Fall Recap With Head Coach Gene Orlando
11/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Nov. 20, 2003
Head Coach Gene Orlando reflects on his team's performance during the 2003 fall season.
On his feelings towards how his team competed in the fall:
"To evaluate from where we were at the beginning of the fall season, we made great strides each week, great improvements with every tournament that we played. The regionals and the Big Ten Indoors were our two highlight tournaments. I felt like at the regionals we had potential for a great tournament. We had two weeks off after that and we worked on some things, being more aggressive, looking to get into the net, serve and volleys, attacking on a short ball. At the Big Ten Indoors we were able to run the plays that are going to help us be successful in the long run. We were able to capitalize, play well and get results."
On the Big Ten Singles Indoor Championships:
"It was great to have a semifinalist in Andrew Formanczyk, a quarterfinalist in Cameron Marshall and a round of 16 finish with Chris Mitchell. We're looking at having three guys in the top 16 in the Big Ten and that was nice to see. Our younger players, both freshmen, won two matches. To be able to step in and win in the Big Ten is not an easy thing and for those guys to do that and be very close to really having another breakthrough tournament for themselves was a good positive. Eric Simonton didn't finish the way I had hoped but he was one of those guys where he was in position to win most of his matches. I think there's no doubt that he'll be ready to go in January and be a big part of the season.
"We were throwing out life preservers because we had some guys fall early at the Big Tens. And all a sudden if Formanczyk's out, we do not have the tournament that we had. When Andy won his first round match after being down 0-3, he put that flag back up. Marshall then won a tight one and we ended up just rebounding from that moment. The next day we came out and we were able to use the same momentum to have a great day."
On the importance of completing the fall successfully:
"Our finish made believers out of us. If we want to reach our goals that we have for the spring in 2004, we had to have a tournament like the Big Ten Indoors. If we wouldn't have had a tournament like this, I don't think we would realistically be able to reach as high. Now we have a little bit of a platform. Obviously Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio State and Michigan as well stood out, but we were right there. If you want to move higher you have to start there. You can't say, 'Wow, we had a really poor tournament. We finished 10th.' If you're down in that second tier of teams it's hard to make that quick jump. Right now I told the guys we're climbing the mountain and the air is getting a little thin. But it's all a new experience and we're going to keep on climbing. This has been a good thing and what we've worked for. This season, the schedule we play, is going to be a challenge. But I think we'll be prepared for it and we're looking forward to the opportunities."
On the play of Andrew Formanczyk:
"I still think he's developing. He had this stomach surgery in the summertime but he definitely made a quick jump in the last two weeks. From where he was at the regionals to where he was at the Big Ten Indoors, he was about where I thought he would be. If he could have played like that in September I think he could have dominated. Even though he didn't have the competition, making the comeback and toughening up a little bit obviously helped him get back to where he was. If he can just keep this momentum that he has going into January he could be a solid No. 1 guy. If you want to be successful you have to win at No. 1."
On the play of Cameron Marshall and the top of the singles lineup:
"Marshall had a breakthrough weekend. He is now a Big Ten player. He's in the elite. When people think of Michigan State, they're now really thinking Formanczyk, Marshall, Mitchell. Marshall was a little mentioned thing. You know, 'Who's that guy. He's like a flea, he keeps on coming back.' But now he's got some bite. He played so aggressive. He's a natural player and an athlete. When I say natural, I mean that he came in here with a groundstroke game but he didn't come with a volley game. But when I taught him he learned it quickly: I've never seen anyone learn as quickly as that. I think Coach Albin Polonyi has really pushed him to not be afraid. He's pushed all of the guys not to be afraid to make errors or get passed. I think that has really helped this team. Mitchell's having more results because he uses more of a complete game. Same with Formanczyk. They're close to having a full-court game. That's what we try to teach, to not be one-dimensional. We like to develop weapons."
On how far his freshmen have come along:
"Nothing's easy. The biggest thing I'm excited about is that our freshmen have the ability to win. The competition that we competed against this fall, there was no easy tournament. Every time they played they had to work hard to win. McWilliams stood out. He missed one tournament and could easily have had over 10 wins. If he could have played the Michigan Invitational he could be a better player than he is right now. It's important that we do get to compete over and over like we did in the fall. Flowers is just a great competitor. We look forward to him developing in his game. He wins a lot of his matches because he's a great competitor. Once he starts to develop, working on where to take the ball and more consistency, he's going to be a nice little surprise. Both freshmen love to compete. I think they really like this team atmosphere, the team concept. They are really good team guys and you can't teach that. It's a good quality to have."
On the play of the doubles teams:
"In doubles, our whole game improved a ton. We're more aggressive, we're moving, we're doing more I-formation. Stefani and Brown played really well together."
