Men's Tennis at Virginia Tech
January 24, 2003 11:49 AM | General
January 24, 2003
BLACKSBURG, Va. – The way West Virginia University men’s tennis coach Ed Dickson sees it, Sunday’s spring season-opening match at No. 35-ranked Virginia Tech will provide a good measuring stick for his young team.
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| Last year's No. 1 Tony Epkey will start the season at No. 2 singles for West Virginia. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
According to Dickson, the Mountaineers are coming off a successful fall campaign and several of his players played well during the holiday break.
“We’re as good as we can be right now,” said Dickson. “Our guys worked hard over the holidays and were motivated to play a difficult early-season schedule.”
West Virginia’s lineup for Virginia Tech will be slightly altered from the one Dickson fielded in the fall.
Moving up to the No. 1 singles position is 6-foot-1, 170-pound sophomore Eric Kochanski of nearby Cannonsburg, Pa. Kochanski, who recently won an open tournament in Charleston, moved into the top spot after posting a 10-3 record last fall.
Sophomore Tony Epkey, the team’s No. 1 player last year, will follow Kochanski at No. 2 singles. The Greenwood, Ind., native, joined Kochanski and Ian Bliss as the three WVU singles players that qualified for last fall’s ITA Regional Championships.
Bliss, a Bowling Green transfer, will play at No. 4 singles behind rising sophomore J.R. Randall of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Dickson added Medellin, Columbia, resident Julian Mesa to his roster for the spring semester and he will play the No. 5 singles spot. The No. 6 position goes to promising freshmen Kyle Markham of Wichita, Kan.
The three doubles combinations Dickson will start Sunday include Epkey and Kochanski at No. 1, Bliss and senior Chris Green at No. 2, and Markham and Randall at No. 3.
Junior Jared Anderson and freshman Nino White rounds out West Virginia’s nine-player roster.
“This is by far the deepest team I’ve had,” said Dickson. “We’ve got nine good players. Chris Green was our No. 4 last year and now he’s No. 7, Kochanski was No. 5 last year and now he’s No. 1, and J.R. was No. 6 and now he’s No. 3. I think that shows that we’re getting better.”
Playing Virginia Tech this early in the year gives the Mountaineers a good idea of where it stands against one of the region’s top teams.
“This is a good opportunity for us,” said Dickson. “Obviously it is going to be a tough test for us because Virginia Tech is very good.”
Virginia Tech (3-1) returns eight regulars from last year’s team that won 17 matches and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Tech’s top player is senior Saber Kadiri of Algiers, Algeria. He is the nation’s No. 51-ranked singles player after a 7-7 fall campaign. Kadiri gained national attention when he defeated then No. 1-ranked Jesse Witten of Kentucky in the first round of the ITA All-American last October. Witten is currently ranked fourth in the latest ITA singles rankings.
Sophomore Stephane Rod is tied for 78th after a 9-4 fall season, while junior Andrea Laulund is ranked No. 88 with a 12-3 fall record.
Senior Francis Huot is also ranked among the nation’s top 100 singles players at No. 94. He posted a 12-2 fall mark.
The doubles tandem of Lauland and Rod is ranked No. 44 in the nation.
Following the Virginia Tech match Sunday at noon, West Virginia continues its trek against nationally ranked teams by traveling to No. 24-ranked Ohio State on Feb. 1.
“The early part of our schedule will be a great challenge,” Dickson admitted.
The Mountaineers will play at No. 26-ranked North Carolina in March.
