Men’s tennis team starts season off strong

By Alexzander Roosevelt Elmore | gargoyle@flagler.edu

The Flagler College men’s tennis team started the season off strong with a win against Florida Tech, in Melbourne, Fla.

The No. 12 (Campbell’s/ITA Division II) ranked Saints are currently 3-2, with their most recent win coming against SCAD Savannah Feb. 19.

Head coach Walter Shinn already has his sights set down the line and is prepared to take the team all the way to the Final 16.

“We are a young team, who are still learning each other, but we are doing well,” player Stephan Stolz said.

Shinn, who coaches both the men’s and women’s tennis teams, is confident his players can go farther than before.

“The key to a good tennis player is speed, quickness, upper body strength and a strong core due to the amount of twisting involved,” Shinn said.

Shinn is also more confident because last season there were a number of injures, which is not a problem this year.

Peter Coulis, a returning junior, is at the top of the line-up for the team.

“Peter had developed into one of the best players in the country,” Shinn said.

Three of the top six players are returning as seniors: Skyler Engel, Adam Hunt and Gino Ramirez.

Ramirez is a returning All-American and plays an important role on the team as their motivator.

There are three talented freshmen on the team including Jose Martinez, Stolz and Inigo Landaluce, who is a January entry player.

“There are a lot of us freshmen who have come in and proven to be good,” Martinez said. “The season has been going well so far and we can go all the way.”

With an overall winning record the team is still confident, but with any team there is always room for improvement.

“The team is very good, we can always tighten up a little more at practice though,” Lennart Wemcken said.