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2006-07 UMW Men's Tennis Season in Review

The 2006-07 season proved to be another in a line of successful campaigns for the University of Mary Washington men’s tennis program. The Eagles, under eighth-year head coach Todd Helbling, won its eighth straight Capital Athletic Conference title, advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the eighth consecutive season, and saw sophomore John James earn All-America honors after capturing the Fall ITA regional singles title.

The year began with controlled enthusiasm, as James and classmate Randy Loden anchored the top of the lineup after the graduation of national champion Paul Bristow in 2006. With no seniors on the roster, the Eagles embarked on a fall season not knowing where some of the pieces would fall, with five freshmen, five sophomores, and a junior all vying for court action.

After playing in three flighted tournaments in the fall, James advanced to the ITA Small College National Championships, placing sixth after topping second-seeded Jesse Brauer of Gustavus Adolphus College in the consolation round. As a team, the Eagles were ranked 11th in the nation heading into the spring with james ranking sixth in singles.

UMW opened the spring by splitting a pair of matches at the University Tennis Center against Division I opponents, as the team swept George Mason University, 7-0, and fell to the University of Richmond, 6-1. After sweeping Roanoke College, 7-0, the Eagles competed in the ITA Indoor Nationals, falling to top-ranked Emory and Trinity University before downing Swarthmore College, 7-2. From there, the Eagles flew from blustery Minnesota to sunny California, where they won four of five matches, including victories over Occidental, Chapman, Pomona-Pitzer, and the University of Redlands.

The momentum of the California trip carried over once the team returned to the Battleground, as UMW won nine straight home matches through the Capital Athletic Conference championship win over Salisbury University. The home win streak started with a 5-4 win over #17 Washington & Lee University, and included wins over The College of New Jersey, Catholic, Christopher Newport University, Hood College, and St. Mary’s, and concluded with CAC Tournament wins over Gallaudet, Goucher, and Salisbury.

Road losses at Johns Hopkins and Swarthmore prevented the Eagles from entering the NCAA Tournament ranked in the top 10 nationally. After defeating Methodist College, 5-2, in the opening round, the Eagles fell to sixth-ranked Trinity (Tx.) in a rematch of the second round of the ITA Indoor National second round, falling 5-2 to the Tigers.

James accepted an invitation to play in the NCAA National Singles Championship in St. Louis, advancing to the second round by defeating Middlebury’s Alex Scott in three sets, 7-5, 2-6, 6-4. There, he fell to Brauer of Gustavus Adolphus in two sets to culminate his breakout season.

In addition to earning All-America honors, James was named the Capital Athletic Conference Player of the Year, and repeated on the All-CAC team, where he was joined by Loden, Eddie Carver, and Jon Pollak on the first team in singles, and by Jason Dunn and Evan Goff on the second team. In doubles, James and partner Zach Detweiler and  Loden and Pollak took first team all-conference honors.