The Clause

 

 For most things in life, losing “freshness” can be a bad thing, but not for the APU men’s tennis team. Last year the team had two freshman starters after five seniors graduated. But in the opinions of most of the team, this year will be different.

 

“We have a lot of returners on the men’s team with five of the six starters back,” head coach of the tennis team Mark Bohren said. “And we’ve recruited a couple good guys to help with the depth so it should be pretty similar to last year but a little more experience, which is always nice.”

 

For a hopeful Bohren, this means a national championship this year as it is the Cougars’  last season in the NAIA. This will be his 18th year of coaching at APU. This year he recruited seven players from America, one from Australia and one from Hong Kong.

 

Currently ranked No. 5 in NAIA and No. 2 in GSAC, the men’s tennis team has made 15 consecutive NAIA tournament appearances from 1997-2011. An NAIA title is in sight for Bohren and the team.

 

“It’s our goal every year, but you never know. It’s always exciting to go to nationals and to watch our seniors compete in their last year,” Bohren said.

 

A total of two seniors on the team will graduate after this season. Janosch Apelt, a senior international business major, was selected for the NAIA All-American first team in 2011. He closed out last season with eight wins in his last 10 matches. Apelt recorded a 15-7 season, competing at the No. 1 singles position. He was recently ranked No. 10 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association national singles rankings.

 

Ilja Ikonnikov is another returning player set to graduate after this season. Last year Ikonnikov won a GSAC Scholar-Athletes award. Although it is his fourth and last year playing, Ikonnikov looks forward to what is ahead.

 

“I’m excited for the team to unfold,” Ikonnikov said. “Apelt and I are graduating, and we have a bunch of returning players, so it will be really interesting to see how the team is going to perform. Last year, we could say, was a very fresh team, and so it is going to be really interesting to see the team dynamic and how we build up to a national championship.”

 

He expects this year to be better because of the returning players especially after trying to figure out the combinations that will work best for the doubles’ teams.

 

“The year before last, we had a bunch of seniors graduate so it was our first time trying to figure out everything,” Ikonnikov said. “It was a blast but still our relationships were very fresh so it will be interesting to see how that’s going to work out.”

 

Returning sophomore Benedikt Eger, is hoping to play doubles again with his partner from last season, Frederik Wilkens, also a returning sophomore. Last year, Eger was selected for Honorable Mention All-American team. Eger and Wilkens recorded a 5-5 season with five wins in their last 10 matches. He is looking forward to playing against last year’s No. 1-ranked team, Fresno Pacific University, champion of both NAIA and GSAC titles.

 

“Of course we want to beat Fresno this year,” Eger said. “They are our big rivals, and if we cannot beat them before nationals then hopefully at nationals.”

 

Coach Bohren, Ikonnikov and Eger all agree that Fresno Pacific will be the most important match this season for the Cougars.

 

“They’re a really strong team so we’ll see,” Ikonnikov said. “I’m confident we can definitely pull it off especially if we play the way we can. We have great potential, and if everybody just puts it together then we can really beat them.”

 

Support APU men’s tennis at the first home game on Feb. 4 against Pamona Pitzer. The Cougars will play Fresno Pacific on Feb. 13 at Fresno and again on Apr. 12 in Azusa.