TEN QUESTIONS WITH...

What type of competition do you face during the summer off-season, as well as the time in between the fall and spring seasons?
Over the summer, a lot of us work out together here in Buffalo. We put together a schedule of tournaments around the Northeast that are open-level tournaments. Usually a few of us will then travel together to the event. That helps to keep us in top condition, as well as remaining in a competitive mode.

Following the fall season, it is primarily weight training that prepares us for the spring.

In those tournaments, do you mainly face other collegiate players?
It really varies. Last year, Randy Rocchio and I went to a doubles tournament in Cleveland. There were guys who were ranked in the Top 200 in the world who have been on tour for a number of years. But we also play a lot of other events that do contain other college players.

What other types of activities do you work on aside from the on-the-court practices?
One of the fun parts about playing for Coach (Russ) Crispell is that he uses a lot of different training techniques. A bunch of us went on a snow-shoeing trip, which helped a lot with conditioning. We also do a lot of other cross-training work. As far as weightlifting, a lot of the work we do is with our strength and conditioning coach, Phil Ryan.

What went into your decision to come play at UB?
As a senior in high school, I spoke to a number of coaches at all collegiate levels. But Coach Crispell was really interested in each member of our current sophomore class here, so that played a lot into my decision. We then really developed a lot in what was for many of us our first full year of tennis training.

On a personal level, how much have you changed as a tennis player?
I used to rely a lot more on athleticism – chasing down balls and other things like that. Coach Crispell has worked with me on becoming more aggressive instead of waiting for things to happen. I’ve changed my style from just staying at the baseline to serving and volleying a lot more.

What runs through your mind prior to your first serve?
Coach Crispell likes to look at it like a pitcher does in baseball – as a server you have different spins and different spots on the court where you want to hit. Sometimes you will set up a serve – you work a slice serve to one side of the box repeatedly and then come back with the opposite spin on the opposite side of the box hoping to catch your opponent leaning.

How important is it to land your first serve in?
First-serve percentage is huge. It makes a lot of difference in matches. We always look at video on our serves and study what we need to do to keep that percentage up.

Does that mean you may be less aggressive at times with your first serve?
Coach Crispell emphasizes that we avoid the big bombs on our first attempt and instead play more of a high-percentage shot. If you fall back on your second serve a lot, it gives your opponent a mental boost and a confidence boost.

How does the postseason tournament work in the Mid-American Conference and on the national level, as well?
The MAC Tournament is entirely a team event. The top two teams in our six-team conference receive a first-round bye. The MAC Tournament matches are played and scored in the same way that our regular season matches are. The winner of the conference tournament then advances to the national tournament, which is also strictly a team event.

Have you faced any individual opponents on a few different occasions at this point in your collegiate career?
Being only a sophomore, it hasn’t occurred a whole lot. But other guys on the team have often faced certain guys I play. We have a lot of discussions about our individual opponents, where we share what their strengths and weaknesses are. We also keep journals of our matches and jot down anything that we can exploit in a match with a certain individual.

-The ‘10 Questions with…’ feature is compiled by Geoff Nason.