of Baylor tennis with these indoor and outdoor facilities that will be 'second-to-none' across the country."
The overall project, which is pegged as a $6 million endeavor, will be built in four phases. Phase one, currently underway, will provide the new office-locker room building and the six recessed varsity courts. Phase two, which Stanton hopes can follow swiftly on the heels of Phase One, will involve building a three-court "Center Court Complex" where championship matches and high-grade exhibitions can be played, with ample seating on all sides.
"I will continue to make fundraising calls involving the Second Phase in hopes of acquiring the $700,000 in gifts and pledges we need so that work also can be completed on that phase in time for the Big 12 Championships," said Stanton.
The Third Phase of the project will involve building six indoor courts, and the Fourth Phase will center on redesign and expansion of the Streich Complex. Hopefully, said Stanton, all the money can be secured so that work can be continuous until the project is completed.
Meanwhile, Knoll and Luedtke will look toward a fall campaign (four tournaments) which should provide a revealing and up-to-date view of what can be expected from the Bears and Lady Bears next spring.
Knoll faces a major rebuilding job after an historic three-year run, best in school history, which saw the Bears consistently become a team ranked in the Top Ten nationally and advance to the NCAA playoffs each year. Gone will be four mainstays of that golden run: No. 1 singles player Johann Jooste, No. 2 David Hodge, No. 3 Pawel Gajdzik and No. 5 Johannes Michalsky.
And also missing will be Knoll's No. 1 assistant, Kevin Kowalik, who during the summer was named the new men's head tennis coach at Wichita State. Although there have been no announcements, last spring's invaluable volunteer coach Sam Winterbotham is viewed as Kowalik's likely successor.
Returning to compete for key roles on this year's team are last spring's No. 4 singles player Zoltan Papp, No. 6 Mark Williams (but a top-rated doubles player), and top reserves Sean O'Connor and Csongor Bibza. Also arriving later this month will be signees Chip Webb of Chattanooga, Tenn., Cory Ross of Little, Colo., and Reiner Neurohr from Germany. However, Papp suffered a knee injury this summer that required surgery, and Knoll is counting him out of all fall competition.
The Baylor men's coach had hoped to bring in a highly-rated international recruit for the upcoming fall semester, and another next January (as he did Papp last January). But one of his top targets for this fall decided to turn pro, and he now says he probably will concentrate on bringing in two top prospects in January.
Meanwhile, he had to be cheered by the news that Cory Ross had led his Intermountain Boys 18 Intersectional Team to the 2000 Junior Davis Cup title this summer. After winning their first-round match 6-1 over the Southwest Section, Intermountain beat top-seed Florida, 4-3. In the semifinals, Ross' team beat New England, 5-2, and then beat Texas, 4-3, in sudden death in the finals.
For the tournament, Ross was 4-0 in singles (all straight set victories) and 3-1 in doubles competition.
While Knoll faces a rebuilding job, Luedtke will welcome a squad comprised of accomplished veterans -- No. 1 singles player (and nationally-ranked) Jahnavi Parekh, No. 2 Katja Kovac, No. 3 Vida Mulec, No. 4 Karin Andersson, and the netters who frequently played in the No. 5 and 6 spots (Frida Borjesson, Paola Stephen and Monica Gonzalez). Luedtke lost only one member of last spring's Big 12 runnerup: highly-competitive Claudia Aguilar.
"We return five of our top six players, including our top four," Luedtke told the INSIDER. "This will be the best I've ever had in returning quality, experience and numbers. If we can get Stephen and Gonzalez to compete like Aguilar did last spring, then you'll see some things happen. I think Stephen may be the most athletic member of the team. She is so very talented. Hopefully, we'll also see major strides from Mulec (a freshman last spring). In athleticism, speed and shot-making skills, the sky's the limit for her."
Like Knoll, Luedtke had hoped to sign one prospect for delivery this fall, but missed on his No. 1 target. "I just have the one scholarship remaining, and I'm thinking now that I'll save it for January," he said. "I want to make sure we're getting the right one, ideally a top three player."
Meanwhile, he will welcome a walk-on from Dallas Highland Park, Allison Bradley, who is "a very good team player, very competitive, and she has very good doubles skills."
Luedtke also is searching for a new top assistant. Sonia Schrieber, who filled that role last season, has resigned to join the staff of the Baylor Student Life Center.
Editor's Note: Articles such as this one by Dave Campbell appear in each edition of the Baylor Bear Insider Report, available upon membership in the Baylor Bear Foundation. For information on joining the Bear Foundation, click here.
