Head coach Donald Hunsinger enters his 19th season at the helm of the men’s tennis team with great aspirations for his veteran core of players.

The Yeomen finished the 2003 spring campaign with a steady 11-12 overall record and a seventh place finish in the North Coast Athletic Conference Championships. Hunsinger’s team made great strides during home conference play, finishing a decisive 5-3 at home and a respectable 6-7 on the road.

Despite a seventh-place finish in the NCAC, the youthful Yeomen displayed many positive strides in last spring’s annual trip to Hilton Head, South Carolina. The Yeomen capped the annual excursion with an overall record of 4-3. The Yeomen earned a convincing 6-1 victory over Centre College (Ky.) as well as 4-3 routs of Carlton College (Minn.) and Carnegie Mellon University (Pa.) to round out the trip.

The Yeomen are headed by senior Jaime Frankel, whose 16-4 singles record and first-team All-NCAC earned him the 16th-best ranking in the Midwest Region. Frankel looks to build upon his career 39-13 record as well as his three previous All-NCAC selections. Frankel currently holds the highest regional ranking of any Yeomen tennis player in just under a decade.

A strong sense of optimism has spread throughout the team. “We only lost one senior who didn’t play much and we have picked up three solid freshman, so our lineup is real solid.” Sophomore James Rosenheim said.

He believes the team can improve from their NCAC 7th place finish in 2003 and contend for an NCAC Conference title. “Kenyon is going to be our toughest opponent and we’ll have to play our best tennis to win that match up,” Roseheim said on the Yeomen’s chances for vying for a conference championship.

Senior Marian Bocek returns for his final season, planning to improve his 12-11 record of last season and All-NCAC honorable mention selection. Bockek and Frankel are the only seniors on an already thin Yeomen roster. For the Yeomen to compete they will heavily rely on both Bocek, and Frankel’s All-NCAC experience and the improvement of play from the core of the returnees.

“Marian and I have watched the program grow,” Frankel said. “We are both very excited about the prospects for a good season this year. I feel that our role is to help the other guys through the rough times. It is always nice when you win in your matches and feel good at practice. But the hard times are the most difficult on you and your teammates. I feel that if we can help with whatever might come about, we can be very successful.”

Filling out the Yeomen rotation will be junior Nick Ogren and junior Mark Knee who held 8-13 and 13-9 overall records, respectively. Sophomores David Cotter and Rosenheim will also make major contributions for the Yeomen.

The Yeomen have added three first-years. “Our three freshman are great kids,” Frankel said. “They are working hard on adapting to the College game and the pressure of competing everyday in practice. They will help and add depth to our team that we have not had in the past.”

The Yeomen begin play Feb. 21 against Malone College and NCAC Conference play March 7 against Earlham College. Both matches will take place in the Heisman Field house.