A new varsity team should take years to build and seasons of practicing to participate competitively, right? Not at Hillsdale, according to Director of Athletics Don Brubacher and head men’s tennis coach Keith Turner, who believe the brand new six-member men’s varsity tennis team will hit the ground running. Though they cannot formally commit until April 15, the six verbal commitments will form a complete team.
“I’m happy with the way it’s going. I was able to get some strong players, so we’re actually going to be pretty good right off the bat. It should be fun next year,” Turner said.
“I just see the results, and the results seem to be quite extraordinary actually. From my perspective, it seems that recruiting has gone probably better than we ever hoped it possibly could in a first year,” Brubacher added.
Turner typically connects with recruits at tennis tournaments and online. Many prospective students find a profile of the Hillsdale tennis team online and express their interest there. Turner then travels to a tournament to watch them play.
“I’ll go to watch someone who I know is interested, and I’ll try to make a couple other contacts while I’m there,” Turner said.
At Hillsdale, the robust academics both enrich and disrupt recruiting. In many circumstances, the rigorous academics appeal to students with good grades. An estimated 90 percent of the time, however, Turner must eliminate recruits simply based on their grades or test scores.
“You take the good with the bad at Hillsdale. The grades have definitely been the biggest advantage compared to other schools I’ve been at. I’ve had more players interested in Hillsdale than any of the other schools I’ve been at,” Turner said. The honor code and the new facilities also draw interest to the school.
Freshman Dugan Delp is the only current student who will be joining the team. He’s been included in the recruiting process, and likewise believes the team will be competitive immediately.
“They seem like a great bunch of guys. Very nice, very smart–obviously—to be coming here, and they’re all pretty good too, which is exciting. When the girl’s team first started they were kind of rag-a-tag …but it’s looking like we can be pretty competitive in the GLIAC,” Delp said. Following in the footsteps of his two sisters on the women’s tennis team, Delp knew he would want to join the men’s team immediately. Turner recruited him directly, and the two practice together regularly.
“He’s been keeping us in the loop, asking what we think of them and watching us as we hit with them,” Delp said, referring to himself and another previously interested freshman.
Although Turner’s experienced four different collegiate men’s varsity tennis teams, this marks his first time beginning from scratch.
“I wasn’t sure how it was going to go. Obviously I was under a time crunch to get a team together—there was some pressure on me there,” Turner said. He feels satisfied with his work, however, as does Brubacher, who attributes Turner’s position here to a varied background and mentality of teamwork.
“He has a good coaching background, a varied coaching background in college tennis and he’s been successful in a number of schools. And I think the other factor that he’s proven to be true is that he’s a great team person; he’s supportive with the athletic program and the entire program, but of course he works really diligently to develop his own program as well,” Brubacher said.
Turner’s program was initiated after careful consideration by the president, board of trustees, and administration.
“The program was added because there was interest from prospective students and families who, it seemed, would do well at Hillsdale, who would profit from Hillsdale College, and who are good fits for the college,” Brubacher said. The very early indications seem to prove that the program will thrive.
Tennis players tend to excel academically, Turner noted, which may account for a portion of the reason the recruiting has flourished.
“I think tennis players learn at a very young age that they have to learn to prioritize their time, because so much time is spent on training and traveling to tournaments,” Turner said. The result has induced an interest in Hillsdale College.
“It’s very exciting. We have such an opportunity to create tradition and set precedents. I’m really excited to start,” Delp said.
