Men's Tennis Places 4th In Regionals

First year coach Cohen looks to future

As first year coach Adam Cohen states, "We have a very bright future here with the men's tennis program."

A team comprised of entirely freshmen, he can take pride in the fact that they will definitely be back for a run at a regional championship and beyond in 2009.

Look for all eight players to return and with recruiting already underway, Mesa will be one of the favorites in the ACCAC to be sure.

2008 Spring Men's Tennis Season Outlook

New Head Coach Adam Cohen has eight men with one goal - an ACCAC Championship.

John Decker, Zachary Galas, Raman Ghuman, Kevon O'Rear, Dan Schwartz, Tyler Trent, Lennard Van Der Feltz, and Kurt Waardenburg hope to improve on last year's 14th place finish in nationals.

As conference play begins February 5 at home against Glendale at 1:30 p.m., the men have six home matches in total for 2008.

Men take 14th in Plano

Coach Rebecca Opoien and the men's tennis players notched a strong 14th place finish in national competition in Plano, Texas the week of May 14.

Other ACCAC schools flexing their muscles were Scottsdale Community College; finishing 3rd, and Paradise Valley Community College bringing in a 12th place finish.

Nationals rewind from Plano, Texas

Hindman and Roten fall short of semis

The duo of Preston Hindman and DJ Roten fought through a grueling first set and fell short 7-5 against Ross DeChant and Alex Weiland of Scottsdale Community College.

Drained from the first set, the MCC men fell in the second set 6-1, which culminated their match, ending Mesa's best shot at a title in the men's NJCAA National Championships in Plano, Texas.

In other action, Tommy Johns made it into the finals in the flight 2 consolation bracket, but lost to Tiago Vilarinho of the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, 6-3, 6-1.

Bryce Silva also made the championship match of the consolation bracket in flight 3. However, Silva fell to Jayraj Jadeja of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, 6-2, 6-1.

Other nationals highlights saw Brian Lockwood make it into the semifinal round in the flight 4 bracket before succumbing to Blake Sherman of Meridian Community College, 6-3, 6-4.

Preston Hindman had a strong effort in the consolation bracket in flight 5 before bowing out to Rogerio Yamamoto of Seward County Community College, 6-2, 6-4 in the semifinals.

Consolation bracket kind to Erik Johnson...

The sophomore from Mountain Pointe made the most out of his first round loss by dominating his consolation bracket. Johnson swept three matches en route to a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Paradise Valley Community College's Kyle Kacerek in the championship of flight 6's consolation category.

Doubles duo just misses flight 2 consolation championship...

Johns and Silva fall to host pair

Tommy Johns and Bryce Silva advanced to the finals in the flight 2 consolation group of the NJCAA Men's Tennis Championships in the lone star state. The hosts of Collin County Community College produced a team that thwarted Mesa's best one-two punch. Silva and Johns put forth a gallant effort, falling 6-4, 6-4 to Bentley Dye and Carlos Viscarra.

Nationals Update from Plano, Texas...

Doubles Team Advances to Quarters

The team of Preston Hindman and DJ Roten have advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NJCAA National Championships after defeating Mic Saeed and Clinton White of Paradise Valley Community College, 6-1, 6-7(3-7), 6-2.

They now take on two Scottsdale Community College opponents- Ross DeChant and Alex Weiland. The match is slated for Wednesday, May 16 at 1:15 p.m.

DJ and Preston can advance to the semifinals with a win and will be one of 12 teams left in the country in competition for the doubles championship in Division I.

Nationals Results from Plano, Texas...Round 1

• Flight 1 singles DJ Roten lost to Cajo Cardoso of University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, 6-0, 6-0
• Flight 2 singles Tommy Johns lost to Sam Angus of Central Alabama, 6-1, 6-1.
• Flight 3 singles Bryce Silva lost to Steffen Solomon of Johnson County Community College, 5-7, 7-5, 6-1.
• Flight 4 singles Brian Lockwood lost to Ryan Klucker of Lewis & Clark Community College, 6-3, 6-3.
• Flight 5 singles Preston Hindman lost to William Stone of Spartanburg Methodist College, 6-4, 7-5.
• Flight 6 singles Erik Johnson lost to Sean Cobble of Cowley College, 6-1, 6-2.
• Flight 1 doubles Erik Johnson and Brian Lockwood lost to Scott McNamara and Mickey Renfroe of Meridian Community College, 6-1, 6-1.
• Flight 2 doubles Tommy Johns and Bryce Silva lost to Jayraj Jadeja and Marlon Korbut of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, 6-1, 6-1.
• Flight 3 doubles Preston Hindman and DJ Roten defeat Mic Saeed and Clinton White of Paradise Valley Community College, 6-1, 6-7(3-7), 6-2.

Season Notables...

• The doubles tandem of Brian Lockwood and Erik Johnson are finalists in Flight #1 doubles

• The doubles tandem of Preston Hindeman and DJ Roten are finalists in Flight #3 doubles

• Bryce Silva is the Champion of Flight #3 singles

• Selceted to the All-ACCAC Conference 1st team are Preston Hindeman in singles play, Bryce Silva and Tommy Johns in doubles, and Erik Johnson and Preston Hindeman in doubles

• All-ACCAC 2nd team honors go to Erik Johnson in singles play

Coach Opoien has recruited two potential stars for the upcoming season. Kurt Waardenberg has committed from Florence, AZ as well as Tyler Trent out of Gilbert, AZ.

Men’s Tennis Spring 2007

With four players returning from the 2006 squad that had a 13-4 record, Men’s Tennis matched last year’s 7-3 Conference record, finished second in Regional play and are again headed to the NJCAA national tournament in Plano, Texas.

Now in her ninth year at the helm, Becky Opoien has coached Conference and Regional champions in 2002, 2003 and 2004, winning 29 of 30 matches. The record in 2005 was 16-3 overall and 8-2 in the Conference, with a third-place finish in the Regional tournament.

Four of this year’s players earned first-team All-Conference honors. Preston Hindman was recognized for his singles and doubles play (teaming with Erik Johnson). According to Coach Opoien, “Brian provides the glue that holds the team together and has an effective leadership style. Tennis is an individual sport, but the young men we have on our team have bonded together and play not only for themselves, but for the College and for each other.”

Bryce Silva, a left-handed player who has demonstrated considerable match poise and power, was the singles Flight 3 champion and has Tommy Johns as his doubles partner. Greg Peck has a strong serve and a big backhand, the result of having a fair amount of experience in competitive tournaments.

Hindman is the only freshman on the team, so Coach Opoien has a major rebuilding job ahead of her. But based on her past record, the Thunderbirds will once again be a strong contender and looking forward to playing their full schedule on the new tennis courts on campus.

Please contact The Athletics Department for comments or corrections email | phone: 480-461-7561