Alma College Men’s Tennis Relies on Young Squad Entering 2007
Alma returns six of nine players from its 2006 team that finished fifth in the MIAA dual match and tournament standings and all six returners are sophomores at Alma College. Dan Fraser (Croswell/Croswell-Lexington) was the number two singles player last season and has worked hard throughout the off-season. Chris Noel (Wyandotte/Roosevelt) started at number three singles and Josh Sanders (Warren/Fitzgerald) at four singles last season. The three return with high hopes and some key MIAA experience behind them.
Fraser went 7-9 at the number two spot and held a 2-4 record in MIAA dual matches while Noel was 4-11 at three singles, going 1-4 in MIAA dual meets. Sanders saw time at both the four and five spot, going a combined 6-9 and 2-3 in the conference. “All three of them will really have to step up for us, both on and off the court, in order for this team to reach some of the lofty goals it has set,” notes Sandro. “With such a young team, we will have to count on some of our sophomores to step up and serve in those leadership roles left vacant by last year’s graduating seniors.”
In addition to losing seniors Tristan Wilson and Ryan Kelly, Alma is without the help of first team All-MIAA player Ahmet Demir. Demir continues his enrollment at Alma College and did not rejoin the team in 2007.
"Last year we had two seniors, seven freshmen and a first year head coach on this team. Those two seniors served a very important leadership role and set excellent examples for the younger guys to follow and helped me learn the ropes in my first collegiate season,” recalls Sandro. The role of team captain goes to the Scot who emerges as the natural leader in everything but title. Sandro and his Scots will not select a captain for the 2007 season with six sophomore and four freshmen on the roster.
“We’ll wait and see who become the team leaders this season and then let the team decide who should be captains for next year,” states Sandro.
The 2007 team is characterized by its commitment and drive to improve upon last year’s success and continue to move men’s tennis at Alma College forward. After finishing 5-8 overall and 2-4 in the league last season, the Scots enjoyed their most wins since at least 2003 and recorded more points at the MIAA Championships than any Scot team since 2002. Alma’s best finish in modern history came with a third place final standing in 2001.
“What is great about this group of guys is that they are all driven,” says Sandro. “They come to practice every day with a good attitude, ready to work hard, have fun and improve their overall game on a daily basis. They are a tight-knit group and that helps because not only are they working hard to improve their own game, but they want to see their teammates improve as well.”
The Scots play a competitive schedule in 2007, opening this weekend (Feb. 3) with matches in Indiana against Wabash and Huntington Colleges, respectively. The Scots host Grand Rapids Community College on Feb. 10 to open the home portion of the schedule before opening MIAA play against Kalamazoo College at the Stone Recreation Center on Feb. 17. The Scots take a four-day trip to Ohio over Alma’s spring break to face Tiffin, Heidelberg, Wilmington and Otterbein before returning home to host Indiana Tech and Manchester College prior to entering the bulk of the 2007 tilt.
“I was hired late in the fall of 2005 and had to rush to find teams that still had some openings on their schedule and as a result we ended up playing a few Division II teams and club teams in order to fill our schedule,” relates Sandro. “This year, I looked out of state a little more than usual, trying to find more Division III teams that we could compete with. Outside of the MIAA, our Division III opponents in Michigan are limited and as a result we do quite a bit of traveling this season – and we will play a lot of teams that we match up with very well. It will be excellent preparation for our team to get ready for some of the challenges it will face in the MIAA conference.”
As a team, Sandro knows they have what it takes to continue the tradition set by last year’s team of constant improvement.
“I’m really excited about this team. We’re very young, so how quickly we can adapt to the competition level of collegiate tennis will be a big factor. With some of the sophomores having to step into leadership roles, it will be important that teammates continue to respect, encourage and support one another and I believe that will continue to be the case – this team really does get along extremely well and that is so important.”
The transition of sophomores into leadership roles and the contributions of freshmen will be key to success for the Maroon and Cream, but perhaps 2007 is the season that youth is served.
Posted: Wed, January 31st, 2007 at 9:58PM
