Army Demoralized by Losses on Tennis Front

It takes a certain type to be successful on the pro tennis circuit. John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors are fine examples of that. And, recently, it seems, if you don’t have that angry, arrogant and occasionally immature attitude about the game, you don’t become great in the sport.

The men’s tennis team from West Point is a fine example of that. Fine young men, these future Army officers. Modest and very mature. They understand that tennis is not the axis on which the world revolves.

And it’s probably a very good thing that they don’t have the same volcanic nature as McEnroe and Connors.

Can you imagine, for instance, a man with McEnroe’s short fuse being trained in the use of plastic explosives and flame throwers? Can you imagine a man with Connors’ temper in charge of the operation of a surface-to-air missile? If the thought of it gives you the chills, you’re not alone.

The West Point tennis team made a stop at Cal State Northridge on Wednesday. The Cadets (0-3) were trounced, losing 8 of 9 matches to a a CSUN team that has won only 5 of 11 matches this season. If you’re looking for the next generation of tennis superstars, West Point is not the place to look. These guys likely would be too busy for tennis in the next several decades anyway, what with running our military and our government and all.

And even though they realize that if they ever plan on going to Wimbledon they had better bring money to buy tickets, their third straight loss this season stung.

“It’s frustrating,” said senior and team co-captain Fred Krawchuk of Romeo, Mich., a Latin American Affairs student at West Point who will be commissioned an infantry officer after graduation in May.

“We realize we have limited resources for a tennis program at West Point and we have limited tools. We don’t recruit guys because they’re good high school tennis players. And we can’t play any tennis at all during the summers because of our military obligations. We know there’s a built-in disadvantage for us.

“We know we’re not going to be tennis pros or even teaching pros when we get out. But still, it hurts to lose. Most of us have been very successful at whatever we’ve done, and it’s hard to adjust to this.”

The 1986 West Point tennis team had a 10-17 record. The team’s other co-captain, senior Jeff Vezeau of Vienna, Va., who will be commissioned a field artillery officer after graduation, said he, too, has been frustrated by the team’s lack of success. But he has found a bright spot.

“The whole purpose of West Point is to build leadership skills, and being on the team for three years and being a co-captain this year has certainly helped me in my leadership skills,” Vezeau said. “Just getting the whole team together each day, having them meet at the same place at the same time with all of our equipment, has been a good lesson for me.”

That, however, is where the good news ends for the Army tennis team.

Wednesday’s No. 2 singles match between CSUN’s Kevin Feinbloom of Calabasas and Army’s Kevin Lemke of Barrington, Ill., was typical of the overall match. On one side of the net was Feinbloom with his curly blond hair, tanned body and three-day growth of beard. On the other side was Lemke, his short black hair providing a stark contrast to his rice-white skin, a common condition at this time of year in upstate New York.

Feinbloom won the match, 6-2, 6-2.

The No. 4 singles match pitted CSUN’s Dave Yablon against Krawchuk. It provided an even more defined distinction between life at CSUN and life at West Point. Yablon’s long, dark hair cascaded to his shoulders. He wore a red, white and blue striped shirt. Krawchuk’s black hair cascaded nowhere. A barber’s razor had pounced on it before it reached Krawchuk’s ears. He wore a gray-and-black jersey with the word ARMY printed on it. And black shorts with the word ARMY printed on them.

Yablon won the match, 3-6, 6-0, 7-6.

Growing more frustrated with each loss was Army coach Bob Detrich, a 29-year-old Californian who was the assistant tennis coach at UC Santa Barbara for two years before landing the job at West Point before last season.

Detrich was recommended for the job by Bob Bayliss, who becomes the tennis coach at Notre Dame next season and was Detrich’s coach at, remarkably, the U.S. Naval Academy.

“Ya, I was a Navy man for two years,” Detrich said. “When I took the job at Army I felt like a traitor. But now, I just want to beat them.” As a reminder of this fierce collegiate sports rivalry, all of the Army tennis players wear an armband bearing the words BEAT NAVY.

Detrich has been frustrated by the lack of time available for his team to practice. But he knows, too, that his players are at West Point to learn how to knock out enemy radar installations, not how to knock backhand winners down the line.

“We get about 60 guys each year to try out for the tennis team,” Detrich said.

All West Point students must participate in at least one sport at the academy.

“Most of them were good high school players, but probably not great high school players. These kids are special, there’s no question about that. They’re great kids. Very different kids from most. All of them are high achievers and they’re not used to being mediocre at anything. This is a tough lesson for most of them. Losing is not something they’re used to. They get a little frustrated at times.

“But we do what we can. We don’t have the best players in the country, but we’ll become a good team.”

And it will all be done in the relative obscurity of West Point. To a group of surfing Southern Californians, West Point is as shrouded in mystery as a James Joyce novel. For proof of that, consider this exchange between a CSUN player and Detrich before Wednesday’s match:

“So how’s this work?” the player asked. “You go to school there and then you go into the Army, or what?”

Detrich smiled. “Ya. Something like that,” he said.