Temple University Athletics
Saturday, January 29
Richmond, Va.
12 p.m.
Temple University
vs
George Mason
Men's Tennis Opens 2011 Season this Weekend
1.28.11 | Men's Tennis
Owls head to VCU Invite for three matches
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PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Temple men's tennis squad will get the season started on Saturday, January 29, with a pair of matches at the VCU Invite. The Owls face George Mason at noon before taking on Richmond at 5 p.m. TU rounds out the weekend with a 10 a.m. match against Longwood on Sunday, January 30.
The Cherry and White return seven letterwinners from a team that went 10-12 overall in 2010 and finished in fourth place at that Atlantic 10 Championship.
Filip Rams (Katowice, Poland/IX High School) will lead the Owls in 2011, serving as captain of the team for the second straight year. Last season, he was named the Atlantic 10's men's tennis Most Outstanding Performer in voting conducted among the conference head coaches.
Filip posted an 18-8 overall singles mark during the 2009-10 season, including a 13-6 record in dual matches, all at number one singles. He led Temple to the semifinals of the 2010 Atlantic 10 Championship, racking up a trio of convincing straight-set wins over Saint Louis, Duquesne and George Washington. Paired with his brother Kacper for most of the season, Filip registered a 21-8 doubles record throughout the year, including a 14-6 mark in dual meet action. Playing every tandem match at number one as well, he teamed up with classmate Dmitry Vizhunov (Sochi, Russia/Mod. School N25) in his final six matches of the year, going 5-1, which included three victories at the A-10 Championship.
Vizhunov, a junior who was a first-team all-conference player in 2009, recorded a 12-17 singles record this past season, going 3-2 in conference play. He put together an impressive 23-10 doubles mark, competing with Filip Rams (5-1), Matt King (7-2), Andrey Morozov (St. Petersburg, Russia/Troy University) (0-2) and Mansur Gishkaev (Moscow, Russia/Pendleton (Fla.)) (11-5).
Classmate Gishkaev also turned in a solid performance in 2010, posting a 17-7 singles record with 14 of those wins coming in dual matches. Playing at the fourth, fifth or sixth flights, Gishkaev was strongest at number five, going 7-2. He was 12-11 in doubles play with 11 wins coming when paired up with Vizhunov. The duo went 6-4 at the third doubles flight and had a five match win streak at one point. Gishkaev excelled in the classroom as well, earning Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Performer of the Year accolades.
Morozov returns after a 7-13 season in singles play a year ago. He was a complete utility player for the Owls, playing at least one match at every flight. He also teamed up with five different players to go 7-11 in doubles action.
Junior Stanislav Stekolshikov (Tallinn, Estonia/Granby (Va.)) is coming off of a 10-8 singles season in 2010, all in dual matches. He played at every flight except for number one, having the most success at number five with a 5-2 mark. He posted a 4-1 record in conference play.
Kacper Rams (Katowice, Poland/IX High School) returns after an impressive rookie campaign that saw him earn a spot on the A-10 All-Conference First Team alongside Filip. Splitting his time between the second, third, fourth and fifth singles flights throughout the year, Kacper proved his versatility with a 16-15 overall mark. He played the bulk of his doubles bouts at number one with Filip, while also playing five matches at number three to record a 19-9 doubles record.
Also returning for his junior season is Kurt Mauro (Collegeville, Pa./Miami Online (Fla.)). Mauro was active in two singles matches last season, and two doubles bouts.
Temple's only newcomer is freshman Taylor Hairston (Oxen Hill, Md./Bullis School). Hairston saw some action in the fall, making an impressive debut with a 4-2 singles record and 3-2 doubles mark.
After their three matches at Virginia Commonwealth this weekend, the Owls will play at Penn before opening the home portion of their schedule with Drexel on February 4 and remaining home for four of the next five matches. Included in those home bouts are two Atlantic 10 foes, Richmond and George Washington, the preseason favorite to claim the league title.
TU steps back out of conference play to face the likes of Monmouth and Hofstra in the first week of March, and will take on a challenging road match against #74 Virginia Commonwealth the following week. After two more out of conference matches, the Cherry and White travel to Ohio to face Dayton and the other preseason A-10 favorite, Xavier.
Temple will play four of its final seven matches at home, tuning up for the Atlantic 10 Championship, which will be held in Saint Louis, Mo., April 15-17. The Owls will look to improve on their fourth place finish from a year ago and earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Temple men's tennis squad will get the season started on Saturday, January 29, with a pair of matches at the VCU Invite. The Owls face George Mason at noon before taking on Richmond at 5 p.m. TU rounds out the weekend with a 10 a.m. match against Longwood on Sunday, January 30.
The Cherry and White return seven letterwinners from a team that went 10-12 overall in 2010 and finished in fourth place at that Atlantic 10 Championship.
Filip Rams (Katowice, Poland/IX High School) will lead the Owls in 2011, serving as captain of the team for the second straight year. Last season, he was named the Atlantic 10's men's tennis Most Outstanding Performer in voting conducted among the conference head coaches.
Filip posted an 18-8 overall singles mark during the 2009-10 season, including a 13-6 record in dual matches, all at number one singles. He led Temple to the semifinals of the 2010 Atlantic 10 Championship, racking up a trio of convincing straight-set wins over Saint Louis, Duquesne and George Washington. Paired with his brother Kacper for most of the season, Filip registered a 21-8 doubles record throughout the year, including a 14-6 mark in dual meet action. Playing every tandem match at number one as well, he teamed up with classmate Dmitry Vizhunov (Sochi, Russia/Mod. School N25) in his final six matches of the year, going 5-1, which included three victories at the A-10 Championship.
Vizhunov, a junior who was a first-team all-conference player in 2009, recorded a 12-17 singles record this past season, going 3-2 in conference play. He put together an impressive 23-10 doubles mark, competing with Filip Rams (5-1), Matt King (7-2), Andrey Morozov (St. Petersburg, Russia/Troy University) (0-2) and Mansur Gishkaev (Moscow, Russia/Pendleton (Fla.)) (11-5).
Classmate Gishkaev also turned in a solid performance in 2010, posting a 17-7 singles record with 14 of those wins coming in dual matches. Playing at the fourth, fifth or sixth flights, Gishkaev was strongest at number five, going 7-2. He was 12-11 in doubles play with 11 wins coming when paired up with Vizhunov. The duo went 6-4 at the third doubles flight and had a five match win streak at one point. Gishkaev excelled in the classroom as well, earning Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Performer of the Year accolades.
Morozov returns after a 7-13 season in singles play a year ago. He was a complete utility player for the Owls, playing at least one match at every flight. He also teamed up with five different players to go 7-11 in doubles action.
Junior Stanislav Stekolshikov (Tallinn, Estonia/Granby (Va.)) is coming off of a 10-8 singles season in 2010, all in dual matches. He played at every flight except for number one, having the most success at number five with a 5-2 mark. He posted a 4-1 record in conference play.
Kacper Rams (Katowice, Poland/IX High School) returns after an impressive rookie campaign that saw him earn a spot on the A-10 All-Conference First Team alongside Filip. Splitting his time between the second, third, fourth and fifth singles flights throughout the year, Kacper proved his versatility with a 16-15 overall mark. He played the bulk of his doubles bouts at number one with Filip, while also playing five matches at number three to record a 19-9 doubles record.
Also returning for his junior season is Kurt Mauro (Collegeville, Pa./Miami Online (Fla.)). Mauro was active in two singles matches last season, and two doubles bouts.
Temple's only newcomer is freshman Taylor Hairston (Oxen Hill, Md./Bullis School). Hairston saw some action in the fall, making an impressive debut with a 4-2 singles record and 3-2 doubles mark.
After their three matches at Virginia Commonwealth this weekend, the Owls will play at Penn before opening the home portion of their schedule with Drexel on February 4 and remaining home for four of the next five matches. Included in those home bouts are two Atlantic 10 foes, Richmond and George Washington, the preseason favorite to claim the league title.
TU steps back out of conference play to face the likes of Monmouth and Hofstra in the first week of March, and will take on a challenging road match against #74 Virginia Commonwealth the following week. After two more out of conference matches, the Cherry and White travel to Ohio to face Dayton and the other preseason A-10 favorite, Xavier.
Temple will play four of its final seven matches at home, tuning up for the Atlantic 10 Championship, which will be held in Saint Louis, Mo., April 15-17. The Owls will look to improve on their fourth place finish from a year ago and earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Tuesday, June 02
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