Jan. 23, 2004
The Tiger men's tennis team, coming off a 16-9 record and a fifth-place finish at the 2003 Conference USA Championships, will open their 2004 spring dual schedule at No. 54 Tennessee, Saturday, at 10 a.m. (ET). The match will tentatively be available on live stats on UT's website at www.utsports.com. The Tigers UT Martin match will not be available via live stats.
No. 54 Tennessee
The match-up with the Volunteers will be the Tigers' first meeting with the in-state school since 2002. That was the Tigers' only other meeting under sixth-year head coach Phil Chamberlain. Tennessee won that match, 4-1. The Volunteers are a young team, with six Volunteers seeing their first action as part of the UT roster. Damien Spizzo is a junior transfer who had to sit out last year after transferring from USC. At USC, Spizzo ranked as high as No. 68 in the country in singles at one point. Also starting their Volunteer careers will be freshmen Matt Berry, Ockie Oosthizen, Ben Rogers, Kiril Tcherveniachki and Johnny Thorton.
Senior Wade Orr is the Vols' top returning singles player and Memphis-area product Mark Dietrich is coming back from an off-season leg injury when he was struck by a vehicle, breaking his right leg. Dietrich and teammate Rawl Martin, were both coached by Chamberlain as part of the junior tennis circuit in Memphis. Dietrich graduated from Christian Brothers, while Martin graduated from Briarcrest Christian.
UT Martin
U of M transfer Marten Tamla may take to the courts to face his former teammates in a 3 p.m. (ET) contest at UT, Saturday, when the Tigers take on UT Martin. Memphis is 5-0 against the Skyhawks under Chamberlain, winning their April 11th meeting last year, 7-0.
The Skyhawks return seven letterwinners from the 2003 team that went 4-15 last year, finishing 1-5 in the OVC. A pair of Memphis preps also dot the Skyhawk roster as Oltion Mollaymeri and freshman Matthew Wiseman are both Memphis area products. The Skyhawks have only been practicing a week and will be lining up against the Tigers in their first of two matches on the day when they square off, Saturday.
Tennessee Tech
The Golden Eagles of Tennessee Tech are coming off their second-ever NCAA Appearance that was ended by No. 6 Vanderbilt in the first round of the Regionals in 2003, despite Tech winning the doubles point. Tech finished 2003 with a 15-10 record. The Golden Eagles, guided by former Tech player Aldrin Campos, lost his No. 1 and No. 5 singles players from last year due to graduation, but returns Luis Aguerrevere, Razvan Ilie and Will Chappell, his 2-4 singles players. Newcomer Dominik Hecht also made an impact at the ITA Southeast Regionals held in Memphis in October, advancing to the main round from the qualifying bracket, and drawing opposing coaches' attention to a possible issue in seeding of players. Tech will face No. 4 Vanderbilt, Friday, and will face three nationally-ranked teams in two days.
About the Tigers
Lee Taylor Walker
Walker starts his final semester as a Tiger the No. 48 ranked singles player in the country after advancing to the ITA Southeast Regional semifinals back in October. One of three No. 1 singles players on the 2004 roster, Walker will also have a new doubles partner this year after Ben Stapp completed his eligibility last spring. Walker teamed with James Spence for a 5-4 mark in the fall.
Marten Tamla
One of the other two players to play No. 1 singles last year is junior Marten Tamla. Tamla transferred to Memphis from UT Martin, where he was the No. 1 singles player last year. The junior went 4-5 in singles for Memphis in his first semester.
Mark Finnegan
The last player to play No. 1 last year is junior transfer Mark Finnegan. Finnegan transferred to Memphis from Georgia Southern over the summer and had played a month during the Tigers' fall season before a shoulder injury forced him to miss the remaining of the fall schedule.
Alex Bucewicz
One of just three returning players on the Tiger roster who spent significant time in the Memphis roster last year, Bucewicz had steadily been one of Memphis' most consistent point contributors, posting a 21-3 dual mark as a freshman and a 19-7 mark last spring. Bucewicz will also have a new doubles partner this year, as his partner from last year, Joe Schmulian, graduated in May.
Alex Jago
The third of the returning starters from last year, Jago joined Memphis last January and was immediately thrown into the fire, racking up a 12-11 singles mark playing mostly No. 6 singles. Jago will also have a new doubles teammate as former partner Brendan Malarkey returned to Australia after last spring.
Andrew Olswing
Olswing is a transfer from Bradley University who successfully walked-on to the Tiger roster in 2003-04. Olswing went 1-2 in singles last spring and was 1-5 in singles during the fall tournament schedule. The junior from Memphis' Ridgeway High school also went 1-1 in doubles during the fall.
Trey Brower
Another walk-on for the Tigers in 2004 will be Memphis-area product Trey Brower. Brower, a junior who is playing his first collegiate tennis, went 5-6 in singles during the fall, and teamed with Olswing for a 1-1 mark in doubles.
James Spence
Freshman James Spence posted a .500 mark in singles during his first semester of college play, and was listed by Chamberlain as a pleasant surprise during a fall Q&A session. A 6-3 player, Spence was the tallest member of the Tigers' roster until Luke Campbell joined Memphis in January of 2004.
Luke Campbell
The above-mentioned Campbell just joined the Tigers in January of 2004. A 6-4 product of Brisbane, Australia, Campbell will offer some depth to the Tigers' line-up, but will need some time to find a spot in the line-up and will perhaps face his first collegiate competition in one of the three matches this weekend.
Sam Withell
Just off the plane and right onto the tennis courts was also the story for freshman Sam Withell. Withell, a January addition to the roster, is another player that will probably find a spot in the line-up, and will hope to use this weekend as his collegiate career opener.
Phil Chamberlain
The Tigers' are guided by sixth-year head coach Phil Chamberlain, a 1976 graduate of then-Memphis State. Chamberlain has helped his alma mater return to collegiate tennis prominence with aggressive recruiting, fundraising and scheduling. Memphis has at least seven nationally-ranked opponents on its 2004 schedule (possibly more depending on how 2 in-season tournaments shape up). Chamberlain has an 86-49 career record at Memphis, hoping to get his 100th career victory this season. The Melbourne, Australia, native is already second on the Tigers' career coaching record chart, following his coach, Tommy Buford, who has a 441-260-3 mark. Buford was the Tigers' head coach for 31 seasons before retiring to focus on running the Kroger/St. Jude professional tennis tournament that features both the men's and women's tours every February. Chamberlain works as one of Buford's assistants and also serves as the Director of Tennis at The Racquet Club of Memphis.
Memphis -- Site of Tennis Excellence
The Tigers have already hosted one of college tennis' premiere events during the fall of 2003 when they hosted the ITA Southeast Regionals at The Racquet Club of Memphis in October. That reputation will continue when the Tigers host the Conference USA Men's Tennis Championships, Apr. 14-18th.
