the season is about to start and not one tennis post....did all the excitement leave with Cass...? tennis talk anyone..?

Visited the Tennis match this weekend. Still have some real talent here.

Cory: I think the guys are pretty excited about the year. Bret got back from Oregon and looks good. It appears the Luca will help the team. The general feeling going into the season is that we will be better in doubles than it quite some time. We don't have that great a home schedule, and the weather down here has been awful, which has kept the guys indoors. In any event, we start Saturday and it should be interesting. Hope all is well with you.

Yes, tennis left with Cass. The greatest promoter of college tennis ever.

EVER

lostboy...i played for Cass and i totally agree and feel your pain and loss

And a great player you were Cory.

Its not a knock on the current talent pool of the men's team, but the program as a whole will never be the same. Cass did it all. He took care of that facility because it was his baby. He pushed for the best in the country and they built it. I watched Cass scrape gum off those courts with his bare hands. He was always looking for a way to make it better - more fan friendly, more technological. It was Cass' hope before he left that home tennis matches could be broadcast over the internet. He wanted to bring A&M tennis everyone.

Cass pushed the athletic department to market tennis just as strong as the rest of the sports teams. He came up with marketing ideas and promotions. The attendance numbers under Cass were unbelievable. 3000 for a tennis match ? If basketball never got good, Cass would have been pulling more into the George P. Mitchell than Reed Arena.

He was the best fund raiser any sports team ever had. Cass was a businessman trapped in the body of a tennis coach. Had Cass stayed, I can only imagine what additions the facility would have seen. Indoor courts, more stands, and scoreboards with live video. He wanted it all.

Its not hard to see why a man like Tim is a athletic departments dream. He makes things happen. He is a revenue stream, facility building machine. I like the current coaches and think they will be great recruiters and teachers of the game. But that alone doesn't put butts in the seats or trophies in the case. Not for tennis. Not for any sport.

top 20 at best this for this year's team

Cass was great and took us to an other level.
Please give the new guys a chance and maybe
you'll be surprised.
They do know a little tennis.

no question this coaching staff had the knowledge and expertise to make these guys better and develop the team...

this team has the talent and depth to make another sweet 16 and finish top 15...plus texas is way down this year compared to last year b/c 2 guys transfered...so it will come down to baylor and osu matches for the conference

Agree about Cass, still stunned at the loss. This year's fortunes depend much on Jerry M. finding "the magic" and becoming a Top 10-15 national player.

A&M will be more fundamentally sound than at any time in recent history. It is hard to be a great promoter and a great teacher on court. There are just so many hour of the day to accomplish the task at hand.

Just like so many things, your personal strength usually takes over. Steve is a competitor and a teacher.

I agree with your assessments that Cass was a tremendous asset for the development of the facility, the program and marketing Aggie Tennis. I personally believe that all of that activity which was necessary and he did well, detracted from actually coaching. My observations over the past few years is there has been a definate lack of motivation of the players and development of their skills as a team. Cass tended to intimidate players aand they became more fearful of losing than desiring to win. When you fear your coach coming on your court and facing him in the locker room, this is not a positive motivational environment.

Steve and Bob are defninately better coaches in that respect and they now have a facility manager to take that load away from the coaches so they can concentrate on the teamwork and individual skillsets. We probably however, have seen the last of many american players being recruited for Aggie Tennis.

I do not know for sure but I think having 50 percent of players from the state of Texas was a job requirement. Bryne is committed to Building Champions with Texas kids. This was a possible reason the Pepperdine coach turned A&M down.

Sounds like Cass was a treasure. Thanks to him for all he did, and best wishes for his future success.

Coach Cass believed in the majority of the players being Texans and Americans, with one or two international players. It is not a Bill Byrne requirement and for sure is not in the plans for Coach Denton. All the players he has and have come in are from Coach Cass. You can expect the American players to fade away under coach D's tenure. He will favor foreign players. When the seniors leave this year, the passports will be from overseas for the next round of players. I plan to enjoy Aggie men's tennis this year as much as I can, then switch to the ladies as soon as Klunky is gone.

[This message has been edited by Ags40luv (edited 2/9/2007 9:13p).]