Men's tennis opens conference play with two road matches
3/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
This Week: Air Force opens Mountain West play this week with a pair of road matches. The Falcons play at Nevada on Friday, March 27, at 5 p.m. Air Force plays at Fresno State on Sunday, March 29, at 11 a.m.
Last Time: Air Force defeated service academy rival Army, 4-3, March 15 at Anteater Tennis Stadium in Irvine, Calif, in its last match. Army opened the match by winning the double point. Army registering wins in the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles matches as senior Alex Van Velzer and sophomore Sam Lampman played into a tiebreaker, but prevailed for a 7-6 (11-9) victory over Air Force's Grant Taylor and Lucas Fumagalli at the top position. Junior Harrison McCormick and sophomore Grant Riechmann were also victorious in doubles competition, defeating the pairing of Andrew Parks and Max Olson, 6-2, at No. 2. Jack McCullers and Nicholas Carpenter defeated Kyle Barnes and Austin McCasin, 6-3, at No. 3 for Air Force. Army won the opening singles match, a 6-1, 6-2 win by Van Velzer of Fumagalli at No. 2 singles. Taylor got the Falcons on the board at No. 1 singles with a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 1 singles over Lampman. The Falcons evened the match with a 6-3, 6-4 win by Olson at No. 4 singles. Riechmann defeated McCullers, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 to put the Black Knights within one of the win. Carpenter tied it with a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 6 singles before Parks clinched it at No 5 singles with a 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 win over McCasin.
For the Record: Lucas Fumagalli leads the Falcons with a 15-12 overall singles record. He is 9-5 this spring with all his matches coming at No. 2 singles. Nicholas Carpenter, Max Olson and Grant Taylor have all posted 14 wins. Carpenter is 14-16 overall, including a 9-5 mark this spring, while Olson is 14-13 overall and a team-best 10-4 in the spring. Taylor is 14-14 overall and 9-5 in the spring, all at No. 1 singles.
Head Coach Dan Oosterhous: Dan Oosterhous is in his sixth season as the men's tennis coach at the Air Force Academy after being named the program's 12th head coach on October 1, 2009. Oosterhous, a 1993 graduate of the Academy, replaced legendary head coach Rich Gugat, who retired after 36 years at the helm of the men's tennis program. Oosterhous, one of the best tennis players in program history, led the Falcons to a 13-12 record last season, its first winning season since 2006 and the most wins in one campaign since 2005. The Falcons also achieved their highest national rank in program history at No. 63 and finished the season ranked eighth in the Mountain Region, their best finish since 2005. Oosterhous has a 65-69 career record. Oosterhous, a native of Texarkana, Texas, is a 1993 graduate of the Air Force Academy. He is a senior pilot with over 3,100 hours in the C-5, C-21, T-38, and T-37. He has three children, Emma (17), Anna (15) and Andrew (13).
