New season. New coaches. New goals. All of these apply to the 2006 men's tennis team.
After a strong fall season, the coaches and players are excited to get into the regular season.
"It's good that we are returning five of six top guys from last year," said first year assistant coach Cory Hubbard.
The team will be lead by three seniors: Roger Matalonga, Florida State transfer Jeff Groslimond, and Daniel Andrus. Matalonga is currently ranked No. 18 in the country. His high ranking and senior status have earned him a share of the captaincy on the squad, split with Andrus, Hubbard said.
"We have a lot of returning players, so we have had time to bond as a team, and our two new players seem to fit right in as if they were always here," junior Nate Cochrane said.
Other team members said they feel the same way.
"The chemistry is there this year and we're making more of an effort to be together," Andrus said.
A big addition to the team is former Seminole Groslimond, who worked his way up to No. 3 player on the FSU squad.
"Jeff has a lot of experience with NCAA play and is especially strong with singles and doubles," Hubbard said.
Along with the addition of Groslimond is the hiring of the new assistant coach Hubbard, who left his assistant position at Texas Christian University to join the Wildcats this year.
In 2004 Hubbard helped lead the Horned Frogs to a berth in the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament.
After the departure of longtime head coach Bill Wright, last year's assistant coach Tad Berkowitz has been promoted to head coach. This will be his third season as a coach with the Wildcats.
"The guys are adapting real well to the coaches, the practices are more intense and disciplined and everyone's just really excited," Andrus said.
The Pacific 10 Conference, which is the best tennis conference in the country according to Hubbard, promises to be brutal. California, Southern California, and Stanford are ranked in the top 20 along with defending champion UCLA.
"The guys are prepared as ever," Hubbard said. "They had great results with each player having 10 to 15 matches in the fall."
A major difference from last year is the fact that there are not as many newcomers. Local standout Peter Zimmer from Salpointe Catholic High School is the only freshman on the team after redshirting last season.
"The experience level has changed quite a bit seeing that there were a lot of freshmen last year and now they have gotten a chance to get used to the setup," Cochrane said.
With the added experience comes a higher bar for this team to reach for, as it has listed making the NCAA tournament a major priority along with being ranked in the top 30. One main goal is to be the most improved team in the country, Hubbard said.
If that improvement comes through, the other goals should fall right in line.