Friday Features: Men's Tennis Makes Triumphant Return to UM
By Chris Megginson
Thirty-eight years after being disbanded, University of Montevallo men’s tennis is not only back on the court, but earning regional and national recognition. This week, Montevallo received its first NCAA Division II Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) South Region ranking, coming in at No. 9. UM also earned its first national team ranking in program history, No. 44, in the Oracle/ITA Division II rankings on March 28.
“It’s a great start for our program. You never know how a first season will go, but seeing this success and the recognition from the conference, region and national ranking has been exciting for our program, and hopefully we’ll be able to build off that not only this year, but future years as well,” said Head Coach Adam Albertsen, who has also served as UM’s women’s tennis coach since 2014.
Leading the way for the Falcons are freshmen
Petter Dahlin of Sweden and
Georg Trompler of Germany, who have each received ITA NCAA Division II national singles rankings, with Dahlin receiving his second-straight ranking this week, now at No. 32, and Trompler ranked 50
th on March 21.
Fifteen of the Falcons’ 16 players are freshmen, with
Jan Fraederich, a sophomore, being the only “upper classman.”
Albertsen said he focused on freshmen instead of transfers because he wanted guys who desired to compete right away.
“We really zeroed in on guys who had more of the hunger and more of the excitement to come in and help build and get this program started – guys who would buy into a vision,” Albertsen said.
Montevallo announced its reinstatement of men’s tennis in 2016 – 50 years since a historic 21-0 season.
This year’s team, now 13-5 and 5-4 in the Gulf South Conference, has exceeded its original goal of simply making the GSC Tournament.
“We knew we were entering a very strong conference and our realistic goal was to make the GSC Tournament. We knew if we could be in contention as well as making the GSC Tournament, then GSC Players of the Week, regional and national rankings would fall into place. That’s where our goal started and we continued to build off of qualifying for the GSC Tournament.”
While Montevallo men’s tennis is a new program in the athletic department’s 20-plus year history in NCAA Division II, it is not new to the campus with brick streets. Until it was disbanded in 1980, it was one of the most successful athletic programs at Montevallo.
In 1959, Montevallo tennis became the third intercollegiate sport since the former all-women college began enrolling men. Under the direction of Coach Floyd Anderson, the men’s team won Alabama Collegiate Conference titles in 1964 and 1966. Not only was UM, then known as Alabama College, excelling at its own level, but the Falcons became the first Alabama Collegiate Conference program to beat a Southeastern Conference program when they knocked off Auburn University, 5-4, on April 8, 1966 – 52 years ago next week. The Falcons went on to finish the season 21-0.
In 1970, Montevallo once again claimed the ACC title and won the NAIA District 27 title before losing in the national tournament to finish 13-1.
In addition to the men’s success this season, the UM women’s program is having a season for the record books. With a 19-1 overall record and 9-1 conference record, the Montevallo women have also received their first ITA South Region and national ranking at No. 7 and No. 23, respectively.
The addition of the men’s program has helped fuel both programs according to Albertsen.
“Seeing the support of both teams for each other has been amazing for our program. Adding men’s tennis creates a fan base where both teams are supporting each other,” Albertsen said.
Follow Megginson on Twitter @jcmeggs. Email comments to megginsonjc@gmail.com.
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2017-18 Friday Features Archive
September 1 |
Mississippi College
September 8 |
Montevallo
September 15 |
Valdosta State
September 22 |
West Georgia
September 29 |
Alabama Huntsville
October 6 |
Union
October 13 |
West Alabama
October 20 |
West Florida
October 27 |
Delta State
November 3 |
Christian Brothers
November 10 |
Shorter
November 17 |
North Alabama
November 24 |
Lee
December 1 |
AUM
December 8 |
West Florida
Decemeber 15 |
Mississippi College
December 22 |
Lee
December 29 |
West Alabama
January 5 |
Valdosta State
January 12 |
Christian Brothers
January 19 |
Montevallo
January 26 |
AUM
February 2 |
Mississippi College
February 9 |
West Florida
February 16 |
North Alabama
February 23 |
Alabama Huntsville
March 2 |
Broadcasters
March 9 |
Delta State
March 16 |
Alabama Huntsville
March 23 |
Lee
March 30 |
West Alabama