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University Daily Kansan, August 18, 1983
Wolf to 'Go for it all' at KU 'Prize' recruit plans to integrate tennis, college
By JOHN UNREIN Sports Writer
Mike Wolf, this year's prize tennis recruit at the University of Kansas, says he is still having fun, despite facing the pressure of being one of the top 18-year-old tennis players in the United States.
UNITED STATES KU tennis coach Scott Perelman is glad Wolf will be having fun at KU for the next four years.
"it's exciting times for us right now." Perelman said of the KU tennis season, which begins next week.
Wolf won the 1983 Kansas 5A state championships during his first year of high school tennis, his senior year. Mononucleosis kept him from playing as a sophomore, and during his junior year he suffered a back injury from lifting weights.
"In my opinion, Mike Wolf has the potential to be one of the top collegiate players in the country," Perelman said.
TWO MONTHS after his state championship win, Wolf became the first person in the history of the National Sports Festival to win three gold medals in tennis.
Wolf said he had to spend a great deal
of time concentrating on tennis. He said he was just critical of those players who live and breathe the game.
"I take tennis a lot more light-heartedly than most," said the 5-foot-11, 180-pound left-hander. "A lot of other guys don't live like human beings off the court."
beheng said he listened to his Sony Walkman to relax while not playing tennis. His favorite groups are Yes and the Rolling Stones.
Wolf, a B average student at Blue Valley High School, plans to major in accounting, and hopes to follow in his father's footsteps and go to law school.
WOLF is a member of Sigma Chi fraternity, and said he would even have time at KU for his girlfriend of two years.
"In college, I'm really going to go for it all," he said. "I plan to study a lot harder than I did in high school, and I should still be able to play three or four hours of tennis a day."
"I'll definitely go pro sometime in tennis, probably after four years of college. I also plan to be at Wimbledon someday."
Wolf just might have a shot at Wimbledon; especially if his success of this summer is any indication.
Selected as one of the top 16 junior
players in the United States, Wolf captured the junior men's singles title at the National Sports Festival in Colorado Springs, Colo. He also teamed with others at the festival to win the junior doubles and mixed doubles competitions.
IN ADDITION, Wolf made it to the quarterfinals of the National Hard-court Tennis Tournament in San Francisco in July, and was the No. 15 seed at the Nationals two weeks ago in Kalaamazoo, Mich.
Wolf's only loss in California came to Pat McEnroe, younger brother of professional tennis star John McEnroe.
"It's definitely been a good summer for me. I will be ranked in the top 15 in the nation," Wolf said, referring to the national junior rankings, which come out in December.
So how does Wolf afford to spend his summers competing in tournaments across the country?
abrupts the committee.
"It's a big sacrifice on my parents, paying for as much as they do," Wolf said. "They've really helped me a lot.
said. "They've never said,
"The Missouri Valley section also helps me out, and I'm sponsored by Adidas as far as clothes and bags.
Everything I have on right now is free."
PROBABLY the biggest annual expense of all for Wolf, he said, would be the 16 tennis rackets he goes through a year. Fortunately, Wilson Sporting Goods, Wolf's other sponsor, supplies him with as many $250 rackets as he needs.
Wolf said one reason he signed with KU was to be close to his Stillwell, Kan., home. He said he was excited about college tennis.
"My game should improve just an incredible amount at KU," he said.
"Coach Perelman was the best prepared and most organized coach I met, and KU also promised to upgrade its schedule, including a spring trip to Southern California."
The KU tennis team will go on a five-day tour of California in March, Perelman said, playing three of the top 20 schools in the nation.
"The caliber of tennis in Southern California is so good, Mike is going to be able to play some of the best players in the nation," Perelman said.
"It really says a lot for him signing with us," Perelman said. KU finished fifth in the Big Eight in tennis last year. "He was the type of person who would come here, knowing we were going to have to build."
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