Stefan Borg Nikola Prpic - Drury University Athletics

AMINE BOUSTANI,
HEAD COACH
The winningest tennis coach in Drury
history, Amine Boustani ranks right up
there in the NCAA D-II history books as
well after posting a 246-59 mark entering
his 14th season with the Panthers,
including ten straight trips to the national
tournament.
The former Southwest Missouri State
University standout fashioned one of
Drury’s best seasons in school history in
2007, as the Panthers compiled a 22-3
mark and made it to the “Sweet 16” at
ANDREAS MAROLDT,
GRADUATE ASSISTANT COACH
DRURY UNIVERSITY QUICK FACTS
• Location: Springfield, MO
• Enrollment: 1,605
• President: Todd Parnell
• VP For Athletic Affairs: Dr. Edsel Matthews
• Director of Athletics: Pat Atwell
• Athletics Office Phone: (417) 873-7265
• Head Coach: Amine Boustani (14th season, 246-59)
• Phone number: (417) 873-7439
• E-mail address: aboustan@drury.edu
nationals helping Boustani earn National Coach
of the Year honors for a third time in his career as
Drury finished No. 6 in the final poll.
He also guided Drury to its second Great Lakes
Valley Conference championship, earning Coach
of the Year honors in the league as well.
It certainly wasn’t the first time Boustani’s
Panthers were knocking on the door of a national
championship. They finished second in the nation
in 2002 and continuing its string to four straight
years of making the national Elite Eight with last
season’s appearance, fueled by a senior standout
in Matias Oddone who not only was named the
national Player of the Year, but captured the ITA
Nationals for D-II players in the fall of 2005.
Boustani served as Drury’s graduate assistant
coach from 1992-94 before accepting the head
coaching position of both the men’s and women’s
programs, a double-duty he continued to tackle
until focusing strictly on the men’s program
starting in 2000.
That was also the starting point for Drury’s run
through the Heartland Conference, including six
consecutive league titles – and six Coach of the
Year awards for Boustani - before the Panthers
left to join the GLVC.
His teams have finished sixth, fifth, third, second,
fourth, sixth, sixth and third, respectively, the past
eight years in the national rankings.
The 1991 graduate of then-SMS was the Bears’
No. 1 player as a junior and senior after winning
Maroldt, a former professional player, joins
the Drury men’s coaching staff this season as
a graduate assistant coach. He comes to Drury
after working as an intern for the International
Management Group and as a sales trainee for
a German Direct marketing company. Maroldt
graduated from the University of South Florida,
where he was an ITA Scholar Athlete awardwinner
with an overall GPA of 3.51.
As a collegiate player, Maroldt reached the
semifinal of the Georgia Tech Invitational and
had a top collegiate win over Franticek Babej
• Graduate Assistant Coach: Andreas Maroldt
• Last year’s records: 22-3 overall, 5-0 in GLVC
• Affiliations: NCAA Division II, Great Lakes Valley Conference
• NCAA-II Tourney Appearances: 10 (1998-2007)
• Home Facility: Cooper Tennis Complex
• Athletics website: www.drurypanthers.com
• Sports Information Contacts:
Scott Puryear, SID (417-873-4097)
Eric Pannell, Asst. SID (417-873-7374)
a national juco title in singles at Midland (Texas)
Community College. He also enjoyed a successful
junior career in his native country of Morocco,
where he was a four-time national champion and
a member of the Davis Cup Team.
Boustani also serves on various NCAA-II
tennis committees. He is currently on the Board
of Directors for the Intercollegiate Tennis
Association (ITA), acting as the chair fo the
NCAA-II men’s division.
Boustani is also the director of tennis and fitness
at Millwood Golf & Racquet Club in southeast
Springfield and serves as the head tennis coach
for the Springfield Community Olympic
Development Program.
Boustani’s Head Coaching Record
1994-95 7-7
1995-96 7-4
1996-97 9-8
1997-98 15-5 (NCAA-II Regional Tournament Qualifier)
1998-99 21-7 (NCAA-II National Tournament Qualifier)
1999-00 25-5 (Finished #5 in NCAA-II)
2000-01 26-5 (Finished #3 in NCAA-II)
2001-02 24-3 (Finished #2 in NCAA-II)
2002-03 25-3 (Finished #4 in NCAA-II)
2003-04 18-5 (Finished #6 in NCAA-II)
2004-05 22-3 (Finished #6 in NCAA-II)
2005-06 25-1 (Finished #3 in NCAA-II)
2006-07 22-3 (Finished #6 in NCAA-II)
Total (13 seasons) 246-59
of South Alabama, ranked No. 7 nationally at
the time. Maroldt also had a perfect dual match
record as a senior at USF as the squad was ranked
as high as #19 in NCAA-I.
As a professional, Maroldt was ranked No.
809 in ATP singles and played several Futures,
Satellite, and Challenger tournaments, reaching
the quarterfinals of the Italy Futures and Egypt
Satellite Masters.
STEFAN BORG
Height: 5-11
Class: Senior
Hometown: Stockholm, Sweden
NIKOLA PRPIC
Height: 6-0
Class: Senior
Hometown: Zagreb, Croatia
In regards to expectations, nothing has changed
with the Drury men’s tennis Panthers for 2008.
Same ol’ story. Nothing less than competing for
an NCAA-II national championship will do for
coach Amine Boustani and the Panthers, who are
shooting for their 11th consecutive appearance
in the NCAA meet when they kick off the 2008
campaign.
Drury is ranked No. 5 in the preseason national
poll, and with the mix of experience and talented
newcomers, Boustani believes it is justified.
“This has a chance to be right there with the top
two or three teams we’ve had over the last eight
years,” says Boustani, who brings a record of
246-59 into his 14th season as the Panthers’ coach.
“It’s a good mix of experience, talent and depth.
Of course, we’ve got Stefan at the top, and then the
pack is deep. I also like the fact that we have three
lefties, which should make us better in doubles.
“I think with the combination of experience,
talent and good doubles that we should have, it
definitely makes us one of the horses that can win
the (national title) race.” In fact, an indication of
that depth comes when you ask Boustani to list his
singles order, and his response is, “I think at this
point, anybody can play from 2 to 7 ... that’s how
close they are to each other.”
ANTON KHADESEVICH
Height: 5-7
Class: Sophomore
Hometown: Barcelona, Spain
ANTONIO GARCIA SANTOS
Height: 5-7
Class: Sophomore
Hometown: Barcelona, Spain
SEASON PREVIEW
FEDERICO LEVI
Height: 6-0
Class: Sophomore
Hometown: Buenos Aires, Argentina
The lineup is headed by senior star Stefan Borg,
who made it to the national singles finals of the
ITA Championships in Mobile, Ala., last fall before
falling to Alex Grubin of Concordia 6-1, 6-4
in the championship match. Borg finished 24-2
last season in leading the Panthers to the national
quarterfinals, earning Great Lakes Valley Conference
Player of the Year honors along the way as the
Panthers breezed to the league title for a second
straight year.
Borg is one of four returning Panthers from last
season’s squad, joining junior Nikola Prpic and
sophomores Federico Levi and Antonio Garcia
Santos. Bolstering DU’s hopes of making a strong
showing at nationals in Houston, Texas this May
is the addition of a talented trio of newcomers -
juniors Nahom Serekeberhan and Florian Perche
and freshman Anton Khadasevich, who joined the
squad at the semester.
Serekeberhan, a transfer from Tyler (Texas) Community
College (where he was ranked No. 1 nationally
in doubles), made a strong first impression
in the ITA Great Lakes Regional in the fall when
he teamed with Borg to win the doubles title.
While Prpic and Borg will continue to play doubles
together, Khadasevich will play No. 2 doubles
with Levi, while Serekeberhan and Perche will team
NAHOM SEREKEBERHAN
Height: 6-2
Class: Junior
Hometown: Stockholm, Sweden
FLORIAN PERCHE
Height: 6-0
Class: Junior
Hometown: Lyon, France
up for the No. 3 unit ... although Boustani warns
that those spots, like the singles slots, may be
interchangeable.
Drury’s schedule has changed from past years with
the GLVC’s move this season to a schedule that requires
each member to play all of the other league
teams. As a result, Boustani says, the Panthers have
had to scale back some of their non-league trips,
but still will make a trek to Florida in mid-March
to play traditional powers Armstrong Atlantic,
Florida Southern, Embry-Riddle and Valdosta
State. “We’ll find out a lot on that trip,” says
Boustani, a threetime
National
Coach of the
Year honoree.
Drury had a
string of four
consecutive Elite
Eight appearances
snapped
with last season’s
Sweet 16 loss at
the NCAA-II
nationals.
www.drurypanthers.com www.drurypanthers.com www.drurypanthers.com www.drurypanthers.com www.drurypanthers.com www.drurypanthers.com
Finished the season
ranked #2 in the
nation for singles
where he posted
a 24-2 mark and
went 23-5 in
doubles action in
2006-07 ending
the season ranked
#16…2007
Great Lakes Valley
Conference Player
of the Year.
Was 15-5 in
singles and 22-5 in
doubles action last
season in helping
the Panthers to a
national ranking
of #6.
A reserved player
for the Belarussian
Davis Cup team,
Anton enjoyed a
successful junior
career and was
ranked in the top
five nationally.
Posted a 12-3
singles mark and
was an All-Great
Lakes Valley Conference
honoree
last season.
Posted a 21-3
singles mark and
a 5-7 doubles
record last season
and was ranked
#39 nationally in
singles.
Was an All-
American at Tyler
Junior College
where he was on
the #1 ranked
doubles team and
was #2 in the nation
in singles.
Was ranked #2
in singles and
#6 in doubles
in France.