Published: June 03, 2008 03:46 pm         

Tennis Powerhouse

This year, Valdosta State was home to two Division II tennis powerhouses.

Valdosta State’s women’s tennis team made it to the national semifinals this season, while the VSU men made it to the national quarterfinals. Both the Blazers and the Lady Blazers won the Gulf South Conference championship — the first time in school history that both squads won the GSC in the same year.

The VSU women went 14-5 this season, while the men finished 15-7, with each playing one of the toughest schedules in the country.

Valdosta State’s women earned their trip to the national tournament in Houston, Texas with a 5-0 sweep of North Alabama in the South Regional finals, which were played in Valdosta. In the first round of nationals, the Lady Blazers dominated Slippery Rock, winning 5-0. Then they blanked Hawaii-Pacific in the quarterfinals, also winning 5-0.

That earned the Lady Blazers a spot in the semifinals against No. 3 Lynn. But the Lady Knights were too much for VSU, and won the match 5-2.

This was the fifth straight season that the Lady Blazers made it to the national tournament.

This year, the Valdosta State women had one of their strongest teams ever. Dominique Rothlaender, their No. 1 singles player, was the No. 8 player in Division II. Raphaelle Durante, who played No. 2 singles, was ranked No. 4 in the country. Natali Gumbrecht was the nation’s No. 16 player. Karine Redon, who played No. 6 singles, is ranked No. 41 in the country. Tina Trautmann was chosen the conference’s Freshman of the Year.

Rothlaender, Durante, Gumbrecht and Trautmann were all named to the All-Conference team. Rothlaender and Durante were All-Americans last season, and will probably earn the honor again this year.

During the season, the Lady Blazers defeated 11 ranked teams, including top 10 teams Barry and Columbus State. All of their losses came to teams ranked in the top three in the country. The team was ranked either No. 3 or No. 4 in Division II all season.

Meanwhile, Valdosta State’s men made their eighth trip to nationals in the past 10 years, and fifth in a row. The Blazers were ranked No. 2 in the country all season.

Valdosta State’s men earned their spot in the national tournament with a 5-0 sweep of Delta State in the South Regional finals, also played in Valdosta. In the first round of nationals, the Blazers beat Bloomsburg State 5-3. But in the quarterfinals, they fell 5-3 to No. 4 Drury.

This season, the VSU men defeated, among other teams, No. 3 West Florida, No. 4 Drury, No. 5 Barry, No. 6 Lynn, No. 8 Ouachita Baptist, No. 14 Georgia College and State, No. 18 California-San Diego, No. 19 Columbus State and No. 25 South Carolina-Aiken.

The Blazers always play a tough schedule, and this year, 20 of their 22 opponents were ranked in either the Division II or NAIA poll. None of the teams they lost to had a national ranking lower than No. 4.

The Blazers had three players ranked among the top 17 in Division II. Florian Halb, who played No. 1 singles all year, is ranked No. 9. Joerg Ekkenga is ranked No. 10, while Leos Jelinek is No. 17. Ekkenga and Jelinek ended the season as the nation’s No. 2 doubles team, after being No. 1 for part of the year.

Halb, Ekkenga and Jelinek were all named to the GSC All-Conference team. All three will probably earn All-America honors. Jelinek, a junior, was an All-American in both 2006 and 2007, while Ekkenga, a sophomore, was an All-American in 2007.

Valdosta State head coach John Hansen was chosen both the men’s and the women’s Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year. Hansen has coached tennis at VSU for the past 36 years, and has won almost every award possible for a Division II tennis coach. His men’s team won the national championship in 2006 and was the runner-up in both 2004 and 2007.

His accomplishments speak for themselves, but Hansen often modestly deflects praise to his assistant coaches. This year, Filip Norrman was his men’s assistant coach, while Annika Biro was the women’s assistant coach.

Hansen has masterfully recruited multi-national teams, which are heavy on European players. On the VSU men’s team, five players are from Germany, one is from France, one is from the Czech Republic, one is from Belgium and two are Americans. The women’s team has three players from Germany, two from France, one from England, one from Sweden and one American.