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Air Force Men's Tennis Looking for Inaugural Title
Falcons have 23 consecutive 20-win seasons. (2/3)
Feb. 3, 2000 Consistency and high quality play best describe the Air Force men's tennis team year after year. The Falcons have been nothing short of amazing the past two decades. When last year's team finished 21-8, it marked the 23rd consecutive 20-win season for the Falcons. Consistency like that is not easily attainable. The architect behind the success is head coach Rich Gugat. As the team enters the 2000 campaign, another lofty goal is in sight. The team needs just eight wins for Gugat to reach 600 for his brilliant career. He's led AFA to a 592-192 career record in 25 years which places him fifth among all active Division I head coach in career wins. "I think 600 wins tells you that you're getting old and have been in the same place a long time," Gugat said. "Seriously, it's a credit to some of the great players we've had and the assistant coaches I've worked with." Gugat's convinced every season that reaching the magic 20 will be very difficult. This year is no different. The Falcons enter their first season in the Mountain West Conference in addition to playing one of its toughest schedules ever. AFA plays the likes of Colorado, Brigham Young, Utah, St. Mary's, Denver and San Diego State and Denver on the road. AFA has its usually tough home schedule with the likes of Oral Roberts, Weber State, Missouri-Kansas City Drake, Wichita State, Idaho State and Montana. "I write every Division I team in the country to set up matches, so we have a lot of tough ones. The trip to Northern California will be tough, as well as the Mountain West Conference teams," the coach commented. The Falcons will be deep in the top six this season. C1Cs (Sr.) Nolan Cooper and Tom DeAngelis return to lead the squad. Cooper has posted a 62-12 career singles record and ranks third in AFA history for career singles winning percentage with a .837 mark. Cooper's 61 wins are 18th, but with an average of 20 wins per season over his career he could finish among the top five. Cooper posted a 22-6 mark at No. 2 last year. DeAngelis is 44-15 over his career and ranks ninth in AFA history in career singles winning percentage with a .783 mark. He set an Academy record in 1997 for wins at No. 5 singles with 25. He overcame health problems as a sophomore to notch a 19-7 mark at No. 3 singles last year. "Both Nolan and Tom will compete for the No. 1 singles spot," Gugat said. "They'll play off for it in January. Based on last year, Nolan has the edge, but Tom played the best of anyone on the team in the fall." C2C (Jr.) Rene Ramirez also returns. After going 18-9 at No. 5 singles as a freshman, Ramirez was 15-10 at No. 4 singles last year. Fellow C2C (junior) Doug Fike and C3Cs (So.) Kyle Rainey and Philip Yim also have plenty of experience. Fike was 12-15 at No. 4 singles as a freshman, then went 7-3 at No. 6 last year. Rainey went 13-7 as a rookie at No. 6 singles. Yim was 11-13 at No. 5 singles a year ago. The Zielinski twins will also be counted on heavily in 2000. Chris and Greg were 16-10 as rookies last season at No. 3 doubles. "Rene continues to be the hardest working player we have. He could play as high as No. 3 singles this season," Gugat said. "I'm really expecting great things from Kyle Rainey. He lost 7-5 in the third set to the No. 1 singles player in the region during the fall. That tells you the kind of tennis he's capable of palying." The Falcons' depth will come from an outstanding freshman class. Alan Haedge, Eric Pittman and Tyler West make up one of the best rookie classes in recent memory. All three should challenge for time in the top six. "I think Pittman will start out in the top six. He's got great skills," Gugat said. "This is a solid freshman class. Haedge and West will push the upperclassmen this season."
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