CLEVELAND Tenn.-The 2023 season was a breakthrough year for Coach Patric Hynes and his Lee University men's tennis team. The Flames were able to beat two of the Top 10 teams (University of West Florida at home and Flagler College on the road) and were ranked inside the Top 10 for a good portion of the season. They finished with the program's highest national ranking ever, 13th.
It was an outstanding year on and off the playing court for Nico Ramirez Ribes and Francisco "Kiko" Faria. They were named All-Gulf South Conference, both ranked nationally in singles at No. 33rd and 70th. Ribes and Faria were also named to the ITA Scholar-Athlete list (3.5+ cumulative GPA). Six were named to the GSC Spring Honor Roll (3.0+ GPA), Ribes, Faria, Drew Johnston, Denis Muratovic, Mike Groenendijk, Pedro Salvatori. Ribes earned a spot on the GSC All-Academic Team.
The Flames will begin the 2024 campaign right where they left off last season, ranked 13th nationally. "In the grand scheme of things this will not count for anything, but it's nice to see that people are taking notice of our program," remarked Coach Hynes, who is in his 10th year of directing Lee tennis. "Hopefully, we can continue working together and have the kind of season that we want for ourselves."
The bad news is Ribes, Johnston, Muratovic and Salvatori all graduated from last year's outstanding team. The good news is Faria, Wihan Van Der Merwe, Denis Groenendijk, Jordi Dasi and Mike Groenendijk are all returning. Coach Hynes has added new recruits or transfers Filipe Krohn, Viktor Yanev, Yike Liu, and Peng Hou.
When asked about the strength of this year's club, the coach said, "We have a great group of guys who come ready to work each day, and I think as a coach, that is all that you want from your players; a great attitude and effort."
As usual West Florida and Valdosta State University are picked by most as the teams to beat in the powerful GSC, but Coach Hynes knows the Argos and Blazers will be talented again says, "It is hard to predict this year. So many teams have gotten better. I think this is probably the strongest field of men's teams that I have seen since being in the GSC."
Like golf, tennis players have their own individual goals. "We just want to make sure we are a great unit who try to do things the right way and bring positive recognition to the school," inserted Coach Hynes.
The Flames have prepared to play the regular season with exhibition contests, but step outside the conference for extra challenges. "It is a strong schedule of competition, and we need that," insisted the veteran leader. "Carson-Newman University and Young Harris College are road matches. Both programs were nationally ranked last year, so these will be great challenges for us."
Lee will open on the road on Feb. 4th in Bristol, Tenn. against King College and will continue the adventure on Feb. 10th in Jefferson City against Carson-Newman. The Flames will jump into GSC action on Feb. 17th when they host Delta State University.
