Posted: Mar 14, 2014
The Roanoke College men's tennis program is off to new beginnings in the 2014 season. We finished 2013 with a 9-8 overall record and a 5-5 mark in Old Dominion Athletic Conference play. We advanced to the ODAC Quarterfinals, playing against Emory & Henry.
Welcome Jim Schaefer to Roanoke College as Head Coach
We are also proud to introduce our new men's tennis coach, Jim Schaefer. Schaefer comes to the team as Assistant Head Tennis Pro at Roanoke Country Club. He is USPTA certified and has continued to compete at a very high level. He was on the USTA 4.5 National Runner-Up team from Roanoke in 2013. He has won the National Gold Ball twice in men's 40's doubles and was part of the men's 40's #1 ranked doubles team from 1999-2000. Jim has also helped with the partnership of Roanoke Country Club and Roanoke College by providing an indoor facility for the tennis teams to use during the cold winter months.
About the Returners
In 2014, we return two of our three All-ODAC performers from last season. Ian Webster enters his senior season after being named Third-Team All-ODAC. He played #5 singles last season, reaching a 11-2 mark in singles play. He played in 17 matches with a 12-4 overall record. Against conference opponents he tallied a mark of 7-3.
Matthew Kessler was named Third Team All-ODAC with his doubles partner James Lee. Kessler went 10-7 in doubles in 2013, and was 6-4 against ODAC opponents. Kessler was 7-5 in singles play, going 6-5 at the #1 singles position. We also return Will Groth, Chris Migliarese and Lewis Young who played #6, #4 and #5 singles respectively, as well as Jacob Morris who saw time at the #6 singles and #3 doubles positions. Newcomer, Freshman Joey Ross will battle Kessler for the top spot and additional Freshmen Chris Teeple and Nolan Webb will round out the Maroon's line-up.
About the Schedule
We return to competitive action on March 3rd, when we travel down to Hilton Head, SC to play our annual Spring Break matches. We will take on Elizabethtown College, St. John Fisher College, Wilkes University and the University of Mount Union. We return to ODAC action on March 10th when we take on nationally ranked #22 Washington and Lee University.
Starting on March 15th, we will host our first home match and the first of three consecutive ODAC home matches, beginning with Virginia Wesleyan. On March 19th, we play host to Lynchburg College, then take on Hampden-Sydney on the very next day. We close out our season against #15 regionally ranked Bridgewater College on April 14th.
Alumni Weekend Activities
On Saturday, April 12, we will have a special event for both our men's and women's tennis alumni with "Tennis Alumni Day" from 11:30 AM-1:30 PM at the Elizabeth Campus Courts. We are playing "King of the Court" format mixed doubles plus a "hit for prizes" contest. Some of the prizes to be won are RC Tennis hats, t-shirts, wristbands and much more!
Honoring Coach Phil Benne at Alumni Match
During the event, we will take a moment for a special presentation for Phil Benne, who retired as head men's tennis coach last summer after 25 years of service to Roanoke College Tennis. He will remain on the athletic staff at RC as the head women's soccer coach.
Benne, who has the second-most wins in ODAC Women's Soccer history, also holds that claim in men's tennis among ODAC Coaches with over 150 career match victories. His best years were from 2004-08, as his teams finished second in the league all five years. He was named the ODAC Coach of the Year in 1999 and 2004, while coaching 23 All-ODAC selections, three ODAC Rookies of the Year and an ODAC Player of the Year.
He has served in various capacities at Roanoke College, from admissions, to event manager, to the fitness center manager in addition to men's tennis and women's soccer coaching responsibilities. He has given a quarter of a century to Roanoke College Athletics and is deserving of this recognition. If you're interested in attending the event during alumni weekend, please contact Brad Moore at moore@roanoke.edu to sign up for the event.
Those who have signed up for the Maroon Club to support the tennis programs will also receive a gift package as well at the event. For those who have not signed up but want to join the Maroon Club, please contact Brad Moore at moore@roanoke.edu or at (540) 375-2344. To sign up online, please click HERE.
Attention Maroon Club members!
For our alumni who are Maroon Club members, be on the lookout for the Maroon Club newsletter which will be coming out in early March. It will recap the winter season along with previews from each of our nine spring sports and talk about the events coming up, including the Maroon Club golf outing April 11 at the Roanoke Country Club. For more information about the golf outing, please click HERE.
Thank You!
I want to conclude by saying THANK YOU to our supporters of the men's tennis program through the Maroon Club. The equipment we received, the upgrades to our facility, the support for our spring break trip to Hilton Head, the team meals on the road could not be possible without the help of our parents, alumni and friends of the program.
While we enjoyed a solid fall season in 2013, other teams are getting better and we want to remain on the rise as one of the top teams in our league. We need your support to continue our rise as one of the top men's tennis programs in the ODAC!
Thanks again for your continued support of the Roanoke College Men's Tennis program!
