LeTourneau Opens Tennis Season Friday

Yellowjackets open with a tough series of matches including two NCAA Div 1 schools

LONGVIEW, TX, Feb. 10, 2009 -- Friday and Saturday, Feb. 13 and 14, the men’s and women’s tennis teams from LeTourneau University kick off their 2009 seasons. As has become a tradition under Coach Doug Carter, the teams will start the season off with tough competition.

This year, the season opening opponents are NCAA D1 schools Centenary College of Louisiana, Prairie View A&M University, and then NAIA school College of the Southwest, from New Mexico. The schedule of play for this weekend will be busy, with matches both at LeTourneau University’s Davis Tennis Center and at Kilgore High School.


Centenary College will open up play Friday against College of the Southwest, starting at 10a.m. at LeTourneau. The Jacket netters take the Davis Tennis Center courts at 3 p.m., facing off against College of the Southwest. The 3 p.m. match at Kilgore will be two D1 schools squaring off, Centenary College of Louisiana versus Prairie View A&M.

Saturday will bring two big tests for the LeTourneau teams. At 10a.m., Centenary will play at LeTourneau, against the Jackets, while Prairie View A&M tangles with College of the Southwest in Kilgore. The weekend of tennis winds down with what could be the best match of the lot, as LeTourneau lines up against Prairie View A&M at 3p.m..

The womens team, coming off two consecutive American Southwest Conference playoff appearances, had a very successful fall season. They went deeper in the ASC Individual Championships and ITA Regional Championships than ever before. The women’s team is talented which drives the high expectations, but its youth also brings some trepidation because the team lacks some depth.

Longview’s own highly ranked Brittany Trich (Longview HS) was a top recruit around the state and nation and chose to stay home to help continue building on the success with the Jacket women. She joins three-time All ASC player from Van, senior Jessica Tindall (Van HS).

Talented sophomore from Houston, Britney Cleveland (Booker T. Washington HS) earned her own 2nd team All ASC honors in her first year in Longview. Cleveland is a hard worker and will be playing a big roll for the lady netters. The other ladies on the squad are all very talented and bring a lot to the team. Gladewater’s Mary Lauren Bright (Gladwater HS), Martindale’s Caitlyn Hairell (San Marcos’), Houston’s Meredith Bowman (Concordia Lutheran), and Flower Mound’s Ali Goodwin (Marcus HS) round out the team.

Bright has been getting stronger and more consistent over the last year, after a hand injury somewhat derailed her freshman campaign. Bright is expected to be a force in doubles. Hairell will continue to be a tough competitor in the lineup, winning matches with fierce consistency.

“We’ll continue to build on the positives here," Coach Carter said. "If we take care of our business, we’ll be there (the playoffs) again this year. We are talented!”

The men’s team is deep and experienced, which leads to the high expectations that the team has this year. Like the women, the men had a successful fall with deep runs at the ASC and ITA Regional tourneys. The men are 27-21 over the last 2 years, including a playoff appearance.

This year’s squad is again led on the court by Paris’ junior lefty Mark Taylor (North Lamar HS). Taylor carries a two-plus year singles record of 45-18 (75-34 overall) for the Jackets.

Scholarship school transfer players will help strengthen an already strong lineup the rest of the way. Former Jackson State player, Ryan Thomas (Arlington, TX/Juan Sequin) will be a strong #2 in the Jacket lineup. The Hinds College (MS) transfers of Daniel Shidler and Mike Parker will bring some immediate pop to the middle of the lineup. Shidler was the #65 singles player in the country and was part of the #9 doubles team there at Hinds. Parker also was right on the cusp of the top 100 in the US and while pairing with Shidler for doubles, truly brings something incredible to the Jackets.

The projected starters are rounded out by junior team captain Wade Sinard (Tuluso-Midway HS) and junior Paul Haney (Tuluso-Midway HS), both of Corpus Christi; along with El Paso’s Uli de la Fuente (Coronado HS) and Longview’s Elick Arp (Longview HS), both sophomores.

Sinard has a singles record of 44-23 (83-49 overall) at LeTourneau, while Haney sports a 39-22 (74-49 overall) record after missing some time for injury. Arp has a combined 22-13 record, while de la Fuente has a 29-25 record here at LETU. Stephenville’s Josh Millet and Lindale’s Randy Namanny will also hold important
positions on the team.

“We’re working hard and will take these matches one at a time," said Coach Carter. "Hopefully the guys will get the recognition they deserve this year and “we can do some traveling this April”. He continued, “Everyone has to be committed and stay committed to reach the goal. We want to do something truly special here at LeTourneau.”

The public is invited and there are no admission charges to come to matches or athletic events at LeTourneau University. Davis Tennis Center is located on the beautiful campus of LeTourneau University, located at 2100 S. Mobberly in south Longview.

Source: LeTourneau Press Release.