University of Georgia Athletics
Preseason Q&A With Head Coach Manuel Diaz
September 08, 2014 | Men's Tennis
Georgia head men's tennis coach Manuel Diaz recently sat down with GeorgiaDogs.com to preview the 2014-15 season. The Bulldogs open the fall portion of their schedule this weekend in the Southern Intercollegiate Championships held at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Q: What are you expecting from the four freshmen?
A: We have what I think is a great recruiting class. We're going to have lots of these guys be contributors this year and also for years to come, I believe.
Q: What are you hoping to see out of the freshmen specifically in the fall?
A: Just getting a chance to see them under the gun in competition at the college level instead of the junior level. I want to see how they hold up. Our biggest objective this fall is to work on a couple things that will get them ready for the spring.
Q: How have you seen the seniors already step up and lead this team?
A: I think they're off to a great start. We've had several meetings and they're working hard during our conditioning period right now. Our first official practice is September 2. The captains have taken a leadership role in getting the guys out on the court. They're just gung-ho. They are excited. They're really looking forward to making their senior year a great one. Honestly, I've been seeing some improvement in their conscientious effort when I've had them out on the court. They're doing a good job of setting some goals for themselves and the rest of the team.
Q: With a busy schedule that includes hosting perennial powers such as USC and UCLA, what is your hope for the team this season?
A: Our goal is to win another conference championship and to win another national championship. We've got a long way to go. Everybody has a long way to go. But we want to make some progress, to get these guys stronger, more fit and confident. Our goal is to be able to improve in areas individually from top to bottom. To have the depth and the strength in our doubles teams that we need to compete for those championships is the process that we have to embark on quickly. And I think we're well on our way.
Q: What are your thoughts about the rule changes this year?
A: The NCAA cabinet has to approve the recommendations that the NCAA Tennis Committee and the ITA in general have proposed. I think we're at a crossroads right now. Changes are coming down very quickly in the NCAA. Honestly, it's all a compromise. I'm behind everything now. But as we were just chiseling it out and giving it shape, there were some things that I had some questions on. I could have gone different ways with a couple of the proposals. But I'm fully behind the fact that we needed to step up and create some changes that were going to make our sport a little bit more relevant and a little bit more exciting. And at the same time, we will be able to retain the integrity of our sport.
I think that we've come up with a format that is going to take 2.5-3 hours. A no-AD format will have a lot of exciting moments. It will create some fan-friendly points throughout the match. I think we'll be able to retain the attention of the fans throughout the duration of the dual meet. It will help attendance and give us the ability to stream dual matches online or create a format where people are going to be able to get interested. Growing our fan base is of utmost importance.
The return of no-AD scoring was a brainchild of coach Dan Magill, my predecessor. We played it for 15 years from 1973-1988, and it was a tremendous success. We had our biggest crowds. We put a lot of college players in the pros, more than at any other time. It teaches you discipline. It creates for an exciting format throughout the match. It doesn't take an hour, hour-and-a-half to get to a crescendo. It has exciting climax moments throughout the match. So from a player development standpoint and from a fan perspective, I think it's going to be fantastic.
Q: Will no-AD scoring level the playing field among athletes with varying ranges of endurance?
A: Stamina is part of our game. We have a very special sport. You have to be quick, you have to be strong, you have to have agility and you have to have endurance. So stamina is a component that we don't want to totally eliminate. The mental part of it--just hanging in there when players get tired--we don't want to totally take that out of the game. You still have to play three sets. You still have to endure being down a set or a set and a service break, and you still have to come back. I think that it's a good compromise. It's going to help, I think, grow our sport.
