Men's tennis team concentrating on health first, then on winning

Dan Kampner Arizona Daily Wildcat Junior college transfer and new No. 1 men's tennis player Alex Aybar (foreground) goes through a conditioning drill with junior Alex Brown during practice last week at the Robson Tennis Center. Aybar, as well as several other past Wildcats, have made the jump from tennis powerhouse Tyler Junior College in Texas to UA fame.

"If we have a good fall (season) and no injuries, I think we will be right in the thick of things for the NCAAs," Wright said.

Injuries have deterred the team in the past two years, Wright said.

Michel Stopa and Charlie Bachtell are the noted serve and volley players, while Pascal Salasca, Jean-Noel Lacoste and new recruit Alex Aybar will dominate the court this season, Wright said.

A transfer from Tyler Junior College in Texas, Aybar will play Division I tennis for the first time.

"Right now we are just seeing how the team relates to each other," Aybar said. "I think we look good right now."

Adnan Novo, a returning senior from Bosnia, said he will not let injuries stand in his way of playing this season.

"Last season I was injured for three months but I played tournaments in Europe over the summer and plan to play good this semester and stay healthy," Novo said.

Aybar said that with the new crop of freshmen, the team will have a good chance of making the top 25 this year.

The team will be getting additional guidance from Mike MacKay, who graduated last year.

He plans to work with players individually at least a couple times a week, making sure the team avoids injuries.

Lacoste and Salasca, the two upperclassmen from Stockholm, Sweden, struggled with injuries last year which prevented the team from being as strong as it could have been, MacKay said.

The team's first tournament will be the National Clay Court Championships in Baltimore, Md., at the end of the month.

The team is holding limited practices until Sept. 14.

"I don't know who's hitting bad or good because we haven't even started practices," Wright said.

Arizona was ranked No. 37 last year and ended the season with a 9-11 record overall.

The men will have to work hard to compete with Stanford, the four-time defending national champion, in addition to UCLA and USC.

"We are pretty competitive with ASU and Cal-Berkeley," Wright said.

Rachel Carasso can be reached via e-mail at Rachel.Carasso@wildcat.arizona.edu.