Temple University Athletics
Youth To Be Served For Temple Men's Tennis This Spring
1.14.09 | Men's Tennis
Jan. 14, 2009
PHILADELPHIA - "The best thing about freshmen," former Marquette men's basketball coach Al McGuire once said, "is that they become sophomores." Temple head men's tennis coach Steve Mauro can't afford to wait that long--he expects his three highly-touted freshmen to start and contribute right away.
"We had a great recruiting year," Mauro said. "It's the best since I've been here and the best at Temple in probably 10-15 years. The talent is there. The only problem is that the talent is young."
The tri of international rookies--Filip Rams, Dmitry Vizhunov, and Mansur Gishkaev--will team with three talented seniors and a junior to help Temple compete for the Atlantic 10 Championship in 2009.
One of those seniors, Nathan Spunda, was an all-conference selection in 2007 after going 19-9. After redshirting last season, he won six matches this fall playing in the top flights. He should be penciled into the number one or two singles spots.
"Nate had a year off from playing tennis and we're hoping he's really motivated to play," Mauro said. "He's extremely talented with great hands. He's had some close matches with top 10 players two years ago. We're hoping he finishes out his last year on top and we think he's up for the challenge."
Vying with Spunda for the top spot is Rams. A top 10 junior player in Poland, Rams burst onto the American collegiate scene with a 9-3 record this fall. He captured the Flight A singles title at the Philadelphia City 6 Tournament to start his career and never looked back.
"Filip has a great work ethic and is a great kid," Mauro said. "It's hard to compare someone to Roger Federer, but his game is similar. He can serve, he can volley and he can hit from the baseline. He's a real pleasure to watch."
The final four singles spots won't be decided until right before A-10s with five talented players fighting to get into the starting lineup. Seniors Eduardo Saavedra and Ricardo Velazquez have several years of college tennis under their belts and should have the upper hand in the early part of the season.
An accomplished doubles player, Saavedra was 8-2 this fall and compiled three singles wins. He played anywhere from #3 to #5 singles last season, compiling six wins.
"Eduardo has all the tools to be a great player," Mauro said. "He has the best serve and best hands on the team. He's had close matches against some of the top players in the country."
Velazquez, the team's captain, played 12 matches at #1 singles last season. An Aruba native, he is one of three siblings who have played #1 singles in Philadelphia, as his brother Francisco and sister Stephania both played at Saint Joseph's.
"Rick is the hardest worker on the team," Mauro said. "He's one of the best captains I've ever had in all of my years of coaching. We're hoping he has a great senior season."
Junior Pavlos Stephanides, a former top 10 junior player in Greece, is the third upperclassman vying for court time. He played in the #3 and #4 singles spots last season for the Owls.
"Pavlos has an all-court game," Mauro said. "He has a great serve and a big forehand. We're hoping he continues to work hard and make it into the lineup."
Two rookies from Russia are looking to make an impact this season for the Cherry and White. Vizhunov, a Sochi, Russia product, and Gishkaev, from Moscow, are a pair of hard-hitting players.
Vizhunov won five matches this fall in his collegiate debut, including reaching the Flight B finals at the Philadelphia City 6 Tournament. A big serving, hard hitting baseliner, Vizhunov is expected to excel especially in the indoor matches.
"Dmitry is very fit on the court with great foot speed," Mauro said. "He has to get used to the American game and college tennis. We're hoping that he has a great year."
Gishkaev did not appear in any matches this fall but is expected to contribute this spring.
"Mansur can play with anyone from the baseline," Mauro said. "He played at the Bollettieri Tennis Academy and has wins over top 10 players. He should be a big contributor for us."
Another freshman, Kurt Mauro, will redshirt this season.
"Kurt continues to work hard and we're hoping that he will make an impact on the team next year," Mauro said. "It's a real pleasure to coach my son."
After a successful fall campaign that included the Philadelphia City Six Championship, Mauro is excited to see what the spring will hold for his team. He will test his team's mettle the first weekend at the Virginia Commonwealth Invitational with matches against CAA-contender James Madison, #32 VCU and #64 William and Mary.
"I believe this is the best team that I've had at Temple," Mauro said. "And that includes a team that finished third in the A-10 in 2007."
"It's just a matter of putting the pieces together to compete for the A-10 Championship," Mauro said. "We're hoping that this is the year."
Spunda should challenge for all-conference honors once again and the upperclassmen will be counted upon to aid the transition to college tennis, and the country, to the freshmen. The team's success will be based largely on how fast the rookies can adjust to the college game.
"The team is extremely young," Mauro said. "But there is a lot of talent. I think that we're one of the better teams in the conference but we have to prove it on the court."
