November 1, 2006

Norfolk, VA (CSTV U-WIRE) -- One of the most fascinating things about the ODU Tennis program is the presence of an overwhelming number of international players.Five continents converge to form the Men's and Women's Tennis squads.

Players like sophomore Harel Srugo from Israel, who was recently seeded 18 in the preseason rankings by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), and senior Henrique Cancado from Brazil, who followed his brother's footsteps to play tennis at ODU.They are two of five players from the nine-member Men's squad who have traveled to ODU from abroad in order to play tennis.

The Women's squad also has an international flair evident by this year's entire squad hailing from international locations such as Tallinn, Estonia, Nova Lima, Brazil and Durban, South Africa.

This isn't just a recent phenomenon, according to Tennis Director Darryl Cummings.The tennis program has, for several years, attracted the majority of their players, especially the international ones, through the players themselves, players bringing in other players.

For Cummings, recruiting is an ongoing task, but luckily for him not such a daunting one.Since January 1992, Coach Cummings has obtained and nurtured an extensive network of contacts that extends well beyond the Hampton Roads tennis community into the world tennis community.

The tennis program has many qualities that exemplify Old Dominion's pride and tradition in players both past and present who find success at the university and also beyond graduation.However, the players are only a part of the ingredients necessary for the tennis program's continued success.Cummings stands at the forefront of much of ODU's tennis success, from his student days here as a player to leading both the Men's and Women's squads for almost 15 years.

Cummings has seen tennis transform from a "solid regional program" to a successful and highly competitive national program. Since being at ODU he has been responsible for the United States Tennis Association (USTA) coming to ODU and has been honored on more than one occasion as the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Coach of the Year in 1993, 1994 and 2001 for the Women's team and as Men's coach in 1996 and 2005.

His success even earned him the United States Professional Tennis Association's (USPTA) Virginia Coach of the Year accolade in 1993, 1994 and 1996.His acclaim and accomplishments have made the Old Dominion Tennis program respectable and sought-after by many rising tennis talents.

Cummings is also responsible for expansiveness of Hampton Roads Tennis which began as a promotional tool to expose Hampton Roads to the tennis program at ODU and its players.Over the years many have made significant contributions to the Hampton Roads Tennis, including tennis pros.Today, Hampton Roads Tennis is a way to host and promote tennis activities that are going on all over the Hampton Roads area.

Cummings has coached several outstanding players, such as Nataly Cahana from Israel, a 2004 graduate who was ranked No.1 and was a four-time Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Player of the Year.On the Men's squad, Izak van der Merwe stands out in Cummings' mind; van der Merwe hails from South Africa and is a 2005 graduate and two-time CAA Player of the Year.

He advanced to the 2005 NCAA Men's Tennis Championship semifinals after defeating four ranked players and incidentally ending the collegiate career of [Baylor senior] Benjamin Becker, who ended the professional career of Andre Agassi at the U.S. Open this year.

The ODU Tennis program continues to grow and improve. We have a very promising group of young talents and one of the best collegiate coaches around. Tennis is definitely an athletic program ODU can be proud of.

(C) 2006 The Mace & Crown via CSTV U-WIRE