By Michael Isaac Jacobs
Arizona Daily Wildcat
April 23, 1998

Moving Up

It was two weeks before the Arizona Wildcat men's tennis team began the 1994-95 season and Roland Kupka, a 6-foot-1-inch state champion from Fritzlar, Germany, was still shopping his services to American universities.

"I first talked to (UA head) coach (Bill) Wright four weeks before school started," said Kupka, who is a senior honors student at UA. "I met someone in Germany (Mike Lee), who used to go to school and play here, and he referred me to coach Wright."

All that remained to be settled were the logistics of signing a letter of intent, the nightmare of transferring transcripts for approval and the forging of a relationship constructed solely on Lee's description of a young tennis player.

"Coach offered me a scholarship right on the phone," Kupka said. "I hadn't even heard of UA before, and couldn't even pronounce the word Tucson."

And for Wright, who has been at the helm of the men's tennis program for 12 years, the possibility of Kupka attending that fall seemed like a moot point.

"It was kind of funny, because Mike Lee saw Roland play in Germany, and we had just one scholarship available," Wright said with a chuckle. "He wanted to come in August, but I said there was no way that we could get all the paperwork done in time. But, no one else in the world would have been as organized as he was; he had all of the stuff already prepared."

But even Kupka, a person Wright describes as conscientious, delightful and enjoyable, was still uncertain at the time about his future.

"By June, I still didn't have a team to go to," Kupka said. "I would have ended up at East Tennessee University, but there weren't any scholarships left there. I still look at (me coming to UA) as a miracle."

Kupka then entered his freshman year with substantial expectations of achieving the highest level of excellency in the collegiate ranks.

But somewhere along the way the nutritional sciences major found himself homesick and watching his teammates from Robson Tennis Center's aluminum bleachers.

"I dropped out of the lineup in my freshman year and it was hard on me, because I really wanted to do well in school," Kupka said. "I even told my parents on the phone that I was going to return home. But I didn't want to give up, and I felt that if I made some changes in my attitude, then I could survive academically and on the court."

After a first-year record of 9-16, while playing at the No. 4, 5, and 6 positions in the lineup, Kupka posted a 15-3 singles mark the next season.

Last year, Kupka split time between the No. 2 and 3 positions, and entered this season as the No. 1 player on the UA roster.

"I worked my way up the lineup, and that's where I wanted to be with my potential," Kupka said. "But, if anyone had told me in my freshman year that I would have played No. 1 in my senior year, I wouldn't have believed them."

And the coaching staff knows it takes a special person to play on the top court.

"Playing No. 1 in the Pacific-10 Conference is a tough go no matter who you are," assistant coach Bob Helmig said. "And he's earned that spot, because he's the type of player who can change his game from serve and volley to baseline and still play well. Roland goes out there and finds a way to win."

Four of six Pac-10 Southern Division teams are among the country's top 12 programs.

"To play in the Pac-10 is one of the toughest jobs you can have," Kupka said. "The level of competition is so high, and you don't get any easy matches."

Kupka, who wants to attend graduate school and eventually become an international nutritionist, said he has no regrets about coming to UA and staying after a rough freshman season.

"I'm pretty proud to play for UA, because it is a wonderful program and school," Kupka said.

Wright, a self-proclaimed believer in one-on-one lessons or, as he prefers to call it, the "two-man tango approach to improvement," said he continually strove to harness Kupka's instinctive nature to be hard on himself into positives on the tennis court.

"What I tried to do with Roland was to make him a little more spontaneous and more of a take-charge kind of tennis player," Wright said. "He takes the game seriously, but you've got to be relaxed, so hopefully, I've taught him to take more pressure off himself."

And the pupil has benefited from the distinct style of his teacher.

"There were a few flaws in my game before I came here, and coach Wright helped me to change my game to make adjustments mechanically to improve," Kupka said. "He's been a great coach and person. One of his best qualities is that he tries to make life as good as possible."

One person who has had a considerable impact on Kupka's tennis career has been doubles partner Mike MacKay. Contrary to Kupka's match style, MacKay thrives in adversity and welcomes any sight of pressure.

"We each contribute our diverse mentalities, and that makes it a lot of fun," Kupka said. "Mike is crazy and a good guy, but it's funny that we've ended up playing a lot of doubles matches together, because it was a weird mix."

"Mike has been a real good influence on Roland," Wright said. "He has loosened Roland up a little, and always has an upbeat attitude, but they both complement each other real well."

This year, the Wildcats compiled six wins against 11 losses, and won three of 12 Pac-10 matches. The team finished 0-10 in conference play last season.

Earlier this month, No. 52 Arizona made pyrite out of the Golden Bears from California with a 4-3 road victory.

Amazingly enough, the triumph was the first for an Arizona team ever in the Golden State.

"It was really great to beat Cal," Kupka said. "That was the team highlight of my career."

Upon reflection, Kupka said this season has been 100 times better than last year because of a new atmosphere. And, because it appears the team is going to Regionals.

"We didn't lose to any teams that we weren't supposed to lose to," Kupka said.

But, the men's tennis program has never graduated to the NCAA Nationals in Kupka's four-year career.

"I would love to end the season on a good note," Kupka said, "which would mean that we would play to our potential and qualify in the NCAA's for the first time."

Kupkafile

• Graduated in June of 1994 from Koenig-Heinrich Schule in Fritzlar, Germany
• Member of the 1991 German National Junior 16-and-under team
• Won a state championship while playing on the prestigious squad
• Semifinalist in two International Tennis Federation Tournaments

UA Careernumbers

Year	Singles Record Court Position  Doubles Record

1994-95	  9-16	      4, 5 and 6	8-12
1995-96	  15-3	      4, 5 and 6	4-2
1996-97	  11-10	      2 and 3		8-11
1997-98	  11-14	      1 and 2		4-13