Seniors on the men’s tennis team welcome their fifth coach in four years – Eddie Luck, who took over the position this semester.”I plan on putting a foot in that revolving door,” Luck said. “We need some consistency to build the program.”

2002 brought a hiatus for the men’s tennis team until the 2005 season. The current senior players started the team after the two-year break. They dealt with the constant rehiring of coaches throughout their tennis careers at Guilford.

“I knew Guilford hadn’t had tennis in a while so I figured it would be a process starting it back up,” senior Jose Ortiz said.

“I never really had great tennis coaches in my background, so freshmen year when we had basketball coaches doing the job, it wasn’t that bad for me,” senior Mike Muir said.

Luck’s hiring provides the hope of having a steady coach. He chose Guilford to be close to his family in neighboring Randolph County.

“I’m happy for the younger guys on the team who will have the same coach stick around,” senior Ryo Kawai said. “It’s really good to have that because you don’t have to worry about transitioning from one coaching style to another.”

The team looks forward to having a certified P1 Tennis Professional coach with them this season. He holds an 80-34 record in six years as a men’s coach.

“He’s been here two weeks and has already pulled us together quickly,” Ortiz said. “He’s the kind of coach that has that leadership quality that applies to any sport.”

Luck notices his team’s ability to thrive without any previous consistent guidance.

“I’m very impressed with this group of guys,” Luck said. “They could have made excuses, but they haven’t done that at all.”

The team works on their goal of making top three in the conference this season by practicing everyday. The difficulty of finding convenient times led to using a local indoor tennis court as a practice site.

“We can go practice late at night. Plus, it’s a great controlled tennis atmosphere, no wind or bad weather,” Luck said.

“Practicing indoors has never been a usual thing,” Ortiz said. “It’s really a treat this year.”

As a life-long tennis player, Luck’s passion for the sport developed growing up in Virginia where he had to “get better in hurry,” because of its popularity in the area. His energy extends to the team.

Before practice, he asks players to rate their energy level on a one to 10 scale.

“In the beginning we’re usually at a five or six, but that turns into a seven or eight,” Kawai said. “Eight means you really have to be busting you’re a–.”

Luck anticipates high energy at the first home match as well.

“These are a bunch of hardworking kids, and we would all love for home matches to bring some encouragement,” Luck said. “A lot of times people are afraid to cheer because they’re afraid of messing somebody up. I just want to say there’s nothing wrong with some hooting and hollering.