Page 4 -The Michigan Daily- Sports Monday- April 2, 1990
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by Dan Zoch
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan men's tennis coach
Brian Eisner has built a dynasty in
his twenty years at Michigan,
winning 17 of 20 Big Ten titles.
After losing three of last year's top
players, though, Eisner is faced with
having to build this year's team
from the ground up.
The Wolverines have had a rough
time this year, losing the top-ranked
singles player in the country,
Malivai Washington, to the pro-
fessional ranks last fall. "He made
that decision right after we started
school," Eisner said, "and it was the
right decision."
Srinivas Tummala, No. 4 singles
player, caused another notable void
when he left the team for scholastic
reasons.
The Wolverines also lost Murphy
Jenson, a promising transfer student
from USC, whose credits wouldn't
transfer. Eisner then tried to find
other talented transfer players after
fall term, but came up empty.
"We went from a situation from
being a team who would be a
legitimate contender, literally, for
the national championship," he said,
"to a team that now is going to
be...scrambling to be a decent
sectional team."
The Wolverines must rely on
sophomore David Kass, rated No. 16
nationally, to carry the team through
the fall and early winter. "We've got
one guy in the singles line-up,
David Kass, who played in our
singles line-up last year. One,"
Eisner stressed.
"Right from the beginning we're
using people in the line-up, and have
added people to the team that may
not have even made the team," he

I

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said.
Eisner, in his 20th season, has
worked on preparing his inex-
perienced team for the rigors of
NCAA competition. "From that
standpoint, everything has been
extremely positive considering all
this," he said. "That does not mean
they are a great team, but I'm not
saying they're a bad team, either."
The team's performance relies
heavily on Kass. The Columbus,
Ohio native has posted an individual
record of 28-10 this season. While
he admits a strong desire to win the
NCAA singles championship, his
true goal is for the team to win the
Big Tens.
"I'd like to see the team win the
Big Tens this year," Kass said. "If
we work hard and improve a little
more, we can do that."
Scott Cuppett backs up Kass in
the second singles position. Accord-
ing to Eisner, Cuppett "has made a
remarkable amount of improvement
this year and has really taken himself
from being an outstanding freshman
to playing several of the top 25
players in the nation to 5-7, 5-6."
Cuppett started the season in the
third singles seed. Since then, he has
switched places with sophomore
Mitch Rubenstein. Rubenstein has
struggled in the early going, losing a
lot of close matches.
"Mitch has been in a situation
where he's played a lot of three-set
matches that he hasn't been able to
win. It's been very frustrating for
him," Eisner said.
Because of the team's inexper-
ience, the Wolverines must watch
out for injuries. "We are not that
deep. We can't afford to have in-
juries," Eisner said.

A huge test of the Wolverines'
talent came during winter break,
when the team travelled to California
to take on three of the nation's top
fifteen teams. Michigan showed
potential when it challenged ninth-
ranked UC-Irvine, and came up
short, 6-3.

candidate to win the Big Ten this
year though Wisconsin started the
season strong. Indiana, who Mich-
igan lost to in mid-February, is also
expected to do well.
Eisner believes that through
continued improvement his team can
challenge anyone in the Big Ten and
beyond. "There is," Eisner said,
"nobody in the Big Ten right now
that would be as strong as the three
teams we played in California."
Last year the Wolverines were a
different team. With the help of
Washington and Tummala, the team
was undefeated within the Midwest
section up until the Big Ten tourna-
ment. There, they lost in the finals
to Minnesota due o an injury to
then No. 2 singles player Dan Gold-
berg. Subsequently, the team wad
left out of the NCAA tournament.
"No one can go to the NCAA S
team championship until the Big
Ten champion has gone," Eisner
said. "Last year is a good example,
We won all our matches, not only in
the Big Ten, but also in our section,
and were undefeated in the Midwest.
We lose in the Big Ten finals to
Minnesota. Minnesota goes to the
NCAA championships and we
don't."
The entire season for the team is
not decided by the dual matches
played during the season, but by the
conference tournament which takes
place at Illinois during the first weelp
of May.
"To be honest, we'll probably
drop a match or two during the
season and maybe finish second or
third in the regular season," Kass
said. "But the Big Ten is the only
thing that matters because the
winner goes to the NCAAs."

Eisner

" JOSE JUARE/Daiy
Wolverine Terry London works on his service game while preparing for
the upcoming Big Ten season. London, in his first year, is Michigan's
No. 4 singles player.

"We had three three-set matches,"
Eisner said, "We could have beaten
Irvine at Irvine, and they're ninth in
the nation. Considering where we are
and where we're moving to, what we
did out there was really a positive
step forward. We have improved so
much it's unbelievable."
The Wolverines have been
participating in tournaments since
late September. Next Saturday kicks
off their Big Ten season against
Northwestern in Ann Arbor.
Northwestern is the likely

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by Phil Green
Daily Sports Writer
The youth movement in college athletics has never been more apparent
than this year. First-year point guards Kenny Anderson and Bobby Hurley
led their respective teams to basketball's Final Four while sophomores
Chris Jackson and Alonzo Mourning earned all-American honors.
The Michigan men's tennis team hopes that some of this youthful magic
will improve its fortunes this season as well.
The Wolverines might need it.
They lost the nation's top collegiate singles player, Malivai
Washington, to the professional circuit last fall and hope to rebound this
year with a team completely lacking experience.
Only one Wolverine among the team's top six singles players has seen
regular season collegiate action prior to this year - nationally ranked
sophomore David-Kass.
Unfortunately, beyond Kass, who plays No. 1 singles, absolutely no
experience exists.
Therefore, it will be Kass' responsibility not only to carry the team
physically with consistent play, but also to provide psychological
leadership. While Malivai Washington was able to lead Michigan last year
as a sophomore, he had the benefit of playing alongside senior all-American
Dan Goldberg.
What does Michigan coach Brian Eisner plan to do about this? How will
he avoid extended losing streaks? And how will he be able to get his team to
respond after a confidence destroying defeat?

Eisner hopes talent",
transcends youth.
The 20-year coaching veteran decided before the season to give his
youthful team a crash course in collegiate tennis. He loaded the pre-season
schedule with some of the strongest competition in the country, including a
tough west coast road trip over spring break. The Wolverines faced
Pepperdine, Cal-Irvine, and USC. Although they came away with an 0-3
record, they played well and should benefit later from the experience of
battling top 20 teams.
A difficult schedule helps any team, but less mature players stand to
improve the most: While a veteran team stays sharp and on top of its game
by competing against nationally ranked foes, more youthful players, 'like the
Wolverines, gain a stronger court sense and become more comfortable with
college level competition.
Eisner used his experience wisely in other moves as well. He knew
enough to schedule some lesser teams to allow his players to gain
confidence and get some wins under their belts. While difficult matches
build character, self-assurance is necessary before an athlete can fully iaature.
Michigan's difficult early-season schedule should not hamper its
opportunity to participate in post-season tournaments. In Big Ten tennis;
the regular season merely serves as a prelude to the conference tournament.,
At that point, players that perform well enough can qualify for, and compete
in the national tournament.
Therefore the Wolverines record, which stands just below .500, will not
hinder them. As a matter of fact, teams following plans like Eisner's
usually peak near the schedule's conclusion and make a late season run.
Whether or not Eisner's plan works this year will remain unknown for a
few months. But for someone who has led his team to 17 of the last 20 Big
Ten titles, you wouldn't want to bet against him.
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Kass leads
by Eric Berkman
Daily Sports Writer
Just looking at David Kass, one
would never be able to tell that the
slightly-built, soft-spoken young
man is one of the top collegiate
tennis players in the country.
Despite his unimposing appear-
ance, the sophomore has as good a
shot as anyone to win a national
title this year. And having faced
tough competition already this year,
he's off to an impressive 7-3 start.
"In his current ranking he's about
16-in the nation," coach Brian Eisner
said, "and he has a legitimate run to
win the NCAA championship."
Eisner lists . his first singles
player's intense competitiveness and
phenomenal quickness as the two
major components to Kass' game.
"The thing that David does
besides being a good player," Eisner
explained, "is being a tremendous
competitor. I mean he's fiery, he's
upbeat. he really comes at you with

'M' with experience, intensity

his quickness. Eisner describes Kass
as the quickest player in the country.
"David's quickness is phenom-
enal," Eisner explained. "I think it's
better than anyone's in the nation-
possibly better than anyone in the
world." However, it this quickness
that forces Kass to run a lot more in
his matches than most players.
Eisner believes this is why Kass
may have difficulty in his second
match when he competes in more
than once in a single day. With all
the running, each match takes a lot
out of him, tiring him for the second
one. Consequently, Eisner conducts
a relatively toned-down workout
regimen for Kass.
"A lot of players are really hard,
tough players in practice, and then
they lose something in competi-
tion," Eisner said. "David is exactly
the opposite. He takes it pretty easy
the first few days after a match. Then
his intensity is back for his next
match. He always knows what he

when he was 9 years old and began
playing tournaments, winning his
age group for both his city and state.
By the time he was 12, he ranked
near the top nationally in the 12-and-
under division. At 14, he enrolled at
the elite Nick Bollettieri Tennis
Academy in Bradenton, Florida for
intense training.
"I think there's an advantage (to
having attended the academy)-the
training made me a better player,"
Kass says, "but it's tough in a
college environment to have that
kind of intense training. The coach
believes in keeping everyone fairly
fresh-he doesn't want to just work
everyone into the ground day after
day. He likes to work hard but not to
kill everyone."
Kass trained at the academy
between four and five hours a day.
At Michigan he practices half that
amount.

circuit, Kass has no misgivings
about his decision to go to college
instead of turning pro immediately.
"It doesn't bother me," he said.
"I'm glad for him (Agassi). I mean it
makes me want to be out there
maybe a little, but that's all he ever
wanted to do growing up.
"I had a couple of injuries and
that kind of scared me and I also
wanted to do other things. Tennis
wasn't my whole life, and it isn't
my whole life, and it will never be
my whole life."
But Kass does have lofty immedi-
ate goals. "Obviously the NCAA
championship is the thing you shoot
for in college tennis," he said.
"That's the big title. I'd like to win
that, it's my main goal right now.
But more importantly I'd like to see
my team win the Big Ten."
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