SAN ANTONIO — The Roadrunners men's tennis team will kick off the 2011 season on Saturday when it hosts Laredo Community College at the UTSA Tennis Center. The two teams will take the court at 1 p.m.
Below is an outlook for the upcoming year.
2011 season outlook
Just one year ago, the UTSA men’s tennis team celebrated the program’s third conference title by winning the 2010 Southland Conference Tournament Championship. Now, first-year head coach Jeff Kader will have the task of keeping the Roadrunners in contention for another NCAA Tournament appearance.
Kader joins the Roadrunners after serving the last four seasons as an assistant coach at North Carolina State, where he helped the Wolfpack to 60 wins and a No. 55-or-better national ranking, including a top-20 showing in 2007.
“I am definitely excited to move up from being an assistant coach to now being a head coach, because it’s all on me,” Kader said. “It’s an exciting challenge.”
Coming off a championship season, Kader feels it is a priority for the team to carry on its success.
“That should always be a priority,” Kader said. “For me to come into a program with momentum is helpful.”
Led by seniors Daniel Moreiras and Max Stratmann, the Roadrunners return seven letterwinners from last season’s squad which finished 13-10 overall (3-2 SLC).
Stratmann earned first-team All-Southland honors at No. 4 singles, while Moreiras registered a 12-8 mark in singles play and teamed up with sophomore Martin Ayala for a perfect 7-0 record at Nos. 2 and 3 doubles.
“I look to both of our seniors as leaders,” Kader said. “To have seniors on the team that have been through it is helpful. They are two people that I want the rest of the team looking up to.”
A trio of juniors also will be asked to help lead the squad. Shariq Khan and Pedro Zanotelli return for their third season at UTSA. Zanotelli collected 11 overall wins last year, eight in the doubles circuit. Newcomer Daniel Moser joins the team after helping Ouachita Baptist to a No. 4 national ranking at the Division II level.
“The upperclassmen are my vocal leaders,” Kader said. “They work hard every day and they encourage everyone.”
UTSA boasts an equally impressive underclassmen group, with three sophomores and four freshmen.
Ayala and Tyler Brown both had successful inaugural campaigns. In addition to Ayala’s successes with Moreiras in doubles competition, the Quito, Ecuador, native recorded nine wins in singles action.
“Martin played quite well in the fall,” Kader said. “I can expect him to come through in the bigger tournaments.”
Brown also gained nine wins in singles play and teamed up with Stratmann to record a 13-6 mark in both second and third doubles.
“Tyler works hard day in and day out,” Kader said of the New Braunfels native. “He had good results during the fall and played well at the regional.”
Hugo Guanais, who won three doubles matches as a freshman, rounds out the returners for the Birds.
“These underclassmen have a bright future,” Kader said of his sophomore class. “That is a good thing that stands out with our underclassmen stepping up and becoming very good players.”
Kader’s inaugural squad will be bolstered with four quality freshmen — Oliver Breininger, Yannick Junger, Kolby Kilgo and Tim Kuo.
“I like the depth of our team,” Kader said. “Anyone can play on a given day. I think that is the key to championship teams.”
A limited five-match conference schedule allows the Roadrunners to play 15 non-conference opponents, including competing against five teams who, like UTSA, advanced to the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
“Anytime we can challenge ourselves outside of conference it is only helping us become stronger for the conference season,” Kader said. “I told them at the beginning of the year that if they focus on the process, by finding something to improve on every day, that the results will take care of themselves.”
Over nearly a two-month stretch—from February to April—the Birds will play Lamar, Nicholls, UT Arlington, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Texas-Pan American in Southland play.
UTSA will have its chance to make it to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time since accomplishing the feat in 2001 and 2002, as the Roadrunners host the conference tournament April 29-May 1.
“Hosting the tournament is a huge motivation,” Kader said. “From my own experience, that is a great advantage and puts us in a good position to reach our goal of another NCAA appearance.”
