University of Richmond Athletics
20001 Outlook
01/29/2001 | Men's Tennis
Jan. 29, 2001
With three talented newcomers and five returning letterwinners, Richmond's men's tennis team is looking to continue to improve in the program's final season in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Spiders will join the Atlantic 10 Conference, which is one of the most prominent Division I conferences in the nation, in the fall of 2001.
Richmond hopes to build on a fall campaign which featured some outstanding individual performances. Senior co-captains Robert Flader and Mark Scordo. Flader played at No. 2 singles last spring for the Spiders and is expected to play at the top spot for his final season. Meanwhile, Scordo was competitive at the No. 5 position a year ago and is looking to move up in the lineup this spring.
Junior Todd Parker has been a solid contributor in the middle of the Spiders' lineup both in singles and doubles competition. Perhaps the hardest-working player on the squad, Parker has led by example both in practices and matches with his strong work ethic. Sophomore standouts Dan Scrafford and John Oxley are also expected to bolster Richmond this spring. In one of his most impressive performances of the fall season, Scrafford had match points against East Tennessee State's No. 1 player. Oxley's powerful serve will help him earn a spot in the doubles lineup.
Freshmen Nikki Doll, David Donn and Jeremy Howard represent the program's strongest freshman class in several years. Donn amassed more wins than any Spider during the fall and could be one of the top three players in Richmond's lineup. Doll, from Heidelberg, Germany, adjusted to a new court surface in the fall and could prove to be the Spiders top performer. Howard will make immediate contributions to Richmond's doubles lineup with his superb serve and volley game.
The spring season features an outstanding dual-match schedule as the Spiders face nationally-ranked Old Dominion and VCU. In addition, visits to Davidson College, Penn and Virginia Tech as well as home matches against Navy and William & Mary should test the Spiders.
