Men's Tennis Hosts Top Schools In USTA/ITA National
February 17, 1999
THIS WEEK: The University of Washington hosts the 25th USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championship Feb. 18-21. The tournament will be played at the Nordstrom Tennis Center and the Seattle Tennis Club. The University of Kentucky hosted the Indoor Championship the previous 14 years. The USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championship, the premier indoor team tournament of the season, features 16 of the top men's programs in the nation. Participating in this year's tournament are defending champion and top-ranked Stanford, No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Mississippi State, No. 4 Mississippi, No. 5 Illinois and UCLA, No. 7 Texas, No. 8 Pepperdine, No. 9 South Carolina, No. 10 Duke, No. 11 Southern Methodist, No. 12 Tennessee, No. 16 Harvard, No. 18 Washington, No. 22 Fresno State and No. 30 Oklahoma. Admission for adults for a one-day pass is $4 and $10 for a four-day pass. Children are $2 for a one-day pass and $5 for a four-day pass. There is no charge for students. Washington faces third-ranked Mississippi State at 4 p.m. in the Nordstrom Tennis Center.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Pac-10 schools have dominated the tournament, winning the championship every year since 1987. Stanford, the defending champion, has won the championship a total of 10 times, UCLA five times and California and USC have won the title twice each. Other schools competing this year that have won championships in the past are Pepperdine (twice) and Southern Methodist (twice). Stanford and UCLA are the only schools to win the title in the 1990s. Trinity University won the title in 1977.
TALENT SHOWCASE: The top men's tennis players in the nation will be competing this weekend in the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championship. Harvard's No. 1 James Blake and Washington's third-ranked Robert Kendrick will top the bill in the tournament that boasts 12 of the top 25 ranked players in the nation, according to the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association's winter poll released Tuesday. The tournament also includes 18 ranked doubles teams.
FRESH FACES: Washington's 18th-ranked men's team (5-2) makes its debut in the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championship. The Huskies are led by the third-ranked Robert Kendrick (16-3) and senior Eric Drew (7-0). Washington nearly snapped No. 1 Stanford's 39-match winning streak last month in the Nordstrom Tennis Center falling to the Cardinal 4-3. The Huskies won the doubles point but could not capitalize on winning the first set in three singles matches.
ANGER AT THE HELM: Fifth-year head coach Matt Anger leads the 18th-ranked Huskies in to their first-ever appearance in the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championship. He has a 64-36 (.640) record at Washington, including a 5-2 mark this year. Washington has improved every year under Anger. The Huskies recorded a 12-11 record his first-year followed by identical 16-8 marks in 1996 and 1997. In 1997, Washington captured its first-ever NCAA team victory and finished the year ranked 44th. Last year, 17th-ranked Washington was within one victory to advance to the NCAA Championships but fell in the Region VIII finals to UCLA. Anger coached Washington to its highest ranking ever to end the 1998 season and each of his squads have been ranked in the top 50 at the end of each of his four seasons. Washington had produced just one team ranking in the top 50 and two winning seasons in the six years prior to Anger's arrival on the Montlake campus. Before his arrival, Anger played collegiate tennis at USC 1982-84 and was a three-time All-American. He played professionally from 1984-91 and then entered the coaching ranks as an assistant coach at Washington in 1993. He then took an assistant coach position at USC before being named Washington's head coach.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: Since the Lloyd Nordstrom Tennis Center opened its doors in the summer of 1989, Washington's tennis program has enjoyed much success on the six courts in the indoor facility. Washington has compiled a 65-9 record in 11 seasons at the facility, good for a .878 winning percentage.
TOUGH SOPHOMORES: The 18th-ranked Huskies are led by a pack of sophomores. Robert Kendrick, Andy Posavac, Jeremy Berman and Marius Lunde compiled a 26-11 record during the fall season. The four carry an 19-6 mark in dual-match play this season. Kendrick is ranked third in the nation with a 16-3 record and carries a 4-0 record in No. 1 singles. Posavac is second on the team with 14 victories and carries a No. 74 ranking. Berman has won seven out of his last nine matches and carries an 11-4 record.
KING KENDRICK: Sophomore Robert Kendrick continued his stellar play at the 22nd Rolex National Intercollegiate Indoor Championship in Dallas, Texas Feb. 4-7. Kendrick was the first Husky to represent Washington in the Rolex National Intercollegiates. He defeated four ranked opponents, ranked Nos. 4, 10, 15 and 53, in the first four rounds for a chance to meet the top-ranked player in the nation, Harvard's James Blake. Kendrick fell to Blake 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in the finals to snap his 10-match winning streak. Kendrick has defeated nine of 11 ranked opponents this year and is ranked third in the country.
DREW UP THE CHARTS: With seven victories in singles play this season, senior Eric Drew moved in to fourth-place on Washington's career singles wins list with 70 career wins. Drew has also tallied four doubles wins this year to place him in sixth-place on Washington's career doubles wins list. He has 53 career doubles victories. {30
