Tennis coach Dan Moster’s office tucked away in the Fieldhouse is relatively sparse. It has the basic furnishings – desk, chair, computer, table where his young daughters play with their Bratz dolls – but lacks those extras that come with years of coaching. There are no conference trophies, no photos of past Indiana Tech tennis teams, no returning players lounging about. Dan Moster is starting from scratch, creating the university’s new men’s and women’s tennis teams. “The biggest challenge is really exposing more coaches and high school players to Indiana Tech, because there hasn’t been a program,” he explained. “Some have heard of the school, but there’s no tradition of college tennis and Indiana Tech.” Moster describes recruiting as a process of education. “First it’s, ‘Here’s Indiana Tech.’ Then it’s, ‘Here’s our brand new tennis program,” he said. The new program was made possible thanks to a generous donation from Dr. Rudy Kachmann, a local neurosurgeon. His gift provided seed money for the program and construction of tennis courts on the Fort Wayne campus. Moster coached high school tennis teams from 1990 to 2005 and was an assistant coach at Marian College in Indianapolis. He has been a USPTA Certified Tennis Teaching Professional since 1988, and is certified as P-1 (Professional Level 1), the highest level of certification. In September 2005, he joined the staff of Wildwood Racquet Club as a teaching professional and will continue to teach there while working part-time as the Indiana Tech coach. The opportunity to coach at the college level was too good to pass up. “The main thing is it’s a brand new program, just the chance to help start a brand new program is great,” he said. “And it’s a nice school, and the other coaches are good.” While recruiting students to a program without a storied history has its disadvantages, Moster feels Indiana Tech has a lot to offer some players. “It opens doors for kids who may have been overlooked,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity.” Moster has traveled all over spreading the word about Indiana Tech tennis. Ideally there would be 10 men and
10 women for tennis teams. He thinks the opportunity to actually get into matches on a regular basis will help attract players. “We don’t have a junior varsity, and maybe never will,” he said. “Not everyone can play Division I varsity tennis.” In addition to recruiting players, Moster has had to build a schedule. The teams will play both fall and spring, but so far only the fall schedule is established. With so many colleges and universities in the area, Moster had little trouble finding opponents. The tennis Warriors will travel to Taylor University, Goshen College, Aquinas College, Defiance College, and Bethel College. Home matches against Grace College, Huntington University, and Calumet College of St. Joseph will be played at Swinney Park.
left: Dan Moster stands atop a small hill just past the soccer field on the northwest corner of the Fort Wayne campus. To most people this looks like a mound of grass and weeds. But Moster sees it as the future home of the teams’ tennis courts.
“Some schools play mostly in the fall, and wouldn’t do anything in the spring unless they were qualifying for nationals,” he said. “A lot of them are just looking for competition.” For the first season, Moster says he’ll focus on helping students adjust to college life. “They’re mostly freshmen, and I just want to get them into the college environment, academically and playing college tennis,” he explained. “I’m not going to get too wrapped up in wins and losses.”
Fun Facts Favorite food: Pizza Favorite TV show: NCIS Favorite athlete: Andy Roddick Favorite sport to watch: Basketball Worst tennis match: One of several practice matches during high school when he broke racquets in anger. Favorite thing to play with two daughters: Tennis
Indiana Tech TRENDS | Summer 2006 13