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Beeyong Sison May 27, 2009

Inside: US-NCAA, Olympics, Philippine Sports Commission, Dwight Davis, Willie Hernandez, Jr; , , , A&M; Martin & Michael Misa, , Lorenzo Sison; Subic¶s Nico Riego De Dios, Eastern Washington University,

Dallas, Texas - Year 2008 will be remembered when the U.S. housing and credit bubble burst causing a global economic free-fall. Corporate sports sponsorships are hardest hit by the economic downturn particularly in the financial and auto industries. Insurance giant AIG, Merrill Lynch, General Motors and Toyota have suffered huge financial losses. Some companies have laid-off workers by the thousands to survive and some are no longer in business.

As a result, the first to be adversely affected are sporting events. This means lesser prize money and fewer sporting events. The guarantee of lucrative endorsements for top athletes also suffered most notably Tigers Woods whose $7 million annual sponsorship by General Motors has been scrapped.

Sponsorships of young future Olympic and pro stars¶ training will be just as difficult to justify with the high cost of maintenance in these dire times. The cost of sports academies and coaching fees rising together with the need for a university degree, many sports organizations and athletes¶ families are rethinking their future plans.

What better way than National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) programs. For promising athletes, the most practical and cost effective way of realizing their sporting dream while securing their job future is still through the NCAA athletic program. The chance to earn a college degree while enjoying an Olympic-standard training program is just too good to pass-up. Many junior athletes are again setting their sights at the U.S. collegiate sports before jumping straight into the pro ranks.

Historically, NCAA colleges and universities have been the lifeblood in multiple sports that compete as part of the Olympic program. Of the members of the U.S. Olympic teams from 1980 through 2000, around 94 percent were in attendance at or had attended NCAA institutions. International sporting bodies including China traditionally send their Olympic athletes and coaches to train and study in the United States to have a competing chance. In terms of facilities and other services, NCAA Division I institutions spend an average of $3 million per year on facilities and non-coaching services for men's and women's teams on the Olympic sports calendar. (Source: NCAA.org)

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However, due to economic constraints, the past few years saw the elimination of several sports programs by NCAA member institutions that disproportionately affected Olympic sports, prompting serious challenges for some national governing bodies dependent upon collegiate programs as a key source for future and current Olympic-caliber athletes. Furthermore, the sports decline has resulted in lost participation opportunities for NCAA student-athletes. A task force has been formed by both governing bodies to address this challenge. (Source: NCAA.org)

National federations encourage their athletes to pursue their training in the United States with the added bonus of higher learning at practically no cost to their national budget. According to the NCAA, the average Division I-A institution spends $10,900,000 (PHP523M) on all its men teams, $4,600,000 on all its women teams and $7,700,000 on expenses that benefit both genders. Compare this to an Olympic-member nation, the Philippine Sports Commission could only afford to budget US$604,000 (PHP29M) for its entire national Olympic sports program in 2007. (Source: Philippine Olympic Committee)

In tennis, the NCAA college tennis program has remained strong over the years although it did not come unscathed and unscratched. Availability of full-scholarship grants have dwindled from 6 to 4.5 per college team. Each team consists of 6 players competing 6 single and 3 doubles matches head-to-head. According to Texas A&M University Head Coach Steve Denton, a 2x event singles finalist, 1982 US Open Doubles winner and himself a product of NCAA program at UT-Austin, none of the top schools can now afford to give full benefits and at the same time remain competitive. Denton, who Swiss-born Filipino (left) Lorenzo Sison now with the Christopher Newport University Captains in Virginia; and Eastern Washington University·s Nico Riego De Dios (r) ² two of the many Filipino tennis student athletes who have continued the tradition of acquiring higher education in the United States through tennis. De Dios was named ´scholar athleteµ by EWU with a 3.3 grade point average. Both Sison and De Dios were named to their All-Conference Teams by their respective divisions. See De Dios article below page 5.

recently hired legendary coach and player Bob McKinley and brother of 1963 Wimbledon champion Chuck to be his assistant, adds that four-year scholarships are no longer guaranteed to NCAA student athletes. A scholar athlete¶s performance is reviewable every 2

year as schools have the flexibility to increase or to decrease the amount of financial grants depending on performance on and off the field. Scholar athletes are now asked to shoulder part of the annual expenses averaging US$5,000 per academic year. Still, this is a small price to pay and a tiny percentage considering the price for a college education (Texas A&M: $31,530/year for out-of ±state) and the fees involved in training athletes. The average expenditure per athlete in NCAA Division I-A is $34,000 (PHP1.6M) per male student-athlete and $20,000 per female student-athlete. For coaching, the average Division I-AAA (no football) institution spends $610,000 (PHP29M) on coaches' salaries for its men's teams and $505,000 on coaches' salaries for its women's teams. (Source: NCAA Revenues and Expenses of Divisions I and II Intercollegiate Athletics Programs)

In tennis alone, the average training cost incurred by players in 2008 among 10 privately- run sports academies in the US and Europe catering to top juniors and ATP/WTA tour players run up between US$80,000 and $100,000 per year. And yet there is no guarantee on return on investment (Source: ITS-Subic Tennis 2008). Athletes from developing countries such as the where 30 percent of the 85 million people earn one dollar per day, being offered a US college academic-sports grant is like winning the national lottery in these economic times. The pay-off is very good just having a degree. According to the US Census Bureau, workers with a bachelor¶s degree earned an average of $57,181 (PHP2.7M) annually in the United States compared with workers with a high school diploma at an average of $31,286 in 2007. (Texas A&M tops the list on return on tuition investment at 315%. See Smart Money, http://www.smartmoney.com/personal- finance/college-planning/colleges-that-pay-off/?page=all

Recent years have seen an up-tick of foreign bred tennis players who have had successful international junior careers enroll in U.S. universities. In fact, 14 of the top 20 ranked men¶s college tennis players of 2009 have come from Europe, England, and South America. All are also poised to graduate with a bachelor¶s degree within a year or two and who will definitely contribute to their respective national economies. (Source: College Tennis Online)

For talented athletes, since making it as one of the world¶s top tennis players or as an Olympic Gold Medalist is as guaranteed as seeing an elephant fly someday, and then combine this with the rising tuition fees of higher education, many parents, coaches and their sponsors are remapping their aspirations for these intelligent young athletes. Collegiate sports in the US have now become a necessity not an option. University of Tulsa¶s Arnau Brugues, a native of powerhouse Spain, is working on his Master¶s Degree in Business Administration. He is Ranked No.1 by NCAA College Tennis as of May 2009. Who will guarantee that he will not win the or an Olympic Gold Medal someday. (Source: http://www.collegetennisonline.com/Univ.ofTulsa- MTennis/Player.aspx?plId=52304

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Dwight Davis and the Filipino Scholar Athletes

The Philippines boasts one of the highest English proficiency and literacy rates in the world being a former United States Commonwealth from 1902 until its independence in 1945. Scholar Athlete Dwight Davis, an NCAA Doubles Champion and donor of the coveted trophy in 1900, served as the Philippine Governor-General in 1929 until 1932. Having served as Public Parks Commissioner in St. Louis in 1912, Davis instituted the expansion of sports facilities and public parks all-over the archipelago during his tenure in Manila culminating in the construction of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in 1936.

As a result, the Philippines provided a steady stream of Filipino student-athletes to American colleges dating back from 1960¶s to present. In tennis, among the notables is Juan Jose, an Gold Medalist who studied at University of Southern and Guillermo Hernandez Jr., son of Philippine sports broadcasting icon Willie Sr., who attended the University of Arizona under celebrated Texan coach Dave Snyder during the mid-60s in Tuscon. Snyder subsequently coached Steve Denton and teammate Wimbledon finalist at University of Texas during the 70s in Austin. Jose and Hernandez were followed by Asian junior champion Jose Villarete, RP No.1 Macky Dominguez, Pre-Open Wimbledon-plate winner Felicisimo Ampon¶s sons Felix, Melecio, and Joselito - all attending Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.

At left photo, Filipino Davis Cupper Cecil Mamiit won the NCAA Singles Championships in 1996 for University of Southern California as a freshman. In the history of college tennis, only (UCLA), John McEnroe (Stanford), and recently Devin Britton (U.Miss) have accomplished the feat (see article below on Britton). Mamiit turned pro the following year where he had career wins over Grand Slam greats and , attaining a top 100 ranking in the ATP Tour. Together with Eric Taino of UCLA, Cecil led the Philippines to a multi- medal haul in the Southeast and Asian Games.

Having been sent home to early retirement from the European tour due to a wrist injury, Hernandez founded the first tennis academy in the Philippines and accelerated a flood of scholar exiles jumping into the pool of the US NCAA program. A long list includes Cincinnati¶s Aureo Cambel who broke Tony Trabert¶s school winning record. Followed by Oral Roberts¶ Perfecto Alina, Jr. (1975 NJCAA Singles winner at Odessa, Texas), Oklahoma City University¶s Fort Battad Jr., teammate of ATP Grand Slam Doubles winner of Australia. This writer also attended Odessa with Alina and Oklahoma City with Battad. After a few years, Hernandez¶s effort was again rewarded, with the help of academy assistant coach Martin Misa, when Davis Cup stars LSU¶s Roland So and Felix Barrientos (LSU All-American and Jr. Wimbledon singles semis) took the Philippines to a qualifying appearance for the Davis Cup World Group in 1991. Completing

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Hernandez¶s connection with Coach Snyder, Barrientos, (together with local Davis Cup hero Raymond Suarez) was also coached by Snyder-pupil Steve Denton for a year under the Björn Borg Sports Management Corporation in the late 1980s. Hernandez passed away in 2003 leaving a lasting legacy in Philippine tennis.

Several players followed the student athlete tradition in the US and Philippine colleges in the late 90s namely Joseph Lizardo (RP No.1, Temple); Ringo Navarosa (RP No.1, Arizona); Michael Misa (RP No.1, UST) and among the women the list includes Jennifer Saret (BYU), Tracy Santos (RP No.1 UP); Maricris Fernandez (RP No.1, Cal State-Long Beach); and Marisue Jacutin (Oklahoma City, NAIA All American) to recent student- athletes Kyle Dandan (Santa Clara University); Subic¶s Nico Riego De Dios (Eastern Washington University) and Lorenzo Sison (Christopher Newport University, VA).

The Philippine Davis Cup team is currently headed by 1996 NCAA Singles winner Cecil Mamiit (USC) and UCLA's All-American Eric Taino. Mamiit's professional highlights include singles wins over former World No.1 Andre Agassi and No.2 Michael Chang, a French Open singles winner. Rising junior star Francis Alcantara, the 2008 Jr. Doubles winner joins DC regular team members Johnny Arcilla, Patrick Tierro and newcomer ATP Tour member Treat Conrad Huey (Univ. of Virginia). Philippines is in Group II of the Asian-Oceana Davis Cup section. ±end-

In Other News« May 27, 2009 Britton Wins NCAA Singles Title

COLLEGE STATION, Texas ± University of Mississippi freshman Devin Britton won the recent 2009 Men¶s Singles NCAA Division I tennis tournament and became the youngest men's singles champion ever, while fellow freshman Mallory Cecil of Duke University claimed the women's singles title at the Mitchell Tennis Center at Texas A&M on Monday. Britton defeated Ohio State senior Steven Moneke with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory. Mallory Cecil outlast Laura Vallverdu of the University of Miami 7-5, 6-4. Britton is the first to win as a freshman since Filipino Cecil Mamiit of University of Southern California did it in 1996.

Top seed Spanish Arnau Brugues of University of Tulsa was eliminated in the quarterfinals together with host Texas A&M¶s Conor Pollock. Pollock, a finance major is coached by former Grand Slam event winner Steve Denton and legendary Hall of Fame Coach Bob McKinley who recently teamed- up to head the 15th ranked A&M Aggies tennis program here. Denton coached Filipino Davis Cup stars Raymond Suarez and Felix Barrientos (LSU-All American) for a year under the Bjorn Borg promotions group in the Philippines during the 1990s. In team competition, the No.8 University of Southern California upset No.3 Ohio State University 4-1 in the finals. B.Sison Source: http://collegetennisonline.com/TexasA-MUniversity-M-Tennis/Home.aspx

May 27, 2009 De Dios Named Scholar-Athlete by Eastern Washington University

Cheney, Washington - Filipino tennis player and Olongapo City native Nico Riego De Dios has been named Scholar-Athlete of the month (April 2009) by the Eastern Washington University.

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Academically, Riego de Dios is carrying a 3.33 grade point average majoring in Exercise Science and Nursing while leading his team at the No.1 position finishing with an 18-9 record, tied for the highest win total since EWU joined the NCAA Division I ranks. He also earned a Mention to the Big Sky All- Academic team in 2008 and is expected to join the 2009 list. De Dios, who will be graduating in 2010, is product of the Cebuana Lhuillier Tennis Team based in Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Philippines. (Source: EWU http://goeags.cstv.com/genrel/052009aag.html). B.Sison

About the writer: Beeyong Sison is a former ATP tour player who studied in Odessa College and Oklahoma City University. He now operates a public recreation tennis and sports facility at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, a former US Naval base in the Philippines. emal:[email protected]

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