New coach, bright future

By Justin Phan

The men's tennis team was in shambles last year from the get-go. Then, just a few weeks before the fall 2007 season was set to start, former Head Coach George Husack decided to leave for an assistant coaching position at the University of Illinois.

Not only did the Broncos lose their head coach, but they also ended up losing a total of nine players to injuries, transfers and graduation. The ended 2007 with a record of 2-15.

Enter current Head Coach Derek Mills.

Stepping into the head coaching role on such short notice last year was no easy task, but Mills is starting to put the pieces back together and has the team headed in the right direction this season.

"Right now practice is going great," Mills said. "We've really turned up the heat conditioning-wise with more intense practices. It's kind of setting the tone for things because I'm finally getting to install my program this year."

"We've got guys healthy with Tommy (Hicks) and Brian (Brogan) being back; our new Assistant Coach Jakub Cech has been awesome. Everyone is just working really hard," Mills added.

The Broncos will aim to finish with a record above .500 and hope to qualify for the NCAA tournament.

This requires the team to win the West Coast Conference outright or earn an at-large bid by ending up ranked amongst the top 32 nationally.

While Mills' commitment and dedication will give the team a clear direction off the court, the team will look to senior Kenzo Hirakawa-Wong and junior Jay Wong to lead the team on the court.

"Last season was filled with disappointing results and injuries," said Hirakawa-Wong. "There was a lot of confusion since we struggled to replace teammates and fill spots on the roster."

"This year we're looking real good. We have everyone returning, namely Tommy Hicks from a wrist injury. Our one to six players are solid and interchangeable because we are so deep. We've been together for a year now, so everything is much more relaxed and everyone is comfortable around each other," he added.

This relaxed environment will be especially useful to the Broncos' highly touted recruit from Spain, Hugo Taracido. Hirakawa-Wong is excited to see Taracido perform this season and make the transition from playing in Spain to the United States.

"I've been talking to Hugo about what he thinks about playing here in the United States, and he tells me that the crowd is a lot louder here than in Spain," Hirakawa-Wong said.

"In Spain the crowd is a lot more reserved and quiet during the matches. I'm real excited to see him play in this atmosphere and I think he'll react very positively to the support he'll get from the crowd."

The Broncos will be in action next at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Fall Regional Championships in Berkeley, which begins tomorrow.

"We're focused on us playing at our top level all the time, so everything is more intense," said Mills. "We've really focused on each of the individuals and getting them to their top peak."

Contact Justin Phan at jphan1@scu.edu.