Basic HTML Version
6
2012-13 Media Guide
Saluki Men’s Tennis
Dann Nelson
u
Head Coach
u
Eighth Year
u
Okla. Christian (1997)/
Univ. Central Okla. (2001)
u
Edmond, Okla.
Dann Nelson is in his eighth year as the head men’s tennis
coach at Southern Illinois Unviersity.
The 2012 campaign was a difficult one for Nelson and the
Salukis, who played their toughest schedule in several years
with three nationally ranked opponents (No. 49 Drake,
No. 57 South Alabama and No. 67 Purdue) and two other
programs that were nationally ranked throughout the season
(Georgia State and Wichita State). Southern also lost
reigning 2011 MVC Freshman of the Year Jorge Cavero to
injury for the entirety of the 2012 spring season. However,
even though they were 6-10 at the onset of Missouri Valley
Conference play the Salukis still managed a 2-3 conference
record. Southern ended up in a three way tie for third place
with Bradley and Illinois State after a thrilling last-match
victory against Bradley on April 21 in Carbondale. From
Jan. 3 to Feb. 16 the doubles team of Martijn Admiraal and
Brandon Florez was ranked No. 42 in the nation after a
stellar fall performance at the ITA Central Regionals. The
duo was Nelson’s first nationally ranked doubles tandem
since Felipe Villasenor and Sergio Sanchez were ranked
28th in 2006. French transfers Badr Cherradi and Stanislas
Rodier were named to the MVC All-Select team after
they carried the Salukis at the top two singles positions all
season to help fill Cavero’s void. Cherradi was also named
an honorable mention to the MVC Scholar-Athlete team
along with teammate Rafael Cuadrillero. Junior Orhan
Spahic also gave Coach Nelson yet another MVC Scholar-
Athlete with his 3.9 GPA.
Coach Nelson guided his 2010-11 Saluki team to an 11-8
overall record and a fourth consecutive trip to at least the
semifinals in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.
Nelson added a second Freshman of the Year (Eric West,
2009) award to his credentials as incoming freshman Jorge
Cavero from Lima, Peru, won the honor for the 2011
season. Fellow freshman Adam Fabik also had a stellar
season for the Salukis, taking home three fall tournament
Dann Nelson
crowns and shattering the single season Fall singles wins
record by winning his first 17 fall matches in the process.
After a 14-4 spring season, Fabik finished the year with
32 total singles wins, which now ranks second all time in
single season wins behind Mickey Maule’s 1988 mark of
38. Fabik, along with Cavero, were named to the MVC All-
Select team, and Nelson also added another MVC Scholar-
Athlete in sophomore Orhan Spahic.
The 2009-10 season was a down year for the Salukis, as
they finished 7-13 overall and 2-5 in the Missouri Valley
Conference, only a year after being crowned conference
champions and earning a trip to the NCAATournament. In
this rebuilding year, the Salukis lost their number one player
in Lucas Waked to injury and relied on four freshman and
two transfers to carry the slack. However, the Salukis still
managed to advance to at least the semifinals in the MVC
tournament for the third straight year.
The 2009 campaign was a banner year for Southern, as
Nelson led SIU to its third-ever MVC title and first since
1990.The Salukis also gained an automatic berth to the 2009
NCAA Men’s Tennis Championships. During the season,
SIU received a wide variety of honors, including having
four players named to the All-Conference team (Hugo
Vidal, Felipe Villasenor, Lucas Waked, and Eric West). Off
the court, the team also achieved unprecedented success, as
two Salukis - Vidal and Anton Leonenko - were named
to the Academic All-Conference team. In addition, West
was named the MVC’s Freshman of the Year and Nelson
himself was named the MVC Coach of the Year.
Nelson’s 2008 team rode through the peaks and valley’s,
as they finished 12-14 on the year and 3-3 in the MVC.
His team did finish strong, however. SIU won its last two
matches and stood fourth in the final MVC standings, its
best regular season finish since 1997.
The 2006-07 season brought success for SIU in many areas,
including the highest MVC finish in eight years and a No.
8 ranking in the final Central Region poll. Felipe Villasenor
had a final ranking at No. 30 in the Central Region. In the
fall of 2007, the Salukis gained their first MVC individual
singles title in 16 years, with Hugo Vidal winning the crown
at the No. 3 position.
Nelson earned the ITA Midwest Section Community
Service award for establishing the Saluki Tennis Academy
in 2006.