Sept. 14, 2010
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By Sean Simon
UCFAthletics.com
Orlando, Fla. - (UCFAthletics.com) The UCF men's tennis team has started practice and begun preparing for its 2010 fall campaign to start. With two weeks until its first fall tournament, the team is working on their physical and mental readiness on and off the court. Their competitive fall schedule is expected to prepare the Knights for the spring season, especially the incoming freshmen. The Knights return several players in addition to having the 26th-best overall recruiting class in the country according to Tennisrecruiting.net. UCF also welcomed new assistant coach Chad Berryhill to the program in August. This fall head coach Bobby Cashman looks to see his team mature towards becoming a conference leader. UCFAthletics.com discussed the upcoming fall season with Cashman to learn more about what he looks forward to this fall.
What is your goal as a coach for the fall season?
First, we want to get the four freshmen acclimated to tournaments and training. Then, to finish the fall on a high note from the work we've put in. I'd like to see the more experienced players get good wins in matches against stronger schools because it's more of an individual effort in the fall. I'd like to see Joe Delinks (Falmouth, Mass.) and Blaze Schwartz (Pensacola, Fla.) breakout and get ranked against formidable teams. Also, we want to mix and match doubles teams to see where we fit for the spring. The fall is a combination of getting physically ready, watching match-play, and seeing how we perform against better opponents in our very difficult region.
With a deeper roster are you hoping competition will develop among the team for playing time?
It's going to be difficult and you're going to need to play hard to get into the top six. Competition will make everyone come prepared to practice and play hard knowing there are people waiting in line to take your position which can bring out the best in people. I think that is only going to help us grow as a team.
Does the fall offer more one-on-one time with the staff?
The fall allows us a couple days a week for individual workouts with guys from smaller groups. That's when we make really good strides with them. We work on things they need and focus more on individual technique. Also, the guys are going to get videotaped which we will chart during the match giving us a breakdown of their game to review. The fall is very important because it launches you into the spring as a preseason to get ready. What you put into the fall is what you get out for the spring.
What is going to be the biggest surprise for the freshmen at their first big tournament?
The ball speed is much different from juniors to college and there are so many good players, not just from the United States, but from all over the world competing. They'll see the ball speed, the better athletes of the Division I level, bigger serves, bigger games and they're going to have to work much harder for every point. They have to be very complete as players to win the match.