Baylor Tennis 2001 Preview
1/22/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Jan. 22, 2001
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.
For Baylor women's tennis coach Dave Luedtke, the start of the 2001 season is going to be pretty much cut and dried. He has a powerhouse array of Lady Bears returning from last year's Big 12 runnerup entry. Given just a bit of improvement in his netters in their experience and maturity and Luedtke could have a team capable of reaching high in the Top 25 national rankings.
Such is the talent and respect that seniors Jahnavi Parekh and Karin Andersson, juniors Katja Kovac, Frida Borjesson and Paola Stephen and sophomore Vida Mulec and Monica Gonzalez bring to the court. Nor can the presence of Alison Bradley be overlooked.
No one doubts the 2001 Lady Bears are loaded.
And no one doubts the 2001 Baylor men's team must be rebuilt.
Following a sensational three-year run, coach Matt Knoll's Bears ran afoul of the cap and gown rule. Four of his standouts -- No. 1 Johann Jooste, No. 2 David Hodge, No. 3 Pawel Gajdzik and No. 5 Johannes Michalsky -- graduated.
COMPOUNDING KNOLL'S woes, his bright and shining freshman star of last season, Zoltan Papp, lamed a knee in summer play in his native Hungary last summer and has not fully recovered, although Knoll said last week that Papp probably will play this spring, his slight limp notwithstanding. At full speed, Papp would have been a strong candidate for the No. 1 position.
To further complicate matters, fine freshman Chip Webb, a Tennessee product, was forced to withdraw from Baylor last week because of a family matter. "Chip's father had developed a severe health problem, leaving the burden of running the family business on his mother, and Chip has gone home to help, as he should," Knoll told the Insider.
"His departure is a genuine loss. He had fully recovered from his wrist injury of last fall and would have been a really, really strong No. 5 for us."
Be that as it may, the coach is not throwing in any towels. He is convinced the 2001 Bears can be highly competitive, one of the Big 12's top five teams (Texas A&M, Texas, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech would be the other four, with the Aggies a heavy favorite not only to win the Big 12 but also to make a strong run at the national title).
KNOLL'S REASONS: the return of fine senior Mark Williams (No. 6 singles player last year, where he was a consistent winner, and also a top doubles player), talented sophomore Sean O'Connor, highly competitive and talented freshman Reiner Neurohr, experienced senior Csongor Bibza and highly-improved freshman Cory Ross.
Those will be the nucleus, at least at the start.
Last week, that nucleus got a lot stronger. Knoll announced the midterm additions of Nathan McGregor and Matias Marin to his team. Both are true freshmen, both have impressive credentials, and both are eligible immediately.
McGregor, 19, is from St. Peter's College in MacArthur, Australia, where he ranked among the top 10 players in Australia for his age group. He was No. 1 in his state and undefeated at No. 1 singles playing for his state in Australia's prestigious Pizzey Cup. He was state champion in both singles and doubles.
"Nathan is a big strong kid, 6-1 and about 205, has a big serve, a big game. He's very aggressive, hits a very penetrating ball. He has maybe a better serve than Jooste had, he comes right at you. He's going to help us," Knoll told the Insider.
Marin, 18, is from Rosario, Argentina. He ranked No. 1 in that country for the 18-and-under age group, and ranked in the top 50 in the world in the ITF ranking for juniors.
"MATIS IS JUST OUT of high school, a clay court guy, small, very quick, very agile, very fast," reported Knoll. "He volleys very well and he's really good around the net. He doesn't have a big serve -- we'll have to work on that -- but he has very good ground strokes. He's proving to be a better athlete than I expected. He'll help us in doubles and compete for a spot in singles."
Knoll said he goes into the season expecting Williams, Bibza and Neurohr to compete for the No. 1 singles spot, but O'Connor and Papp are also sure to be in the singles lineup somewhere, and he will be surprised if McGregor and Matis don't also compete strongly for spots. As for Cory Ross, don't count him out, said Knoll.
"CORY IS REALLY coming on," he said of the freshman from Colorado. "He runs very well and he outworked everyone on the team during the holidays. He's very steady, has a good backhand, he's very much improved."
Is Knoll discouraged overall? "Not at all," he said. "I call it our Year of Opportunity. We'll be playing the toughest schedule we've ever had. Three or four Top 10 teams will be coming to Waco -- Duke, Pepperdine, Fresno State, Texas A&M. So many tough matches.
"This is going to be a good team, it really is. It's just not a proven team. I think by May we'll be real good, just maybe not that good in January."
Following a series of non-conference matches, the Bears will begin Big 12 play on Feb. 23 against Nebraska at Lincoln.
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.
