Mississippi State men’s tennis brings a team stacked with young talent into the 2009 spring season as the Bulldogs will look for their first NCAA tournament appearance under second year head coach Per Nilsson.
“The freshmen are the guys we wanted,” Nilsson said. “It is our team now.”
Only two players are left on the 2009 team from the 2007 version, which was led by Nilsson’s predecessor Sylvain Guichard.
Nilsson singled out freshman Mexico native Daniel Sanchez and sophomore Spain native Antonio Lastre as two underclassmen who will contribute greatly to the season.
“We have a really good freshman in [Sanchez]. He will produce for us,” Nilsson said. “[Lastre] had the best fall. He has worked the hardest.”
Lastre won the John Hannah singles draw of the Fall Crimson Tide Invitational in October.
“Ryan Farlow is our only senior and we have the youngest squad in the SEC. Chris Doerr is our only junior,” Nilsson said, explaining the youth on the team. “They are our two captains. They have the experience.”
Despite the youth, Nilsson has not lowered expectations for the team that finished 8-12, 2-9 SEC.
“Expectations are high, but being that young, the SEC is tough.” Nilsson said.
He said he believes the team chemistry will be the strength for this year.
“Ever single person fits in. We have great chemistry,” Nilsson said. “This is a great group. You have to have guys who want to be together.”
Sophomore Tanner Stump said he sees lots of improvement in this year’s team.
“We are definitely more motivated,” Stump said.
The Bradenton, Fla., native was SEC Player of the Week during week nine of the 2008 season following the Bulldogs’ victories over UNLV and Nevada-Reno.
“I want to get back to upper echelon of programs,” Stump said. “My goal is to get MSU back to the top of the SEC and to nationals.”
From 1989-2001, the Bulldogs finished each season ranked in the top 25 nationally, including seven years, 1992-98, where MSU finished ranked in the top 10 each season and twice reached the national semifinals.
The Bulldogs have not made the NCAA tournament since 2005, the year Farlow joined the program.
“I think that we will be pretty good this year. We are really young,” Farlow said. “We are a really talented team, but not very experienced.”
Farlow has inherited the role of senior team leader.
“As the only senior, I do want to lead the team,” Farlow said. “I like to win over half of my SEC matches – I have been able to do that since I’ve been here. I think we are a few steps ahead of previous years in preparation.”
Farlow comes off a strong fall where he advanced to the quarterfinals of the Florida State Invitational in November.
“The strength of the team is the togetherness,” Farlow said. “Tennis is such a team game, you are always needing someone to pick you up out there. Another strength is that we all like to work hard. It works out well for us.”