Freshman Recruits Bring New Blood to UB Tennis

With an eye for going north in the standings, UB men's tennis has gone north of the border.

"If I didn't expect improvement, I wouldn't be coaching," said head coach Russ Crispell. "I expect the team to be much better this year."

The Bulls are expecting to improve on their poor record last year, and the team did very well recruiting. Crispell was able to bring in Mike Rockman, a freshman from Toronto, Ontario. Rockman finished in the semi-finals of a recent tournament, knocking off a pair of top-seeded Canadian players, who were champions in the Canadian 16 and younger division.

But this is college, so opponents will not only be older, but faster, stronger and more skilled.

According to Crispell, Rockman will be competing for one of the top three singles spots with Nick Ziezula and Ranga Prayhudha. In the upcoming fall tournament, however, Ziezula will be with Rockman in doubles, and Rocchio will be with South African freshman, Albert Alant.

Crispell indicated that the fall tournaments usually have no bearing on how the team is going to compete throughout the year. The fall is more or less the preseason, where the spring, when Mid-American Conference competition begins, is the real deal.

"We don't look at it through a win-loss perspective in the fall, we usually have a good fall record," said Crispell. "I'm looking at different doubles formations, I'm looking to see who's playing well in different spots."

Crispell said that even though the rock-and-roll combination of Rocchio and Ziezula will not be together for the upcoming tournament, we should expect them back together for the start of the MAC.

"The MAC is a tough conference," said Crispell. "We may not be winning just yet, but we're playing headstrong."

Crispell may not be willing to go out on a limb and say that this year's tennis team is going to be successful, but the team certainly doesn't show the same modesty.

When asked what the one goal would be for the team this season, Crispell deferred to his team who had one thing to say.

"Win the MAC."