Just days before the start of the 2013 spring season, USAJaguars.com sat down with University of South Alabama men’s tennis head coach Nick Brochu to discuss the fall campaign, his goals for the spring and his expectations for the team this season.
How do you feel about the way the season ended last year?
“It was a mix of a bitter taste and satisfaction. Losing in a conference final for the second year in a row is definitely not a nice feeling. It was a disappointment because we went into the tournament as one of the favorites; we were the No. 3 seed. We had a legitimate shot at winning. We beat the No. 1 seed in the semifinal and that boosted our confidence. We went into the final and it was a good match. It was very close. The other team just played better that day and we came up a little short. Looking back, we still had a young team last year. I can’t be too disappointed though because we finished No. 52 in the nation. We even broke the top 50 at one point during the season. We had some great wins against ranked opponents, but it would have been nicer to win the conference.”
Who do you think is the most improved since last season?
“I think Daniel (Leitner) has really improved. He did have a lot of great results last season, but last year he was full of potential. This past fall he was still playing at a high level, but more consistently. I think that is where he really improved. I also think Blake (Gregor) keeps getting stronger and keeps improving with his consistency. He works really hard on the court.”
What are your expectations for the upcoming season?
“The preseason ranking came out and we’re No. 53. We are definitely looking to break the top 50. This year one of our goals is to win the conference, but we’re looking for more than just winning the conference. We have our eyes set on going to the NCAA tournament and there are two ways to get there. You can win your conference or finish in the top 45 in the nation. We need to focus on breaking the top 45 so we will be sure to make it to the big dance because our conference is getting stronger every year. Last year we had four teams ranked in the top 65 in the nation. In a winning conference it’s going to get tougher and tougher. Another goal is to have a big start. Last year we did have a good start. We went to New Mexico early in the year and had a big win against New Mexico State and that gave us our first ranking. From that point on we just took off, so I think it’s really important to have a big start to set the tone.”
What do you think the team, as a whole, needs to work on to have a better finish this season than last season?
“In order to climb up the rankings, we need great wins and to make sure we don’t have any bad losses. I think the team had less pressure on them last year. We went to New Mexico, Texas and all those places where we came back with great wins, but when we went in, the expectations were not as high. We went to fight and we competed very well. This year, everyone is after us now. We have a good ranking and teams are going to be looking to beat us. We’re not the underdog anymore and we have to make sure that we don’t slow down.”
We lost four influential seniors off last year’s team - how will that affect this year’s team?
“We have two new guys that will definitely be able to help us right away in the lineup in singles. I think the biggest loss that we had from those four seniors will be in doubles. Last year we were very dominant in doubles and three of those guys played in the top two positions. In singles, two of those guys were in the top six players. We will miss them because they were anchor players for us, but now we have new guys and the freshmen from last year who are starting to step up and play bigger roles. So I think we will be fine in singles, but doubles will be a challenge.”
We posted a .600 win percentage in doubles last season - what was the secret to our success?
“Last year, we had great individuals who could play doubles. We were also able to find three teams that communicated well. We matched guys up who complemented each other. We were strong in all three doubles positions and could flip the lineup and still be very competitive. I think the key to our success was that we didn’t have any weak positions last year. Our guys last year had a lot of weapons. They had bigger serves and our seniors were able to win a lot of free points off those serves. They were very aggressive players. Doubles is the one aspect we really need to work on with the new crew.”
Who will be our team leaders this year?
“Alex and Daniel are the team captains by nomination. Daniel has definitely turned into a leader by setting an example on the court. He is really dedicated during the workouts, on the court, off the court, in the weight room and in the classroom. He is a great student and great athlete. He is usually the first one on the court and the last one to leave. Alex is a great motivator. He talks a lot to the guys, especially the new guys. You can tell that he really wants that ring. He came close two years in a row and lost in the finals. He knows that this is his last year and he is really trying to get the team pumped. Even this early in the season he is talking to the guys about what they need to do to get where they want to be. He is really a good vocal leader for the guys.”
What were your impressions from the fall season?
“I think the fall season was good. We had some great showings, especially early in the season. We dominated the tournament in New Orleans and came back with a lot of awards. Unfortunately, some of the guys, like Alex, were sidelined for most of the fall because of injuries. Overall, I was pretty happy with the fall results and I thought it was pretty good prep for the spring.”
What are your thoughts on the schedule for the spring?
“This is probably one of the toughest schedules we have had in a long time. The beginning of the season is just hard. This is not a schedule were you can smoothly come in and play a couple of home matches against easy teams and slowly get into the season. We have to go hard from the start. The first two weekends we go to Florida and play three teams that are ranked in the top 45 in the nation. So those are three targets for us to get. We have a lot of ranked teams throughout the schedule. We also will run into some teams from the conference. It’s a very challenging schedule. During spring break we go back to Florida and we play two ranked teams. This year we’re also going back to the H-E-B tournament which is always attracting a lot of ranked teams. We’re going to get plenty of opportunities to beat ranked teams, but we have to get ready and that starts now. It’s a loaded schedule and the guys need to mentally and physically be ready.”
Who do you see moving into the No. 1 spot in the lineup after Romain Bocaert’s graduation?
“Hopefully I won’t have to make that decision and one guy will step up and claim that No. 1 spot. Right now I know Alex and Daniel are the leaders of the team and they aren’t afraid of stepping up into the position. We also have two good freshmen that will be challenging the guys for the top spot, but we’ll see how things turn out and I’m confident we will be able to have a guy on top that will give us some big wins.”
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