Saturday, February 24, 2007
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Yusufcan Koksal |
Mercy College Men's Tennis Returns Strong in 2007
Schedule | Roster
DOBBS FERRY, NY - The Mercy College men's tennis team (29 points) was picked third in the East Coast Conference (ECC) preseason poll, just two points behind Concordia (31 points) and one behind Queens (30 points). After posting a 10-4 overall record and capturing a share of the regular season conference title with a 5-1 mark in 2006, the Flyers should be in the hunt for a conference championship in 2007. Mercy returns three letter winners from last year's squad that also made an NCAA Tournament appearance, while adding three newcomers to the mix.
"One of our goals in the upcoming season is to be nationally ranked," said head coach Barbaros Ozdogan. "We are also hoping to be selected for the NCAA Regionals again and perform well. The last two years we have set the same goals, however, with a strong team again this season, top talent, and the urgency, I think we can achieve our goals."
Last season Mercy earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament, falling to Assumption, 5-4 in a hard-fought epic match. The squad finished the 2006 season with a No. 5 Fila East Regional ranking and Ozdogan was honored with the Coach of the Year award.
This fall, Mercy was ranked No. 4 in the ITA Eastern Regional poll. The Flyers enjoyed a successful fall season, capturing four singles titles at the Scott Satran Tournament in September, and putting together a strong performance at the ITA Regionals.
Mercy sophomore Vyacheslav Glebov (Krasnoyarsk, Russia) headlines the returning players. He was named to the Preseason All-ECC team after earning Rookie of the Year honors and a spot on the All-NYCAC Second Team in 2006. He finished the fall ranked No. 30 in the nation and No. 3 in the region for singles, capturing the No. 1 flight singles title at the Scott Satran Tournament and advancing to the semifinals of the "A" flight at the ITA Regionals.
Sophomore Yusufcan Koksal (Ankara, Turkey) will be another key factor in Mercy's success. Last season he went 12-3, with a victory in the NCAA Tournament and had a seven-match win streak.
Mercy's third returning player is sophomore Timon Prosper (Grenada). Last year he played primarily at the number five spot, going 11-4, while also putting together a 10-5 mark in doubles play.
Ozdogan has brought in another talented recruiting class, highlighted by junior Alican Seren (Istanbul, Turkey). The number eight ranked singles player in the region, he also captured a title at the Scott Satran Tournament, winning the No. 2 flight, which included a victory over his opponent from Monmouth, a Division I program. Seren then advanced to the quarterfinals of the "A" flight at the ITA Regionals. Joining him as newcomers this year will be freshman Carlos Ferreira (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and junior Zeki Tukel (Istanbul, Turkey).
This year's schedule features matches against several nationally ranked programs. Mercy opens its 2007 spring campaign at the ECC Singles and Doubles Tournament on February 24-25, hosted by Queens College and will travel to Barton College for the North South Duals from March 23-25. The Flyers will then open up ECC play at Concordia on March 31, and will also face non-conference opponents such as Kutztown and Bloomsburg in their quest for another NCAA bid.
"We scheduled some challenging competition this season, in the hope that we can be successful and reach our goals of being nationally ranked and put ourselves in position for a conference championship," said Ozdogan.
