2006-07 Men's Tennis Season Preview

01/17/07 12:30PM

- The Tribe will look to regain the form that produced the 2005 Colonial Athletic Association Championship with a solid combination of experience and youth in 2006-07. W&M returns six letterwinners from the 2005-06 season, including its top two players in senior Colin O’Brien and junior Alex Cojanu. W&M has 66.9 percent of its overall singles victories from last season returning, including 70.7 percent of its dual match wins. The Tribe also adds a two-member freshman class, which ranked eighth in the Mid-major top-25 according to the Tennis Recruiting Network.

“My only expectations for the spring are the growth and development of each player,” head coach Peter Daub said. “We have some experience, and we have some youth and enthusiasm. However, matches basically come down to the mindset of players during competition. To borrow a phrase from undefeated Georgia, ‘Counting on everyone, waiting on no one,’ expresses the confidence I have in the players to prepare themselves for each match.”

The Tribe reached some impressive heights during the 2006 fall season. O’Brien and Cojanu knocked off six straight ACC foes on their way to claiming the ITA Mideast Region Championship. The victory garnered the Tribe duo a spot in the most exclusive of the three national championship events during the season. As one of 16 teams competing in the ITA National Indoor Championship in Columbus, Ohio, O’Brien and Cojanu went 2-2 at the event, including a victory over the No. 15 nationally ranked team. The pair advanced to the consolation finals of the event.

As a result of O’Brien and Cojanu playing at the National Indoor Championships, the other Tribe players had the chance to move up and play some stiffer competition at the Crowne Plaza Tribe Invitational. In its first home fall event in four years, W&M battled players the likes of ACC foes North Carolina State and Maryland as well a top-20 foe in Notre Dame.

“This fall has presented me with a picture of our team that has been unselfish, hard-working and committed to a structured and demanding conditioning program as well as each player’s personal on-court development,” Daub said. “This team has embodied the phrase ‘Love the process’ rather than complaining or not accepting the coaching demands put on them. They have seen results from their efforts, and that has pushed them even harder. I am exceptionally proud of their feedback and relationship with me during these demanding times.”

O’Brien was a First-Team All-CAA and VaSID All-State selection as a junior. He finished with a 19-17 record, playing almost exclusively at the No. 1 slot. In fact, 12 of its 17 defeats came to players ranked among the top 80 in the country.

Cojanu finished with 19 wins playing primarily at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. He moved into the No. 2 slot and finished the fall season with an 8-2 mark at the position. The Hallandale, Fla., native was 19-14 in singles and 24-12 in doubles. Cojanu was a Third-Team All-CAA selection in singles and a second-team honoree in doubles. He finished the 2006 fall season with seven victories, including a pair of ranked opponents.

Junior Kavi Sud also returns as upperclassmen for the Tribe in 2007. Sud finished last season with a 15-8 overall singles mark. He moved up to the No. 3 slot against George Mason and defeated Jay Friedman in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1. Sud went 5-3 playing at the No. 6 position. During the fall of 2006, Sud tallied five wins.

The sophomore trio of Dominic Pagon, Marwan Ramadan and Alex Zuck return for their second season with the Tribe. Pagon put together a 7-4 singles mark during the 2006 fall season after finishing with 11 wins as a rookie playing at the No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 positions. He also won 16 doubles matches during his freshman campaign.

Ramadan joined the Tribe prior to the 2006 spring season and finished the year with a 4-2 mark. The Alexandria, Va., native continued his solid play during the 2006 fall season. Ramadan finished with a 5-1 mark, including victories in his final four matches. Three of those final four wins came at the Crowne Plaza Tribe Invite

Zuck put together a solid rookie campaign, finishing as one of two Tribe players with 20-plus victories. He competed in 25 dual matches, racking up a 13-12 mark.

Freshmen Richard Wardell and Keziel Juneau are the Tribe’s pair of newcomers. Wardell was ranked No. 74 nationally by the Tennis Recruiting Network. The Fort Myers, Fla., native won five singles and six doubles matches during the 2006 fall season. Juneau was one of the top-ranked junior players in Canada in both singles and doubles. During the 2006 fall campaign, he finished with five singles victories.

The Tribe will continue to face some stiff competition in 2007 as the spring dual match season includes 13 teams that finished last season ranked among the ITA top 75. Included in that number are eight teams who were in the top 30. The list of 2006 ranked foes the Tribe will be facing in 2007 include: No. 2 Georgia, No. 8 Virginia, No. 14 VCU, No. 17 Notre Dame, No. 26 Louisville, No. 27 Boise State, No. 28 Wake Forest, No. 29 Rice, No. 33 Middle Tennessee State, No. 38 Michigan, No. 57 Old Dominion, No. 60 Oklahoma and No. 63 Brown. Richmond, Michigan, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Georgia, Boise State, Virginia, Rice, Middle Tennessee State, Brown, Louisville and VCU were the 12 teams to advance to the 2006 NCAA Tournament.

“The direction I have taken with our program is to give our student-athletes the most challenging schedule possible,” Daub said. “We have the attitude of playing anybody, any place, anytime. Over my 14 years, I have never focused on our win-loss record. My only ambition is to put us in a position to play in the NCAA Tournament at the end of the year, regardless of our record, and for us to be ready for that level of play. In order for us to do that, we must grow from each match, and overachieve when it comes to the learning process of playing opponents who may be more skilled.”

The College will have 14 dual matches in Williamsburg, including the first four dual-match contests of the season against Virginia (Jan. 24), Notre Dame (Jan. 27), Richmond (Jan. 28) and East Carolina (Jan. 28). W&M’s slated away matches are at Wake Forest (Feb. 3), at Georgia (Feb. 4), at Maryland (March 3) and at Louisville (March 11).

Along with the scheduled dual match affairs, the Tribe will compete in a pair of spring tournament during the latter weekends of March. W&M will play in the Blue-Grey Classic in Montgomery, Ala., March 15-18. The Tribe will also travel to the 46th annual Rice Invitational in Houston, Texas. William and Mary will play in the four-team round robin event and face Rice, Oklahoma and Middle Tennessee State.

“With the concept of personal growth that will lead to an NCAA bid, the foundation of this program is built on each person striving for excellence through a tremendous work ethic,” Daub said. “The win-loss record will be what it is, but it will not define us.”