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Monday, April 11, 1988 / University Daily Kansan
SportsMonday
Tennis builds a winning team with good recruiting
Kansas director of tennis Perelman has taken the Jayhawk tennis program to new heights during his six-year stint in Lawrence.
Kansas freshman John Falbo was one of the most highly sought recruits in the nation in 1986
By Tom Stinson
Kansan sportswriter
There was no discipline, no equipment and no direction for the University of Kansas tennis program when Scott Pereman accepted the men's and women's coaching jobs in 1982. The Jayhawks had finished last in the Big Eight conference the previous year with a combined record of 15-20. But Pereman was just pleased to be the head of a program.
"Tennis had just been existing here since the 1960s," he said. "There was absolutely no respect for the program not only in the Big Eight, but at all other levels." He knew this, but at only 26, I had to feel fortunate to be a head coach."
Now, as the Kansas director of tennis and the men's coach, Perelan knows those days are past. The program is financed $35,000 to $45,000 annually Renovation of current facilities and a new indoor complex are in the works. The men won the Big Eight championship and qualified for the NCAA tournament last year.
Two successful recruiting years are keeping the future bright.
"My second year we recruited Mike Wolf. He set the tone for the other players. Their sights were set on us. They wanted to be as good as Wolf."
Blue chip recruiting
Wolf, now a student assistant coach under Perelman, holds the Kansas career record with 142 singles victories. He was the only Kansas player to qualify for four NCAA tournaments and he led the Jayhawks to last season's conference title.
He was ranked 23rd nationally for 18-year-olds by the United States Tennis Association when he signed with Kansas in 1983.
The exposure that Wolf brought to the program enabled Kansas to recruit national-caliber players such as freshman John Falbo and sophomores Chris Walker and Craig Wilde. Perelman said.
"Scott's recruiting is his strongest aspect," Wolf said. "When a guy visits Kansas, he senses a sincere person who will give 110 percent. That means a lot to a kid coming out of high school."
Walker and Wildey were both two-time high school All-Americans from Michigan as well as good friends. The two had decided to attend the same school.
Falbo is tied for 90th in the Volvo Tennis/Collegiate singles rankings and has been ranked in the top 40 with senior Larry Pascal in doubles.
Falbo was a three-time junior national champion and played for the United States Junior Davis Cup team last summer.
The doubles team of Walker and Wildey is ranked 34th and Walker has been ranked in the top 100 in singles.
The 11-7 Jayhawks have ranked as high as 22nd in the team poll this spring.
"A college team can't be great and just have one good recruiting year," said Perelman, a graduate of Ball State University where he also completed his master's degree in physical education. "You need three or four good ones in a row. We're on the verge of our third outstanding year."
The top four Jayhawk players — Falbo, Walker, Wildey and redshirt freshman Jeff Goss — are underclassmen. Kansas only has two seniors, Pascal and Reggie Hodges, with Pascal the only senior playing in the top six.
Selling the University as an academic and athletic package is important in Perelman's recruiting.
"Our biggest recruiting plus has been the campus visit," Perelman added. "We have an unbelievable success rate after that. We sell the people and their willingness to do everything to succeed. Coach Brown has been phenomenal with our kids. He takes an active role in our recruiting and adds an air of confidence to everything."
KU basketball coach Larry Brown was Perelman's best man when Perelman was married in 1986. The two have been close friends since Brown came to Kansas in 1983.
"It also became clear to me early on that I was better off to recruit the outstanding student-athlete than go after a marginal student and have eligibility problems later. In a small team sport like tennis, losing one person to ineligibility can be devastating." Perelman said.
Under Perelman, both the men's and women's teams have maintained above .50 in all eight athletes who completed their eligibility at Kansas have graduated.
"I believe there is a direct correlation between success in the classroom and success on the tennis court," Perelman said. "If someone can flunk a test in the morning and play great tennis in the afternoon."
Pascal, Walker and senior Marie Hibbard all earned a 4.0 GPA last spring, and Pascal was one of three University of Kansas finalists for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship.
Prepping for the pro circuit
"If a player is serious about turning pro, this is one of the best places in the country to come because of Coach Perelman and the way he's structured the program," the 18-year-old said. "I was physically ready to play pro, but I wasn't
Falcon came to Kansas rather than pursuing a professional tennis career because he wanted time to mature before competing on the pro circuit.
mentally mature enough. I would have done all right. But the mental toughness is what separates the great pros from the average ones. That's what I have to acquire."
Falbo, who was ranked in the top five in the world as a 16-year-old, said the next generation of dominant players was three to five years away.
"A lot of Americans are babied and aren't willing to work hard enough." Falbo said, "the foreigners are hungry and want it more. But, right now, we have the best players coming up in the younger ranks, so we'll be back. It's a cycle thing."
"And I think I'll be there. Within the next couple of years I'll go pro. I can't say how much time it will take. With our schedule as tough as it is, having a good match every weekend. This will prepare me for the pros."
Kansas plays eight top-25 squads this season, all on the road.
Perelman said, "The problem has to do with the American training system. The Europeans put more money into training their best athletes. They make everything available to them.
"America will be back, though. There's no doubt about it. We're in a transition period. There are great players in this country, but they're all in small towns across the country with their own coaches. The United States Tennis Association is putting together a top-torch junior development program that will put Americans on to forever."
Falbo said he does not set goals or time-limits for success. He just wants to reach his fullest potential, and will attend NCAA tournament or at Wimbledon.
Increased off-court training,
including aerobics and weightlifting,
has benefited Falbo's play this year.
He has won the national he mainly practiced on the court.
the next year, then I will be able to stay up with their power and strength."
"The extra work has helped my body. A lot of my competition is older and stronger than I am. So, if I can get as strong as say a 23-year-old in
Excellence in fund raising
During Perelman's first year, the athletic department developed the Margin of Excellence financing program. Since then, tennis' fund raising has grown from about $5,000 that year to between $3,500 and $4,500 annually. Each Kansas sport has an account within the fund-raising program for donations. Tennis donations are used at Perelman's discretion with Kansas Athletic Director Bob Frederick's approval. Travel and recruiting are where the funds are generally spent, Perelman said.
"Before this program was started," Perelman said, "donations only helped scholarships. And those are limited anyway. This account gives us the ability to succeed. The funds create trips and facilities, which bring in the good players."
Along with the $70,000 renovation of the existing outdoor facility scheduled for this summer, the Kansas athletic department is preparing for a fund raising project to construct an indoor complex, Frederick said. The complex is expected in four or five years.
supplies the team with shoes, warmups, uniforms and sports apparel.
The players do not have to pay for much personal equipment, because the Jayhawks are one of a few college teams sponsored by Reebok International. Perelman said the company
'Morning Madness' boosts women
Some responsibility was lifted from Perelman's shoulders when Eric Hayes was hired in December to coach the women. The women, who finished fourth in the Big Eight last year, are 16 in since Hayes took over.
Hayes, who spent two years as an assistant coach at Clemson, installed a vigorous workout routine known as "Morning Madness" at his first practice on New Year's Day. The program consists of early morning endurance training and weightlifting along with afternoon practice on the court, all designed to build pride among the women.
"I break the players down both mentally and physically to see how much their endurance can take," the 23-year-old Hayes said. "Then I rebuild them while they gain respect for themselves, for the team and for us; then we see the pride and the work ethic on the court. It is setting a precedent.
"It's just a matter of getting a good base of hard-working girls to build a top program. I want this work to sting both mentally and physically when we lose a match. It'll take a couple of years, but once we break through, we're going to be there for a long time. That's what all this has
work is for. Day-by-day we're improving, and I see us being nationally ranked within two to three years."
Senior Tracy Treps, who in 1986 became the first Kansas woman to win a Big Eight No. 1 singles championship, said Hayes' philosophy of intense training was a love-hate relationship, but it was working.
"Before we go out on the court for a match," said Treps, "he says, 'just remember, we've worked harder than any team in the country.' And you don't think we go out on the court thinking that - we do.
"Eric wants us to get to the NCAA tournament so bad. I hate him at 5:30 in the morning, but it's a great feeling to win and to have a good team. He's also a fan of Big Eight championship. He is here for the women to win."
Hayes hopes Treps will continue to play tennis after this season when her college eligibility runs out. Competing on the red clay courts in Europe would be her best chance at winning the singles. But Treps' strong ground stroke from the baseline would be conducive to the slower court.
"When I was growing up, I watched people on television like Chris Evert and Tracy Austin winning from the baseline by just ground
See TENNIS, p. 13, col. 1
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