Men's Head Coach
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MEN’S HEAD COACH MEN’S COACHING RECORDS PETER WRIGHT Year Coach Record Win Pct. Head Coach 1993-present Peter Wright 119-87 .578 10th Year at Cal 1987-92 Scott McCain 115-79 .593 Considered one of the best teach- 1974-86 Bill Wright 241-123 .662 ers and tacticians in men’s collegiate 1970-73 Kevin Merrick 48-27 .640 tennis, Peter Wright has developed a 1960-69 Chet Murphy 80-52 .606 reputation for getting more out of 1947-59 Dick Stevens 80-86-1 .482 his players than perhaps any coach 1932-46 Tom Stow 73-45-1 .618 in the country. 1930-31 Ray Grismer 27-3-1 .887 Wright’s coaching talent hasn’t 1925-29 Howard Kinsey 17-12-3 .578 gone unnoticed. Pac-10 Coach of the 1892-1924 no known coaches 59-22-2 .723 Year in 2001 and in 1997, he received 108 years nine known coaches 843-527-8 .615 his first coaching award in 1994 when he was named Wilson/ITA Regional Coach of the Year for guiding the Bears back to postseason play juniors in Robert Kowalczyk and John Paul Fruttero, who in after Cal had missed the Big Dance the previous two seasons. 2003 are looking to lead the Bears deep into the NCAA Champi- Wright and the Bears have been a fixture in the NCAA Tourna- onships again. ment almost every year since. A four-year letterman during his collegiate career at Cal, Wright The ninth coach in the 110-year history of Cal tennis, Wright worked his way to the No. 1 singles position in the Bears lineup has compiled a 119-87 (.578) career record during his tenure in before joining the men’s professional tour in 1986. As a pro, Berkeley. Wright’s 2002 netters ranked as the school’s all-time Wright played in such Grand Slam events as Wimbledon, the best squad since joining the Pac-10, as the Bears’ 5-2, second- French Open and the Australian Open. In addition to a doubles place finish was California’s best-ever showing in the competi- victory over Pete Sampras, Wright’s career highlights include tive league. Last season also marked the first time that Cal en- matches with Andre Agassi, Goran Ivanisevic, David Wheaton, joyed a series sweep of UCLA since 1953 and the first time ever Marc Rosset, Jonas Bjorkman and Tim Henman. that the Bears beat Stanford, UCLA and USC in the same sea- Many of Wright’s career highlights as a player have come son. during international competition, where he represented Ireland Prior to taking over as Cal’s head coach in May 1993, Wright in Davis Cup from 1988-95. His parents, Stanley and Elizabeth, spent five years as an assistant with the Golden Bears. As a head were born and raised in Ireland, allowing Wright to compete as coach, Wright has excelled at recruiting, a key ingredient in re- an Irish national. He has won several Irish national singles and turning Cal to the nation’s tennis elite. In 1994 he recruited doubles championships, and was instrumental in Ireland’s upset Michael Hill, an All-American and NCAA singles quarterfinalist. victories over Greece, Spain and Belgium when Ireland captured In 1998 and 2001, Wright’s team made a run to the NCAA the 1992 European Cup. Wright has also served as Ireland’s Round of 16. Also in 1998, he inked a pair of Top 10-ranked Davis Cup captain since August 1995. However, his biggest thrill in the arena of international tennis may have come in 1996, when he spent the summer in Atlanta serving as head coach of the Irish Olympic tennis team. In addition to his Cal and National Team duties, Wright serves on the boards of both the Youth Tennis Advantange and the Arthur Ashe Tennis Foundation of the Bay Area. He also estab- lished the Bear Trax program at Cal, which brings inner city children from Oakland to Berkeley for academic tutoring with Cal students and tennis tutoring with the Cal men’s and women’s teams. A Bay Area native, Wright was born in San Francisco on Dec. 8, 1963, and earned a B.A. in social science from Cal after return- ing to school in 1991. His wife of 10 years, Fionnuala, is a former Irish national singles and doubles champion and a former member of the Irish national basketball team. The Wrights cur- rently reside in Berkeley with their son, Thomas, and daughter, Carly. Head coach Peter Wright with Adrian Barnes. 34 2003 CALIFORNIA TENNIS MEDIA GUIDE MEN’S COACHING STAFF ROGELIO “JUN” HERNANDEZ WAYNE FERRIERA Assistant Coach Volunteer Assistant Coach 4th year at Cal 4th year at Cal In his fourth season as an assis- Wayne Ferriera continues as an tant coach and first with the men’s assistant coach with the Cal program team, Jun Hernandez brings his ex- while still playing on the profes- perience as a player and on-court sional tour. A 12-year ATP Tour vet- hitting coach to the men’s squad. eran, he finished the 1995 and 1996 Under the tutelage of women’s seasons ranked in the Top 10 in the head coach Jan Brogan, Hernandez world. spent the previous three seasons as Ferriera has been one of the most an assistant coach with the Cal successful players on the pro circuit woman’s team, earning the North- in the 1990s, having won 19 career west Region’s ITA Women’s Assis- titles since turning pro in 1989. tant Coach of the Year award in 2002. He has also spent the past Ferreira’s career prize money tops $8 million. His highest ever three summers as a hitting coach for professional tennis player ranking in singles was No. 6 (1995) and in doubles No. 11 (2000). Martina Hingis. This past season, Ferriera turned in one of his most consis- As the top assistant at USD three years ago, Hernandez played tent performances, advancing to the fourth round in every 2002 an instrumental role in guiding then USD junior Zuzana Grand Slam event. He finished the year with a No. 38 ranking in Lesenarova to the 1999 NCAA singles title. singles and No. 52 in doubles. Prior to USD, he was the assistant tennis pro at the Rancho Ferreira competed in a flurry of events in 2001, including the Bernardo Swim & Tennis Club, giving private lessons to players Australian Open and U.S. Open. In January, he advanced to the of all abilities. quarterfinal round at the Australian Open by defeating 26th- A 1995 graduate of San Diego State, Hernandez played No. 2 ranked Ivan Ljubick of Croatia and No. 83 Albert Coska of singles and No. 1 doubles for the Aztecs in 1994. He won five Spain. men’s open singles titles and two men’s open doubles events Wayne and his wife, Liesl, live in Berkeley with their son, during 1997 in Southern California. Marcus. SUPPORT STAFF MARY DEMPSEY DINI WONG Strength/Conditioning Strength/Conditioning DALE RUDD TIM NGUYEN MIKE HORAK After four years as an assistant with the women’s team, Jun Team Trainer Team Manager Team Manager Hernandez brings his experience as a player and on-court hitting coach to the men’s squad. 2003 CALIFORNIA TENNIS MEDIA GUIDE 35 MEN’S ATHLETE PROFILES STEVE BERKE PATRICK BRIAUD Senior Sophomore Experience: TR Experience: 1V Height: 6-2 Height: 6-0 Weight: 185 Weight: 175 North Miami, FL College Station, TX Yale University A&M Consolidated HS Right Handed Left Handed Senior transfer from Yale will begin One of the most disciplined and intel- his play as a Golden Bear in spring of 2003…preseason ranked ligent players on the Bears’ squad…he’s a fast learner that plays No. 45 by ITA in aggressively…FALL singles…2001-02: 2002: Participated in Missed much of the three tournaments season due to injuries, posting a 6-6 record… but still qualified for at Bulldog Classic in the NCAA tournament Fresno, advanced to in singles and semifinals in back draw doubles…finished with 6-4, 5-7, 1-0(8) with a national singles win over Paul ranking of No. 74 and Dilloway of UC doubles ranking of No. Davis…scored straight 29…2000-01: After set win over Arron going undefeated dur- Spencer of Oregon in ing the Ivy League sea- second round of Omni son, he became the first Hotel Regional Cham- unranked male player pionship back draw to to reach the quarter-fi- advance to the conso- nals of the NCAA lation Round of 16 …in tournament…finished with a 19-5 record, earning All-America doubles, teamed up with fellow sophomore Conor Niland, ad- honors, Ivy League Player of the Year first team All-Ivy…ranked vancing to the quarterfinals of the Omni Hotels Regional Cham- No. 1 in the Northeast Region and 69th nationally in singles and pionship…2001-02: Played in seven dual matches, mostly at No. 2 in the region in doubles with partner Dustin West…earned doubles…advanced to Round of 16 at Pac-10 invitational, de- a USTA gold ball in the summer of 2000 by winning the ITA feating Jonathan Scott (ASU) in straight sets…in doubles, paired National Mixed Doubles Championships…1999-2000: Took a with Balazs Veress at team’s final six dual meets, posting 4-2 one-year leave to play professional events as an amateur… PER- record…pair scored win against UMBC at NCAA Regionals, SONAL/PREVIOUS: A graduate of Bayshore High School, finishing their match in 28 minutes, an 8-0 victory…at Bulldog helped lead his team to two consecutive district championships Classic in the fall, advanced to finals in back draw…scored straight (1996-97)…earned All-Dade (Miami) and All-Tri-County set win over McClure Wallace of Nevada in second round of honors…as a junior player, was ranked as high as No.