Aztec Tennis Reporter Founded 1999 SERVING THE SAN DIEGO STATE TENNIS COMMUNITY Vol 8 No 2, September, 2006 Email, DVDs, Travel Aztec Pair Wins All American Honors Help Aztec Coaches Pull Teams Together First, from Istanbul, came an email from Ozge Atalay. “She had a very good na- tional junior ranking (first or second) and showed a lot of interest,” said Aztec coach Pe- ter Mattera . Then, on a DVD, Mattera saw powerful images. “I said, ‘Wow, she looks very skilled, very solid… She could make an impact right away.” ATR Photos A telephone Ozge Atalay call from a Rus- sian émigré liv- ing in San Diego Aztec Tennis Reporter Photo introduced Achim Ceban, a SMILE SHARING: Marcus Dickhardt, right, and Benedikt Stronk in bemused mo- young man from ment. The Aztec pair compiled 13-3 season record and were chosen as All Ameri- cans after reaching quarterfinals in an upset at the 2006 NCAA Championships. Moscow, to SDSU coach Gene Carswell. SDSU Men Win Season Title; Carswell Coach of Year Within weeks, Aztecs Markus Dick- from Berlin, defeated North seeded fourth in the NCAA Achim Ceban via emails and hardt and Benedikt Stronk Carolina’s Raian Luchici championships. telephone, rela- scored an upset victory to and Brad Pomeroy, 6-1, 6- “I knew they (Dickhardt tionships began reach the quarterfinals of 4, to gain the quarterfinals. and Stronk) would be dan- to evolve into the NCAA men’s doubles In a match at the Aztec gerous,” said Aztec Coach commitments. championship at Stanford, Tennis Center in March, Gene Carswell. “I told earning them All-America the Tarheel pair defeated them at the beginning of Despite the honors for the 2006 sea- Stronk and Billy Timu, 8-7 the spring, when we origi- distance the son. (7) during North Carolina’s nally had them paired to- two students Dickhardt, from Mar- 6-1 rout of the Aztecs. gether, that they could beat traveled to San burg, Germany, and Stronk, Luichi and Pomeroy were Diego in Au- Continued on Page 4 gust, (8,800 miles from Tur- Aztec Women Gain NCAA Bid, Rank 38th in Nation Kathryn Kitts key and 6,150 The San Diego State women’s The Aztecs lost to UCLA, 4-1, tennis team stormed back into con- at Westwood. The Bruins lost to Continued on Page 2 tention after early spring losses, com- Florida, 4-3, in the Round of 16. piling a 16-9 record, winning second Stanford defeated Florida, 4-0, INSIDE THIS ISSUE place in the Mountain West Confer- and Miami, 4-1, to win the title. Fred Kinne’s Wall of Fame 2 ence, and earning an invitation to Aztec Dita Hauerlandova of 1967: Where Are We Now? 3 NCAA post-season play for the sec- the Czech Republic was chosen Aztec Wins ‘Top 10’ Praise 4 ond consecutive year and 19th time. Continued on Page 4 Hauerlandova Page 2 Aztec Tennis Reporter Less than a mile from Mor- as a reporter and editor (San ley Field in San Diego’s Balboa Fred Kinne and His Wall of Fame Diego Journal, San Diego Eve- Park, the fading photo images ning Tribune, Los Angeles of dozens of tennis players line Examiner, and San Diego Un- a cork bulletin board in Fred ion) with a zest for teaching Kinne’s den on 29th Street. tennis to juniors just getting They are members of a started in the sport. band that can only be called In 1952, he helped form the Kinne’s Kids. By one estimate, San Diego Tennis Patrons about 7,000 young men share Association and served as its the distinction of having hit in first president. For years, he Kinne’s free tennis clinics be- drove juniors to tournaments tween 1950 and 1991. throughout Southern Califor- At least 40 won college nia. tennis scholarships. An untold “When we started,” Kinne number played intercollegiate said, “kids from L.A. were glad tennis at San Diego State. to see they played somebody Among the best-known Aztecs: from San Diego. When we got Bill Jack, Bobby Ray, Bernie better, they used to say: ’Why Feldman and Larry Belinsky. do I have to play somebody Kinne’s Kids also played at from San Diego?’” Stanford, USC, UCLA and Born in Arizona in 1916 and elsewhere; dozens more found reared in the Imperial Valley jobs teaching tennis profes- and San Diego, Kinne is a sionally. decorated World War II fighter Kinne’s remarkable service pilot and squadron com- has landed him in the first mander. group inducted by San Diego’s Aztec Tennis Reporter After his retirement from Tennis Hall of Fame. His com- Fred Kinne newspapering, he operated a panions include French Open Hantze Susman, teaching pro Aztec Jean Doyle Garrett tennis club in North Carolina Champion Michael Chang, Ben Press, Australian Open (1946), winner of 50 national for ten years. It was, he said, Wimbledon champions Mau- Champion Brian Teacher championships. the first time he ever charged reen Connolly and Karen (another of Kinne’s Kids), and Kinne balanced a career for a lesson. — John Martin Annals of Recruiting: Email, Telephone, Videos Help Fill Rosters Continued from Page One Aztec Ceban’s teammates arrived may have helped develop the arrange- miles from Russia), Atalay and Ceban from Germany, Canada, Mexico, and ment: Atalay’s mother has a friend in were merely stepping from one side of the California. San Diego, Mattera said. global village to the other. Increasingly, thanks to technology and Ceban, 17, gained a spot in the In Memphis a year ago, Kathryn Kitts tennis’s remarkable growth around the qualifying draw for the 2006 U.S. Open of Yardley, Pennsylvania, impressed Mat- world, the American college tennis team Junior Championships. Although tera in her match at the National Junior resembles nothing so much as a minia- seeded 12th, he lost in the first round. 18s Clay Court Championships. ture United Nations. “He had his chances to win,” said “Then I saw her play in San Jose With Atalay, logistics were compli- Carswell, who attended the match at the (National Junior 18s Hard Courts),” said cated. “We’re only allowed one phone call Billie Jean King National Tennis Center Mattera. He was impressed again. Kitts, per week,” Mattera said. NCAA rules pro- in New York. “Even so, it was a great who played high school basketball and hibit more frequent contacts with interna- experience for him.” tennis, paid an official visit to the campus. tional recruits. By September, two tennis squads — “She liked it and I liked her,” Mattera “She (Atalay) is very well spoken (and) formed from emails, telephones, videos, said. She signed a letter of intent. we seemed to have good rapport on the and scouting trips — were training for The three newcomers arrived in Au- telephone,” Mattera said. competition. gust. The two women join a team recruited Atalay pressed for a commitment For many from foreign lands, it was from California, New York, Britain, Den- early, he said, indicating she was con- their first taste of life in an American mark, Israel, Czech Republic, and Japan. vinced that San Diego State would be a melting pot filled with newcomers com- good university to attend. One factor that peting in many sports, including tennis. Aztec Tennis Reporter Editor: John Martin Copy: Martin Schram Circulation: Sherry Bertram, Sumner Bouldin, Madaline Cerrato, Ruud Dorenbos, Jimmy Earle, Desmond Fitzgerald, Katherine Fitzhugh, Shannon Lambrechts, Claire Martin, Peter Mattera, Jeannette Rolfe, Ruth Spenser, Alexandra Van Selm, Linda Walters, Floyd Walters, Weston Williams, Mike Wussow. Photographers: Claire Martin, Art Seitz, Linda Walters. Researcher: Glenn Hildebrandt. This is the 31st edition of Aztec Tennis Reporter, established in 1999 for players, coaches, alumni, and friends of SDSU tennis. This issue goes to readers in 26 coun- tries. To subscribe, comment, or seek a correction, write to [email protected]. Peter Mattera (Women’s Coach) 619-594-6505 Gene Carswell (Men’s Coach) 619-594-5084 Page 3 Aztec Tennis Reporter Where Are We Now? The Great Search Continues (1922-2006) 1975,1978-79 Todd Harvey: I’m a physical education teacher and department chairman in the Santa Ana (CA) Unified School District. I played tennis at San Diego Aztec Men’s Tennis State in 1978-79 for Skip Redondo. I had played at San Diego City College for Bob Bacon in 1974-76. Angel Lopez and I won the Ojai junior college dou- One night in May, 1967, three young bles; later I won the California Southern Section junior college singles and we boys got their first close look at profes- got to the doubles final. In 1976, I played at USD. We had a great team, with sional tennis. They served as ball boys at three Swedes (two of them unbelievably good) and a Czech. Skip recruited San Diego’s International Sports Arena. me to play at San Diego State my final year (1978-79). This was after the An Evening Tribune photographer USD team kind of fell apart (two of the Swedes called me up in the middle of snapped their photo with one of the play- the season and said, ‘We’re tired of Southern California, can you take us to ers, Earl (Butch) Buchholz. As members the airport?”). After San Diego State, I went into the Army (Fort Gordon and Fort Bragg), then into real estate (hated it), and then back to San Diego State of a Mission Valley club team for juniors, for my teaching credential. In 1993, I went to South Korea, where I taught Lance Miller, 13, and Todd Harvey, 11, classes for Samsung and the regular school system.