For the better part of three years, Tigers tennis has playedtheir way onto the periphery of tennis recognition by earningfrequent trips into the bottom third of the national rankings.
Now, if the Tigers want to continue their march to nationalprominence, they will have to replace the production of Lee TaylorWalker: the face of Tigers tennis for the past two years.
In his two seasons at Memphis, Walker was named second team andfirst team all-conference, respectively. In addition to his successas the team's No. 1 singles player, he teamed with James Spence toform the Tigers' top doubles tandem.
His departure now leaves a hole at the top of the depth chartthat must be filled. Figuring out who will fill it may take sometime.
"We're just trying new doubles teams and trying to find whoworks well with whom," Spence said. "It's a slow process."
Luckily, the fall schedule in collegiate tennis is perfectlytailored for that process. Coach Paul Goebel can work separatecombinations with minimal repercussions on team rankings. Goebelsaid the fall schedule is more like baseball spring training, whena coach can evaluate his team's development and set a lineup beforethe all-important spring schedule begins. The extra evaluation timeis good news for a team that lost its No. 1 player and is addingthree newcomers to the mix.
The Tigers' first look at outside competition is this weekend atthe Middle Tennessee Classic in Murfreesboro. The fall scheduleculminates with the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA)Southeast Regional held in Memphis Oct. 14-18.
According to junior Alex Jago, Memphis has a number of goalsthey want to reach between now and then.
"We want to win at least two matches in singles and a couple indoubles at every tournament," Jago said. "We want some people inthe finals at each tournament."
Jago said the team also hopes to show well at the ITAs, whichwill help determine which individual players will be ranked in thespring. In tennis, the top 110 players are ranked.
But perhaps the biggest goal this fall is fitting all theplayers in established positions.
Many will have to take on larger roles. The Tigers have severalveterans returning, including five seniors. In all, they have eightplayers with Division I experience, something that will come inhandy as the season progresses.
"(Senior leadership) is extremely important, especially theschedule that we have with a lot of road matches. We have guys thatare used to difficult environments and having to deal with all thedifficult factors and pressures."
Even with an experience-laden lineup, the impressive crop ofnewcomers will also have a chance to contribute.
They include long-time Memphian Scott Felsenthal. The WhiteStation product is far from a newcomer to Division I tennis,however. He spent three seasons at national power Washington as theteam's No. 5 or No. 6 singles player, in the highly competitivePac-10 conference.
Also joining the roster is Garrison Pilant, a Collin County(Texas) Community College product. At Collin County, Pilant went35-12 in singles, achieving a year-end ranking of No. 41.
The youngest of the incoming trio is freshman Bryan Bankester.He finished his prep career as the No. 1 singles player for MadisonCentral (Miss.) High School. In Bankester's senior season, Madisonfinished undefeated and captured the 5A state high schoolcrown.
Personally, he finished the season as Mississippi's highestranked prep player.
"(Bankester) has probably given more than anybody on the team -to try and prove himself," Spence said.
With a nice mix of new and returning talent, Goebel is confidentMemphis can survive the loss of Walker by relying on teambalance.
"We won't just rely on being strong at the top of the lineup,but we'll be solid one through six," Goebel said. "We're just goingto need everybody to improve 20 to 25 percent and that canhopefully make up for (Walker's) loss."
If they can do so, expect Memphis to continue its rise on thenational scene.
