#28 Harvard Men's Tennis: News and Views
Inside this edition:
Wrap-Up Letter
Year-end recognitions/Awards
Fish's USTA New England Hall of Fame Induction
Graduation: Casey MacMaster and Brendan Seaver
Fiscal year end
Next Years Schedule
Photos below
Dear Harvard Tennis Family,
Another great season is in the books and it is time to look back on the 2014 campaign. There is much to be proud of and we want to acknowledge the efforts of so many who made this a special year.
Here is a highlight video/recap of the season:
*HMT finished ranked #28 in the country - our third consecutive top 30 finish.
*We beat Auburn to win our third consecutive first round NCAA tournament match.
*Denis Nguyen earned All-American honors by virtue of his semifinal run in the NCAA tournament. He joined the ranks of James Blake and Jon Chu (in singles) to make it that far. Jon Chu/Ashwin Kumar and Mitty Arnold/Thomas Blake were also semifinalists in doubles.
*Harvard downed three Big-10 schools during the regular season to make it an emphatic statement about the strength of Ivy League tennis.
*Alex Steinroeder and Denis Nguyen were named captains for the 2014-15 season while Denis was voted team MVP for the second straight year. Conor Haughey and Sebastian Beltrame shared the MIP (most-improved award).
Congrats to Casey MacMaster and Brendan Seaver on their graduation. We are so proud of them and wish them the best of luck as they begin in their new role as graduates and new members of the Friends of Harvard Tennis. See their photos in full regalia on a perfect graduation day in Cambridge. Casey will be living in NYC and working for a private equity firm called Starwood Capital Group in Greenwich, CT while Brendan is joining SJX Partners, a major player in the sports/entertainment world.
In early June, Dave was inducted into the USTA New England Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I. for his playing and coaching career. It was a beautiful ceremony in the historic Newport Casino that now houses the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Perfect early summer evening with a view of the grass courts and grounds. Dave was honored alongside former Longwood junior friend and doubles partner – Doug Crawford. The award came in the same season that Dave passed the 600th win mark in college coaching. According to the Georgia Bulldog site, Dave is one of only ten D-I men 's coaches to achieve that milestone (Manny Diaz also accomplished the feat later this year). It was a great night for all.
The end of the fiscal year is approaching June 30 and we would like to ask you to support the team if you haven't already. Your help is crucial in maintaining a top flight national schedule (all out of region travel is a Friends expense). Your support this past year helped us install live-HD video streaming for all home matches in the Murr. In addition, we hired Dartfish technology to chart all our matches (using the video feed). It provides valuable post-match stats and analysis as well as tagging the video for the players to watch in their dorm rooms (you can sort all the points by a myriad of filters. For example, you could pull out all the ad-side second serve break points for the match). We also hired Jez Green, Andy Murray's trainer, to work with us for a few sessions in the fall. He is overseeing our conditioning program and has been a major addition to the program. We can't thank you enough.
We have a wish-list for next year that includes funding an international trip for the team (outside the Prentice Cup), more Dartfish match analysis, and another couple of sessions with Jez Green, purchase a versa climber for cross-training, host money tournaments at Harvard to get our players extra competition during the season, and to put air-conditioning into the Murr indoor courts.
Next season calendar includes some great trips – let us know if you are in the area and want to come by. Here are some of the big matches/events:
Fall:
September 12-14: "Chowdah" Fest at Harvard with Alabama and University of San Diego.
Sept. 19-21: Napa Valley Classic hosted by UC Berkley featuring many of the top teams in the country. Join us at Meadowood in the Valley!
Oct. 17-21: ITA Individual Regionals at at the US Open site in Flushing Meadows.
Winter/Spring
February 7-8: Evanston, Illinois to play top ranked Boise State (coached by legendary coach and friend Greg Patton) and Northwestern.
Feb. 21-22: Minnesota and Vanderbilt at Harvard.
March 18-21 Spring Break in La Jolla in the Mission Valley Classic, hosted by San Diego State and USD.
April 4-5: Columbia and Cornell at Home!
All the best,
Dave "Hall of Fame" Fish
Andrew "Married Man" Rueb
Eric "Slam Finalist" Butorac
--
Scott Mead Family Head Coach of Men's Tennis
Harvard University Dept of Athletics
Murr Center
65 N. Harvard St.
Boston, MA 02163
fish@fas.harvard.edu
GoCrimson Men's Tennis website
Harvard Men's Tennis blog
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