University of Virginia Library

Netmen Surprise . . . 14-3

Last Season's Number One Singles Player Mike Eikenberry Serves

Coach Burris Will Have Most Of 1969, 14-3 Squad Returning

With Coach Gordon Burris' time
occupied with strategy for the
rapidly approaching soccer season,
and amateur fall tennis fanatics
swarming over the Lady Astor
Courts it might seem that the
Cavalier netters have been carelessly
overlooked. But with seven of eight
team members returning from a
14-3 squad, who should worry?

Zeke Eikenberry, the lumbering
Virginia captain who stalked the
number one court last spring, was
the only casually suffered by
graduation in 1969. The loss of
Mike's experience (he played as
Virginia's top man for three years)
and leadership will leave Coach
Burris one problem to solve.

A likely replacement for
Eikenberry would be third-year
man Jeff Podesta, who turned in a
10-2 record at the number two slot,
showing good finesse in breaking
his opponents with a steady baseline
game. Although this step from
the first to second singles positions
is usually a big one, "the Pode"
should stand a fair chance of
continuing his winning efforts since
many of the other number one
players in the ACC have graduated.

Captaining the 1970 tennis team
will be fourth-year man Andy
Scheinman, who after a summer of
tournament tennis, could prove his
skills better than Podesta's and take
the limelight himself. Scheinman
played well at the third position
last spring recording several impressive
victories with his deeply placed
flat serves and anticipatory net
game.

John Winte will return with his
powerful serve and volley strategy
to strengthen the middle portion of
the ladder along with third-year
man Biff Cooper and second-year
man Doug Waterman. Waterman
won several crucial matches in 1969
at the fourth spot, and along with
Cooper, was often the greatest
crowd attraction.

Cooper, having switched from a
wooden to an aluminum racquet
midway through the season last
spring, improved his game tremendously
and even downed the
previous ACC champion in the
South Carolina match. Waterman,
an unorthodox player who rarely
attacks the net, went undefeated
for the major part of the year and
should prove to be a valuable asset
in one of the singles berths.

Rounding out the impressive list
of returning netters are John Mertz
and Bob Kain. Mertz, another
second-year man, is a specialist in
doubles and proved his talents last
May in teaming with Cooper to
bring the first individual ACC title
to Charlottesville by winning the
tournament at second doubles.
Kain has also shown his worth by
filling in both for singles and
doubles matches.

Coach Burris records in three
years of coaching tennis at Virginia
have risen from 2-11 to 14-3, the
best since 1952. In 1969 the
Cavaliers the Cavaliers brought the
most outstanding tennis and the
largest crowds for quite a while to
the Lady Astor Courts. The result
was a third place finish in the
Atlantic Coast Conference.

With the latent talents of the
first-year class yet undiscovered and
the obvious strength of the returning
Cavaliers, perhaps Coach Burris
has every right to remain on the
soccer field until the first sign of
spring.