Men's 2009 Tennis Preview

By Casey Michel     1/15/09 6:00pm

What is leadership? Is it the respect automatically assigned to the eldest, the veterans and the weathered? Or is it something earned, something found when the obstacles are toughest and the chips are at their lowest? This is the question the men's tennis team has dealt with in the weeks before the dawning of their spring season. Traditionally, those at the top of the ladder - such as junior Bruno Rosa, currently ranked 26th in the nation - would be the ones steering the team. But a glut of highly-touted, highly-talented freshmen has made the idea of team leadership a bit more opaque.

Not Just New Faces

The four freshmen who entered this year have brought a competitive zeal that, en masse, has never been seen by either head coach Ron Smarr or assistant coach Efe Ustundag (Baker '99). And so far, their combined skill sets have give the Owls a No. 24 ranking and propped up a program that's been battered by three straight Conference USA finals losses to the University of Tulsa.

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"The class we brought in came in extremely focused and wanting to do something on the tennis court," Ustundag said. "I think their level of concentration and desire picked up everybody else, even the upper guys as well. . The underclassmen are expecting to win and are making everybody work."

Leading the class is Sam Garforth- Bles, a bruising behemoth from Alberta, Canada. His 6-3 frame makes the Canadian one of the tallest players on the squad, and gives him one of the most dangerous serves on the court. With a forehand that rivals the strength of junior teammate Chong Wang - whom Ustundag describes as "one of the biggest hitters in the country" - Garforth- Bles charged onto the collegiate scene last fall, coming out victorious in the ITA South Central Regional consolation bracket last October.

With five straight wins to close out the fall season, Garforth-Bles will go into this weekend as the 62nd-ranked player in the country and the only Owl besides Rosa in the top 100.

Joining Garforth-Bles is freshman Isamu Tachibana, who came to Rice as the top-ranked Texan of 2008. Although Tachibana has displayed his physical skills - he earned a top 25 national ranking in juniors last year - Ustundag said that the emotive capacities of the freshman, who goes about practice with a quiet demeanor, need to be tapped.

"In juniors he played with a lot of passion, so we just have to figure how to bring it out," Ustundag said.

Rounding out the freshmen are Christian Saravia, a member of the Guatemalan Davis Cup team, and Andy Wang, who walked on to the program earlier this year.

All told, this freshman class brings a newfound depth to the club, a reserve that was lacking as last season waned and the continual tournaments took their toll on the team. This time around, however, the struggle will not come from having a lack of reserves but from excess potential.

"When you have a team with a lot of potential it's tough not to look ahead," says Garforth-Bles. "You want take it one game at a time."

The Best at the Top

While much potential lies in the new faces, the amount of skill residing at the top of the lineup is even more impressive.

Rosa, unarguably the top player on the team, is one of the strongest athletes Rice has seen in years. His build, listed as 5'10", belies an unforeseen skill that his opponents often underestimate. Last season saw him earn First- Team All-America honors, a No. 14 slot in the NCAA singles tournament and a spot as a National Finalist for the "Newcomer of the Year" award.

His best showing of the season came against the University of Miami's then-No. 7 Daniel Vallverdu, a straight-set victory that officially catapulted Rosa onto the radar of opposing coaches.

That win, added to the other six he had against ranked opponents, gave Rosa the belief that he could down anything the other squads threw his way.

"I think I've improved pretty much everything [in my game], finally reached a point where I don't have a point where I have to improve specifically," Rosa said. "I honestly think that I can beat most of the players in the country. There are some four or five players in the country who are tough to beat, [but that is] because they don't have as much school as we do."

Confidence aside, Rosa knows that he must still work for his standing. During the fall season he bolted into the quarterfinals of the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships only to lose in straight sets to seventh-seed Justin Kronauge of Ohio State University.

But Rosa, cemented at the top of the lineup, understands full well that he has the opportunity to accomplish great things this season. Senior Christoph Muller, on the other hand, may need a guiding hand.

Muller is entering his fourth and final season at Rice. He has shown blazes of breathtaking play over the last three seasons, including a gritty, grinding victory against then-No. 18 Kellen Damico of the University of Texas last season, yet he has been plagued by agonizing stretches of mental inconsistency. This fall saw Muller's game drop precipitously, and when the spring season starts, the German will be out of the rankings for the first time since his sophomore year.

But with the help of his coaches, Muller thinks he has pushed past the mental issues he has been battling.

"Everybody wants to be an All- American, so in the fall I put a little too much pressure on myself," he said. "I know from the last three years I can beat anyone in the country if I play well, so perhaps I was expecting a little too much from myself. [Now] I've dropped all the expectations."

Ustundag said the pressure on Muller was evident, but the senior's talent still shines.

"He's got to stop worrying what he can do, about the rankings and awards," the coach says. "If he can just stay in the present and work on his game, try every day to add a little bit more, then all those [rankings and awards] will come."

Joining Rosa and Muller at the top of the ladder will be Wang, in his second season at Rice after transferring from the University of Southern California last year. Wang has made perhaps the most impressive improvements from his 2008 campaign, as his placement as the team's No. 3 illustrates.

Sorting Out the Rest

However, the rest of the lineup is murky, not because of a lack of talent but because there is simply too much skill to limit to six spots.

"Since there's so much depth, there will be a little more pressure on everybody to play better and make the lineup," says Ustundag. "And it's going to make our job a little more difficult, too, but that's a good problem to have, as opposed to being shorthanded."

A similar problem will arise in doubles. The only solid pair heading into the season are Muller and fellow senior Tobias Scheil, who are currently ranked 52nd in the nation.

Once the season begins, the coaches should get a better of idea of which player fits into which slot. Fortunately, ego does not seem to play a role in dictating the selection process, a fact alluded to by a frank Rosa.

"I like playing No. 1 - it wouldn't be bad for my ego - but I wouldn't mind playing No. 6, because it would mean that the team would be good," he says.

That drop is about as likely as Rosa switching to a left-handed forehand, but the implications are not too far from reality. This squad features more depth than any in previous years, and Muller, the only Owl who personally remembers each postseason loss to Tulsa, could not be happier.

"With the talent I think we can finally win the conference, which has been my goal for the last three seasons," he said. "It's certainly frustrating when you lose for the third time straight. You know the same team, you know the same players.. It makes me even more motivated to beat them."

The road to the C-USA finals will be bumpy, much like last season's. With 15 contests coming against ranked opponents - including nine on the road - the Owls will need to be "road warriors," according to Ustundag.

Their season, however, will begin at home with a pair of double-headers. Playing at the MET Indoors, Rice welcomes C-USA rival University of Memphis and University of Texas-San Antonio today, and Lamar University and Prairie View A&M University this Sunday. The Owls will then face No. 25 Texas Christian University on Wednesday at Jake Hess Tennis Stadium before going on a grueling eight-week road swing.

This two-month stretch will more than likely decide how the team's season shakes down. But it will also likely decide who the leaders, those who define the team's identity, will be.

"The leaders of the team are those who practice hard and those who do the [right] things," Rosa said. "Theoretically, me and Christoph are the captains, but the real captains are those who practice hard.. It's always good to have those kinds of people because, besides pushing you in practice, they are pushing you to beat them to stay in the lineup.

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