18B
Wednesday, August 16, 1995
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Tennis teams look to ace season
Strong nucleus of players with new talent continues tradition of excellence
By Dan Geiston
Kansan sportswriter
The definition of a successful sports program can be found in Kansas' tennis program.
Both the men and women's team have risen to prominence in the 1990s with seven Big Eight championships between them, and neither team shows signs of slowing down as the talent players continue to arrive.
The women have won five consecutive Big Eight championships — a Kansas record — and have had nine All-American players in the past six years.
They also have Chuck Merzbacher, a five-time coach of the year who guided the team to the best season in school's history and the NCAA Tournament. Last year, the team finished sixteenth in the country and compiled a 17-11 record.
What more could a team want? How about a Big 12 championship? Although Big 12 play is still a year away, fourth-year KU coach Chuck Merzbacher is already thinking about how well his team could do next year.
"We're looking forward to the next two years of this team," Merzbacher said. "We're only losing one player in that span, and we have a strong and talented nucleus of players that should really be able to keep going what he here."
Two of the strongest players in that nucleus are junior Jenny Atkerson and sophomore Christie Sim.
"What I like about them is their styles of play." Merzbachaer said. "They're not set on one way of
playing. They're always willing to try different things if it will make them better. They're very competitive."
It was that same competitive spirit that made Nora Koves, who graduated in May, a two-time All-American and NCAA doubles champion. Her loss might be too much to overcome for most teams, but Merzbacher believes the team will overcome it.
"Everybody is going to have to pick up the slack," Merzbacher said. "She made the team better and helped everyone out, but we'll move on."
Kansas will move on with two newcomers who are expected to make immediate contributions. A transfer from North Carolina State, who can't be named because of NCAA regulations about transfer students, has the talent to take over the number one singles slot, Menzhacher said.
Merzbacher also expects good things from freshman Kris Sell, who finished in the top 15 nationally of players 18 and younger.
Juniors Amy Trytek and Kim Webster bring experience and consistent winning to the team. Webster was 16th nationally in doubles last year with Koves.
Merzbacher said he spent the summer defining goals and setting the program up for success for years to come.
"This is going to be a great year," Merzbacher said. "We've set our sights high and we intend on reaching them."
But don't think that 1994 Big Eight Men's head coach of the year Michael Center is ready to relax. Center, who is entering his fourth season, is ready to guide the team to the upper echelon of programs in the country and further establish Kansas as a national powerhouse.
The men's team has been able to reach their goals as well. The 1994-95 season produced a Big Eight championship, a regional championship, advancement to the NCAA Tournament and one player designated All-American.
"We have a lot to be proud about, but there's still more to be done." Center said. "Obviously, we are always looking for ways to get better and become more team-orientated."
Kansas returns eight men from their 19-8 squad along with two new recruits.
Leading the way is sophomore Enrique Abaroa, who plays number one singles. Abaroa finished the year as the highest-ranking singles player in the Big Eight and was Kansas' first All-American since Bill Clarke in 1977.
"To have a year underneath his belt will make Enrique such a better player," Center said. "We're looking for better things out of Enrique and I feel he's capable of delivering." Also returning are seniors Victor Fimbres and Michael Isroff. Last season, Finbres teamed with former player Manny Ortiz to win the Ball State invitational doubles crown. Isroff and former player Reid Slattery captured the doubles championship at the Rolex Region V Championships in Dallas.
In the tradition of players such as Abaroa and Fimbres, Center has recruited yet another star of the Mexican scene. Louis Eribe is the most highly prized of the new recruits.
"I think he can step in and help us right away," Center said. "He's got the tools and he's world-ranked."
Aside from the two graduating seniors, Oritz and Martin Eriksson, the team also lost Slattery and junior Tim Radogna. The losses leaves a problem with depth of experience.
"Our depth is adequate, but it's not quite as deep as last year," Center said. But he said that this was his most talented team at Kansas, and he hopes the team can crack the top 10.
Seles' father inspired tennis star's comeback
The key to that, he said, was playing as a team.
The key to that, he said, was playing as a team. "Last year, we were as high as twelfth in the country, but I never felt like we clicked," Center said. "I want to have a close, team-orientated environment, and I feel like we will have that this year."
The Associated Press
TORONTO — All the practice is over. The exhibition comeback event is done. Monica Seles played her first competitive tennis match in 21/2 years last night, facing Kimberly Po at the Canadian Open.
Seles, co-ranked No. 1 in the world with Steffi Graf, did not expect particularly great tennis from herself. It had been a long time since she was in a match that counted.
"I need to get some matches under my belt," said Seles, who is using this event as a tuneup for the U.S. Open, which starts in two weeks. "I know this will be so watched and I will do my best. But I have not been in these surroundings in 21/2 years."
Seles left tennis when she was stabbed by a deranged Steffi Graf
fan at Hamburg on April 30, 1993. She has battled some tough demons since then, fighting off the mental scars of that episode.
And, she said, she's had plenty of help.
There was Martina Navratilova, visiting her in Florida, hitting with her, reassuring her that her strokes are still there. There were Olympic champion Jackie Joyner Kersee and her husband, coach Bob Kersee, running with her, working on her stamina.
And most of all, there was her father. Karoli.
She watched him fight off cancer, stunning surgeons by walking shortly after a four-hour operation. "After that, I told myself, I had to try," she said.
So now she tries — two inches
taller at 5 foot 101/2 and equipped with a different perspective on her sport.
"After I was stabbed, I live every day as if it was the last," Sesla said. "I try to do what I want to do and whatever happens, happens.
"I decided I was going to play tennis, calm down and have fun. I've always been strong mentally, able to block out everything but the racket and the ball," she said.
She also has to block out crowds, and she didn't know how she would handle that situation, although she was encouraged when, in her first public appearance since the stabbing, she was embraced by medal winners at the Special Olympics last month in New Haven. "When they hugged me, I knew it would be all right," she said.
Seles spent Monday catching up with her old pals from the WTA Tour. "It was a little welcome back," she said. "It was very nice, great to see them all again. So many things have changed."
Meanwhile, Po, a lucky loser who got into the tournament field only when Mary Joe Fernandez pulled out, ended a personal 11-match losing streak with her first victory of the year, defeating Renae Stubbs 6-4, 6-1. Her reward? A date with Seles at Center Court.
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"I had no idea," Po said. "I hadn't looked at the draw."
In their only previous meeting,
Seles defeated Po 6-1, 6-2 at Chicago
in 1993. "It wasn't too bad," Po
recalled. "I mean we had some rallies. I just obviously didn't win most of them."
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