2009-10 WOMEN’S TENNIS DIGITAL GUIDE M
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TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION COACHES CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY ANNUAL PRO-AM BUCK BOULDIN TENNIS CENTER THE UNIVERSITY ACADEMICS COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES SPORTS MEDICINE STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING CAMPUS COMFORTS HISTORY OF THE BLUE RAIDERS THE MIDSTATE UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION SUN BELT CONFERENCE
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This 2010 Women’s Tennis digital guide is a publication of the Middle Tennessee Office of Athletic Communications. Many pages include links to additional online resources located on GoBlueRaiders.com and other third-party websites. Photos provided by Athletic Communications, MTSU Photographic Services and the Sun Belt Conference. GoBlueRaiders.com 2009-10 Women’s Tennis Media/Statistics Packet
INTRODUCTION
Extra effort in the offseason should pay off for the Blue Raiders in 2010 as they aim for a Sun Belt Conference title. Sophomore Taylor Coffey led the team with 17 singles wins and paired with Marlene Chemin for a team-best 8 doubles victories a year ago.
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FRONT ROW
Alex Dachos, Anna Djananova, Natalie Araya, Yuiri Nomoto BACK ROW
Alison Ojeda, Carla Nava, Marietta Bigus, Taylor Coffey, Melissa Schaub
COACHES ALISON OJEDA HEAD COACH
Alison Ojeda begins her fifth season at Middle Tennessee after leading the Blue Raiders to nine victories in each of her third and fourth years at the helm. In her first two years as a head coach, Ojeda’s teams combined for 15 total wins. Ojeda took over the program on June 22, 2005, as the sixth head coach in the history of the program. The San Antonio, Texas, native enjoyed a stellar playing career at the University of Tennessee, posting 102 singles and 100 doubles victories. She earned All-America honors in singles as a junior, was a four-time Academic All-SEC selection, and was voted the national recipient of the Arthur Ashe Jr. Humanitarian Award and Cissie B. Leary Leadership and Sportsmanship Award in 2002.
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Melissa Schaub assistant coach
Melissa Schaub, a former AllAmerican doubles player at the University of Tennessee, begins her fourth year on the Middle Tennessee women’s tennis staff as an assistant coach. Schaub earned All-America honors in doubles as a freshman at Tennessee, compiling a 20-8 dual mark and a 31-13 doubles record during the 2002-03 campaign for former Blue Raider Mike Patrick. Schaub and partner Vilmarie Castellvi defeated 10 ranked foes during the season and finished the year ranked sixth in the country. Schaub became just the 10th Lady Vol in school history to earn 70 career doubles victories in 2006. She was a member of the SEC Good Works Team and SEC Academic Honor Roll as a senior.
cHAMPIONSHIP hISTORY After more than 40 years, Blue Raider tennis continues to enjoy great success as one of the southeast’s most consistent programs. The women claim one conference tournament title and eight individual Player of the Year awards. One of the Blue Raiders’ two All-Americans, Manon Kruse, remains the only player in school history to attend the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships while making the doubles tournament with two different partners. She was selected to the Sun Belt All-Conference singles team four straight years and also holds school records for most singles (83) and doubles (90) wins in a career.
2009 SBC CHAM
FRED NIEYMYER 1999 NCAA SINGLES CHAMPION
MA 200
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MPIONS
ANON KRUSE AND CARIEN VENTER 04 NCAA DOUBLES ALL-AMERICANS
MANON KRUSE
ANDREAS SILJESTROM AND MARCO BORN 2005 NCAA & 2007 ITA DOUBLES CHAMPIONS
ANNUAL PRO-AM CLASSIC
2009 PRO-AM DINNER 2004 PRO-AM PARTICIPANTS
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The annual Wally Tidwell Pro-Am Classic began in 1986 and to this date remains the premier fundraising event for the Blue Raider tennis programs. The tournament was given a new title in 2002 in recognition of Wally Tidwell, a long-time supporter of Blue Raider tennis. In years past, the event has featured men’s and women’s divisions with doubles play in a round robin format. All amateurs are teamed with a current or former Middle Tennessee tennis team member or an area teaching pro. Each event includes an evening dinner party, tennis clinic and exhibition featuring current and former tennis greats. The doubles round robins take place the following day with lunch and an awards ceremony to cap the memorable weekend.
BUCK BOULDIN TENNIS CENT
Named after Middle Tennessee’s first tennis coach and 2009 Blue Raider Hall of Fame-inductee, the Buck Bouldin Tennis Center sports fourteen courts, six of which serve as the varsity courts for both the men’s and women’s tennis teams. The courts were last resurfaced in 2006 as part of a $50,000 project funded by private donations and fundraising by the tennis program.
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Spectators cheer on the teams from canopied bleacher seating between the varsity courts. Courts are seperated by divider fencing and logo windscreens line the fences around the entire complex. A shaded walkway provides access to the remaining eight courts as well as the coaches’ offices. The Tennis Center also includes team rooms, restrooms, an equipment storage facility, and a patio/reception area for viewing and the posting of events.
In addition to hosting Middle Tennessee matches, the complex has played host to numerous Ohio Valley Conference championships, high school championships and various state and regional USTA events.
THE UNIVERSITY
One of the finest teacher preparation institutions in the southeast, Middle Tennessee is a destination school and the No. 1 choice of undergraduates in the state of Tennessee. Nationally recognized programs in aerospace, recording industry, and concrete industry management attract students from around the globe. The University is home to the Center for Popular Music, a nationally-recog-
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nized repository with one of the largest sheet music collections in the country. Students enjoy numerous extracurricular activities through more than 190 student organizations, including honor societies, service clubs, and an active Greek system of fraternities and sororities. The University Honors College offers talented students the atmosphere of a small, select college nestled within a major university. Interactive Campus Tour University Web Site - MTSU.edu MTAlumni.com
ACADEMIC SERVICES The Student-Athlete Enhancement Center houses the academic support system for all 17 Division I-A sports at Middle Tennessee. The mission of the center is to help student-athletes take skills learned on the field and turn them into positive preparation for life after college. Tutors in various subjects are scheduled in the tutoring rooms throughout all hours of operation, and all tutoring takes place at the center. The SAEC staff monitors the student-athletes progress, providing daily reports to coaches and meeting with the entire coaching staff weekly. In addition to providing academic support, the
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center is committed to meeting the needs of student-athletes through the Blue Raider Athlete Skills for Success (BRASS) Life Skills program. Blue Raiders volunteer, when possible, to help teachers and students at elementary and middle schools throughout Rutherford County during the academic year.
ď ˇ Student-Athlete Enhancement Center ď ˇ University Library
iN THE cOMMUNITY
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Blue Raider tennis players and coaches conducted a single-day tennis camp at Old Fort Tennis Center to benefit the American Red Cross and its earthquake relief efforts in Haiti. The Blue Raiders are also involved with the wheelchair tennis team at Middle Tennessee, conducting clinics and exhibitions for and with the squad at the Tennis Center, as well as the newly formed Murfreesboro Tennis Club.
SPORTS MEDICINE
No university is more committed to keeping athletes healthy than Middle Tennessee. Head Athletic Trainer Drew Shea and the Sports Medicine staff have set liberal hours to make sure each student-athlete has his or her needs met. The Sports Medicine facility opens early each morning and doesn’t close until all student-athletes have been treated. The Sports Medicine facility contains a complete injury rehabilitation center, new
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rehab equipment, two full-size whirlpools, a dressing area for athletes, and a private office for the team physicians. One of the most recent additions to the facility is a $15,000 K-Laser which helps speed up the healing process and a C-Arm portable X-Ray machine is also on site. The sports medicine staff employs a computer software package that tracks injuries, rehab protocols, medications, and surgeries to help the athletic trainers keep student-athlete rehabilitation programs moving forward as rapidly as possible.
ď ˇ Athletic Training Degree Program ď ˇ Sports Medicine
STRENGTH AND CONDITIONIN
Performance in the weight room has become just as important as performance on the field and Middle Tennessee has a staff committed to making student-athletes the best they can be in both these aspects. The strength and conditioning staff, led by Matt Riley, makes full use of the Blue Raiders’ 10,000-plus square foot training facility centrally located between the Buck Bouldin Tennis Center, Murphy Athletic Center and Floyd Stadium.
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The facility, which opened in January of 1999, greets student-athletes with over 20,000 pounds of plates and dumbbells and is equipped with nine full power racks, nine elevated platforms, and nine half-racks. Cardiovascular equipment, such as treadmills and stationary bikes are also available as well as cable television and a sound system for music to be played during workouts. Hammer strength equipment rounds out the room with five ground-base jammers, a dead lift, a leg press, a leg curl, and a leg extension. Other Hammer strength equipment in the facility includes a bench press, a military press, a rowing machine, neck machine, pullup, and pull-over.
CAMPUS COMFORTS Scarlett Commons provides apartmentstyle living with on-campus convenience and is home to many Blue Raider athletes. Each apartment is fully furnished and contains four private bedrooms and two private bathrooms, a full kitchen, and a comfortable living room. Each apartment also includes cable and phone lines in the living room and data lines with access to the Internet for personal computers in each bedroom. Dining on campus is definitely not plain. Visit one of the five on-campus dining locations to find familiar establishments such as Pizza Hut, Quizno’s Subs, Chick-Fil-A and Subway. Another popular option is the McCallie Dining Hall with its all-you-caneat dining selections and theme nights.
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MTDining.com Campus Housing Division of Student Affairs Interactive Campus Tour
history of the blue raiders In Greek mythology, the winged horse possessed superior cunning and speed. The thundering horse of the gods was entrusted to carry awesome lightning bolts and could only be harnessed by a noble being with a pure heart. Character, talent, and strength were required to mount and ride the fabled winged horse. Today, this winged horse is a fitting symbol of a university that has earned its wings and excels in many academic arenas, including historic preservation, teacher training, aerospace, political science, horse science, and recording industry. But the winged horse is more than a symbol of physical accomplishment; it’s also a symbol of character and the responsible wielding of power.
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raiders
For its nobility and character, the winged horse was immortalized in the stars. Now, with breathtaking speed and thundering, unbridled power, Lightning strikes, forevermore, fear in the hearts of Blue Raider opponents and leads Middle Tennessee to victory! Blue Raider Sports Hall of Fame Albert Gore Research Center MTAlumni.com
the midstate A student-athlete’s life involves more than academics and athletics. Like most college students, studentathletes need to enjoy themselves, relax, and have a good time and Murfreesboro fits the bill. Despite being one of the fastest growing cities in the south, Murfreesboro is a large city with a small-town atmosphere. The city has been named one of the top 100 places to live by CNNMoney Magazine. While some major metropolitan areas overshadow their neighbors, the nearby city of Nashville provides unprecedented economic and media support to Murfreesboro and Rutherford County. Nashville and its outlying communities make up a media market ranked 29th in America. The midstate boasts entertainment options for all tastes. Several professional sports franchises call Nashville home and are all located near Nashville’s downtown and its many nationally-known hot spots.
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The Ryman Auditorium, Country Music Hall of Fame, the Tennessee Performing Arts Center and Opry Mills with its IMAX theater are all popular destinations. The best part about all of these attractions is that Middle Tennessee is located within a few minutes of them all. Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce VisitMusicCity.com Nashville Sports Council
administration SIDNEY MCPHEE PRESIDENT
Dr. Sidney A. McPhee is the tenth president of Middle Tennessee State University. During McPhee’s tenure, the University has experienced considerable growth in many areas. Since 2001, five new Ph.D. programs have been established and extramural funding has increased from $6 million to roughly $40 million. MTSU’s undergraduate enrollment is now the largest in the state. Not only are admission standards on the rise under McPhee, but so are campus facilities. Presently, the University is involved in proposed or active capital projects totaling nearly $400 million. Construction on a new student center is currently underway and a $70 million renovation of all student residential housing is scheduled for completion by 2011, the University’s centennial year. President’s Greeting
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CHRIS MASSARO DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS
Proving to be a true visionary, Massaro has helped revolutionize the Blue Raiders’ athletic department while helping pave the way for even greater success in future years. During his short reign, Massaro has overseen unprecedented success not only in the University’s athletic programs but also in regard to academic success, facility upgrades, and a proven record of hiring coaches who have thrived under his watch. Under Massaro’s leadership, the Blue Raiders have captured the Sun Belt’s allsports trophy three times in five years. Massaro’s guidance has provided coaches and student athletes with the resources to produce 18 conference titles and 19 NCAA postseason appearances.
GoBlueRaiders.com
SUN BELT CONFERENCE While there are 31 NCAA conferences that sponsor multiple sports, the Sun Belt is one of only eleven to participate in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) and Football Bowl Subdivision. The Sun Belt, formed in 1976, comprises 13 institutions of higher learning while sponsoring 19 championship sports for men and women. The Sun Belt Conference has a permanent seat on the NCAA’s 17-member Board of Directors which gives the conference a crucial voice on some of the most pressing issues in college athletics. Three Sun Belt Conference tennis teams earned spots in the NCAA tournament in 2009 as FIU women’s team and Middle Tennessee’s men’s squad picked up the league’s automatic bids. Denver’s women
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earned an at-large berth. Sun Belt Conference players received a total of 23 academic citations from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) in 2009. Three women’s programs along with 20 student-athletes were recognized for their achievements in the classroom. The conference continues to utilize television to grow and promote the league. Adding volleyball, baseball and softball to the conference’s television package has resulted in more national and regional television exposure for the league than at any time in its history. Additionally, ESPN televised the conference’s men’s basketball championship game for the 29th straight season in 2009, marking its longest affiliation with any conference in the country.
SunBeltSports.org Intercollegiate Tennis Association