Wildcats open season in Lubbock

ACU to take on pair of Division I foes in opening matches

LUBBOCK -- The ACU men's tennis team opens what promises to be another successful season Sunday when it takes on a pair of NCAA Division I foes on the Texas Tech campus.

ACU will open its season at 1 p.m. when it takes on Texas Tech, followed by a 5 p.m. match against Lamar.

The Wildcats are coming off a successful spring 2003 season, which saw them win the Lone Star Conference title and the NCAA Division II Central Region championship to advance to the NCAA Division II national tournament.  The Wildcats carried that success over to the fall where they finished ranked 25th in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

ACU is the top-ranked team in the Central region going into the spring season, and sophomore transfer Casper Steenkamp is ranked No. 20 in the nation in singles and No. 1 in the region after winning the ITA Central Region championship in the fall and advancing to the ITA national tournament.

Steenkamp is the leader of the 2004 squad, but he'll be backed up by a strong mix of experienced players in seniors Trent Broach, Clayton Morgan and Jason Purser.  Also returning to the fold in 2004 are sophomores Cole Griffith and Evan Puglia.  The newcomers on the 2004 squad are Kevin Beedy, George Carstens and William McDonald.

"We had a very good team last year," ACU head coach Hutton Jones said, "and I liked that team very much.  But I look at the talent we have coming back this year, combined with George and Casper, and I think this team can be even better than last year's team."