Jesse Ferlianto

March 10, 2006

Greetings everyone. It has been quite a while since the last Emory tennis diary entry, so I am very excited to be back on duty, shedding light upon the untold events in the world of Emory men’s tennis. Some of you readers might have come to the conclusion that the tennis diary entries have come to the brink of extinction; but fear not, for we are back with reinforcements for the coming season. We’ll be cranking out these entries weekly, so be sure to revisit the website for more.

            What has happened since our last entry? Too much to be covered extensively in one sitting. I’ll briefly run over a few highlights:

            -Our team has experienced a sort of “baby boom” phenomenon, as this fall brought with it the arrival of 6 talented and impressionable freshmen. Some would say that we actually have 7 freshmen, if we include “sophomore” Hardy Ehlers in the group. Yes, he IS a sophomore, but most of the upperclassmen on the team still forget that Hardy has technically outgrown his freshman status. Deep in our hearts we will always see him as our dear beloved token freshman. He was just so good at it, and I believe he actually enjoyed playing the role. It’s indescribable. Just take my word for it (or ask Tyson Ramsay for more details). We love you, Hardy!

            -We finished the fall season with 3 automatic All-American awards. Senior Pat Redmond won the ITA Southern Region Championships in singles, while Mark Boren and Mike Goodwin (both freshmen) claimed the doubles title. Big congrats to these guys for stepping up in the tournament last fall.

            -Interesting fact: diversity on our team has increased as well. We now have 2.75 Asians on our team (3.75 if you include Rohit “Leander Paes” Agarwal, who is of Indian descent ) Our 2.75 Asians are spread across 4 individuals, so bear with me here as I try to clear up the confusion. (Yoji + Jesse = 2 Asians. Pat = 0.5 Asian. Goodwin = 0.25 Asian; grand total=2+0.5+0.25=a whopping 2.75 Asians).

            Aleksey Shapoval was born in Ukraine, and according to legend, trained to be a world-class boxer during his time in the army. No one can verify the truth behind that rumor, but at least it explains the merciless death stare and punch-like volleys he brings to the court during warm-ups. I love his intensity.

            Upon arriving on campus, Daniel Snyder quickly joined an organization called the Brotherhood of Afro-centric Men (B.A.M. for short), and regularly performs in step routines around the community. He practices with them as much as he trains with us, so this is no joke.

 
            In addition, half of our coaching staff is international. Add that to the fact that Mark Boren single-handedly brings a handful of ethnicities to the table, and you’ve got Diversity with a capital “D” folks. This representation is not uncommon at Emory University, might I add, as diversity is one of the conspicuous characteristics of the school’s student body. And how could I forget? Chris Redmond, Pat Redmond’s more handsome younger brother (just kidding Pat!), will add 0.5 to the Asian count when he steps foot on campus as a freshman this coming September. Does all of this excite me? You bet.

            -More interesting facts: As usual, Lee Friedman’s passing shot up the line is as crisp and consistent as it has ever been. And considering the fact that he has wins against Donald Young and Scoville Jenkins, I don’t expect that to change any time soon. 

            Mark Boren runs the mile and a half in under 7.5 minutes, even with the handicap of a thick, heavily wind-resistant afro measuring 29 inches around. His next challenge is to beat all of us in the mile and a half running backwards.

            Not to toot my own horn, but I recently won an ice cream-eating contest at the 2006 Lunar New Year festival. Huge personal victory. However, I’m not doing that again any time soon, since it hurts my head too much.

          -We are now getting ready for our big spring break trip to L.A., where we will play 4 matches in as many days. A few of our opponents in L.A. are top-ranked division III teams, so we expect the tennis to be intense and of high level. It’ll be a good test for us as we reach the half-way point of the season.

            -Lastly, this is the first season where we’ve had the privilege of using the new indoor facility from the start. It has allowed us to get more days of practice in during the nasty winter months, while contributing to the maintenance of our health. (it seems like people get injured more often playing in cold outdoor conditions, not to mention the potential for getting sick).

            Alas, it is getting late and I need to get some much-needed beauty sleep. Please stay tuned for future entries in the Emory tennis diary. Thank you all for your support. And for those of you in town, we have our next string of home matches on the week of March 20th, so please feel free to come out and see your Eagles in action!  

Jesse Ferlianto is a senior from Canyon Country, Calif. He would love to answer e-mail questions from Emory recruits and fans.