The Penn State Behrend men's tennis program enters the upcoming 2009 spring season will expectations of adding additional hardware the Junker Center trophy case.
Last season, the blue and white, under the direction of Head Coach Jeff Barger claimed the 2008 AMCC Championship. Behrend registered 13 conference tournament points to Penn State Altoona's ten, and held off the six-time champions. Behrend posted an 11-7 overall record and cruised to a perfect 6-0 mark in regular season league play.
Although Behrend has some line-up questions beginning the season, there is a strong desire to add to the collection of AMCC crowns from 1998, 2004, and last season.
Barger said, "At this point in the season, things are kind of up in the air," said the eleventh year coach. "We lost a number of players to graduation off our championship team and are still working to put together a new line-up."
After being tested early last season with a top notch schedule during spring training in Hilton Head, South Carolina, the blue and white utilized the experience to rally with an 8-1 mark to close out the regular season and then earn the conference's top prize.
"Our 10 returners have looked solid, but we still have some holes to fill," continued Barger. Behrend will have to move forward and attempt to replace senior graduate Trevor Dougherty who registered a school record 51 wins in singles play. Asked to step up to the task will be senior captain James Getty (Erie/Harborcreek). He was named the program's Rookie of the Year as a freshman and continues to elevate his game. Getty has worked for 17 doubles wins during his career and earned All-AMCC honors last season.
Also, providing veteran leadership will be a set of juniors in Kelly Manning (Sharpsville/Kenedy Catholic), Shane Mosier (Kersey/St. Marys), and Brad Nagel (West Alexander/McGuffey). Manning has claimed 11 doubles wins over his first two seasons and has the ability to play both the singles and doubles game. Mosier is prepped to have a breakout third season for the Behrend Lions and also has a Rookie of the Year title on his resume. Nagel was the Behrend Lions 2007 Most Improved Player and plans on stepping up into a starting role this spring.
A talented group of six sophomores flooded the program last season as rookies and made quite a splash on the AMCC. All will be expected to hit the courts with an improved game and meet the new expectations placed on defending the program's conference championship. Jacob Fling (Erie/Villa Maria), Jason Grosch (Warren/Warren), Elliot Blackstone (Wexford/Pine-Richland), Jon Henderson (Upper St. Clair/Upper St. Clair), John Michalko (Washington/McGuffey), and Erkin Nasirli (Baku/Baku Oxford School) will all be in the line-up mix. Blackstone is the headliner of the group. He claimed several postseason honors in 2008 that included being named both the AMCC Player and Newcomer of the Year. After setting school records for most single season singles and doubles wins, he was selected as the team's Most Valuable Player. Henderson was another AMCC All-Conference performer and teamed with Blackstone to establish the new mark for doubles wins. Nasirli was tops in the league at third singles, earning All-AMCC recognition after going 12-3 in 2008, while Fling, Grosch, and Michalko are trying to find their way into the line-up after earning an important season of collegiate experience last year.
Four freshmen players make up the 2009 recruiting class and includes Markus Addison (Baltimore, MD/Baltimore City), Peter Bissert (Pittsburgh/Seton LaSalle), Juan Santiago (Erie/Central), and Ryan Zippie (Hermitage/Hickory). Also returning after a year off due to injury is three-year letterwinner Brian Kaleta (Harborcreek/Harborcreek). Kaleta is a former All-AMCC player at doubles for the Behrend Lions and adds both experience and depth to the 2009 roster.
"We have a couple of freshmen that could compete for court time right away," said Barger. "This is a very skilled group, and at one point or another they all could push for playing time."
The 2009 schedule begins with a tough road match at Baldwin-Wallace on February 14. Then Behrend hosts a pair of President's Athletic Conference members in Waynesburg College and Grove City before making the trip south to Hilton Head, for their annual spring training trip. Behrend will play five matches during the spring training week. The Behrend Lions are scheduled to compete against Charleston, Emory & Henry, Eastern Nazerene, West Liberty, and Trine. "Our matches in Hilton Head are always a highlight on our schedule because we play several talented teams from across the country," said Barger.
Upon returning the men will embrace a five match home stand, where they will play conference matches against Pitt-Bradford, Pitt-Greensburg, Frostburg State, and Penn State Altoona. The AMCC Championships will round out the 2009 season for the men. Championships are to be held on April 19 at the Oxford Athletic Club in Wexford, PA.
"The AMCC is wide open," said Barger. "Everyone is even at this juncture of the season with every team losing a couple key players from last season." In 2009, the AMCC will have five men's tennis teams as Pitt-Bradford added a team this year.
Coach Barger believes the blue and white has potential, but more work needs to be done before hoisting the AMCC Championship trophy. "We will need to get some good play from some non-starters from last year to win the league again," said Barger. "Hopefully in the middle of March we can get things figured out."
