Rice Men's Tennis 2010

By Casey Michel     1/21/10 6:00pm

The story is as old as it is depressing. It makes coaches wince, players grimace and fans wonder if a curse has beset the men's tennis team. After all, in a sports culture reared on billy goats and Bambinos, curses run amok - so after losing to the University of Tulsa in the Conference USA finals four years in a row, the Owls must have passed underneath a ladder, smashed a mirror in frustration or tangoed with a black cat, right? A Golden curse

"No, not at all," Assistant Coach Efe Ustundag (Baker '99) said, after being questioned about his belief in a curse. "I just feel that for the last four years Tulsa's just had the better team. I don't think it has anything to do with being cursed or not."

Ustundag offered a better explanation, a less supernatural and more super-talented reason for the Golden Hurricane's dominance of the Owls over the last few seasons: Arnau Brugues, who helped thrash Rice last year while ranked No. 1 in the nation. Brugues, who graduated last spring, has been a thorn in Rice's racket for years, so it's cause for excitement among the Rice community that his name no longer graces Tulsa's roster.

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Brugues is actually only one of three starters from Tulsa's impressive '09 squad who left the team, and the Golden Hurricane's top two spots on the ladder are now vacant, ready to be filled with a new crop of players looking to continue battering Rice's hopes of a conference championship. If you think Tulsa is reeling from the losses, though, Ustundag is quick to correct your perception - "they've been recruiting," he said, laughing. But he still thinks that this year, perhaps more so than of any year in recent memory, Rice's depth may finally push them over the hump that has stood in their way for so long.

"It's difficult to say right now if our chances are better or not," he said. "I just feel like we have a little bit more experience throughout the lineup right now than they do."

Transfer of power

Ustundag appears correct in that assumption, because while the Owls last year lost stalwarts Christoph Müller (Wiess '09) and Tobias Scheil ( Jones '09), both of whom spent considerable time at the top of the lineup, they have been replaced by a pair of transfers who have already seen their fair share of playing time. Sophomore Michael Nusslein came to Rice from the University of South Florida, and his play in both the fall and in practice have jettisoned him to the upper half of the six-player ladder. He will likely be joined at the top of the lineup by fellow transfer Oscar Podlewski, who departed Elon College after two seasons to join the Owls.

Both Nusslein and Podlewski bring with them a combined three years' worth of Division I experience, which, according to Ustundag, has transformed them into more than just veteran playing partners on the court.

"[Nusslein] brings a level of maturity and good solid positive energy to the team, and . I like [Podlewski's] professionalism, the way he prepares himself," Ustundag said. "Both these guys are just thrilled to be here, and I think they're seeing a better level of tennis than what they were seeing at their respective colleges. . They've also taken on sort of a leadership role - they've been pushing everybody from day one, and they haven't really stepped back and observed. They've been proactive in every way."

Lining up the rest

Their veteran mien will balance out a youth movement that hit the Owls last year, when four new freshmen landed at Jake Hess Tennis Stadium. However, those four are no longer the starry-eyed youths who struggled through inconsistency on the court. This year, they will be expected to compete every bit as much as are the upperclassmen, notably sophomore Sam Garforth- Bles, who was ranked early in the 2009 season, and sophomore Isamu Tachibana, who at one point last year won 13 straight matches.

The top of the lineup, though, will be just as formidable for the Owls. The team will be anchored by senior Bruno Rosa, who finished last season ranked 40th in the nation - a relative disappointment, considering he's beaten multiple top-10 players in his Rice career.

"We're extremely good low down [in the lineup]. We've got a lot of options," Podlewski said. "However, the top of the lineup will really depend on us. . If Bruno and someone else at the top of the lineup play extremely well, we'll be a tough team to beat."

Singles appears set, but unfortunately, Müller and Scheil managed to take with them the best doubles team Rice has seen in years. The doubles slate is traditionally the biggest question mark Rice has entering the season, and this year is proving no different. The early pairing of Nusslein and sophomore Christian Saravia looks promising, but the other two slots are still up in the air.

Still, Ustundag doesn't see the uncertainty as a problem.

"I don't necessarily think we have a huge hole up and down the lineup," the coach said. "I think we can compete with anybody in the country, and certainly with the schedule we have, we are going to compete with everybody in the country.

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