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Men's tennis team continues tradition of NCC dominance
Springtime is nearly here and with that comes the beginning of many new sports seasons at SCSU.
One of these sports is already well under way as the SCSU men's tennis squad has began their season on a tear.
With two victories Saturday at their new home, Gold's Gym in Sartell, the Huskies improved their record to a stellar 9-1. However, success is nothing new for the men's team.
Since joining the North Central Conference in 1982, SCSU has finished first a total of six times, including a three-year championship reign from 1997-99. The Huskies placed second in the NCC last season with a 20-6 record. SCSU is led by head coach Jerry Anderson who is in his fifth season.
Including this season's victories, Anderson has a career record of 70-39 and led the Huskies to the NCC crown in 1998 and 1999. He sees no reason why he won't be able to bring the Huskies another title in 2002.
"We have a good bunch of guys this year," Anderson said. "We have lots of depth and are solid all the way down. Our goals for this season are to win the conference title back from Northern Colorado and to do better than our 20 victories from last season."
Leading the Huskies on the court are senior Todd Bishop and sophomore Bryan Baumann. Bishop was a four-year star on the SCSU basketball team before he began his tennis career. He is 9-1 this season with a career mark of 35-5. Last season, he placed third in the NCC at No. 2 doubles while he came in second at No. 1 singles in 1999.
Baumann is coming off a strong first year for the Huskies, when he went 19-6 in singles action and 16-9 in doubles play. He also finished first in the NCC at No. 3 singles and came in second at No. 1 doubles. This season, Baumann is 8-2 in singles play and is teaming with Bishop to form the Huskies number-one doubles squad.
Casey Haselwander is another Husky coming off an NCC first-place finish. The junior from Wisconsin went 20-8 during last years run and was first in the NCC at No. 4 singles. At No. 3 singles this season, Haselwander is 7-2.
"We want to win the NCC Tourney this year," Haselwander said of the team's goals. "Guys were disappointed that we didn't (win it) last season."
Also returning are Robert Skenzich and Josh Lunak. Together, the pair won the NCC at No. 3 doubles. Lunak also led the Huskies with a 22-3 singles record last season and won the NCC crown at No. 6 singles. He is off to another fast start in 2002 with a 7-2 mark.
Augustana and St. Scholastica both fell to the Huskies by scores of 9-0 on Saturday. Bishop, Baumann and Haselwander all earned a pair of victories for the day in singles action. The duo of Bishop and Baumann also won both of their doubles matches. Danny Peterson and Zac Ulwelling earned a doubles win against Augustana, while Doug Lecy and Zac O'Donnell were winners in No. 2 doubles against St. Scholastica.
Next up for SCSU is a match against crosstown rival St. John's. The Huskies will then pack their bags for a trip to Florida over spring break, where they will compete in seven matches against the likes of Creighton, Wheaton and Florida Southern.
Adam Czech can be reached at: [email protected]
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