Lehman Tennis Coach Starts Program Turn Around

When accepting the position as head coach of the Lehman College men and women's tennis teams, legendary coach Zack Davis proclaimed that he would have the squads competing hard every season, and would be in contention for a CUNY championship. Now, two years after that brave proclamation, Davis has the Lightning right in the race for this year's CUNY championship and excitement is starting to brew on the Bronx campus as we approach the conclusion of this year's tennis season.

Leading the charge for this year's squad has been the emergence of sophomore Raul Santana. Santana has been virtually unstoppable this season. With an impressive 7-2 record this season as the number one singles player, Santana has given the Lightning one of the most dominant players in the conference. In a recent match against conference power College of Staten Island, Santana defeated CSI's top player Soumitri Seshadri 6-2, 6-1.

Lehman has seen vast improvement from freshman star Ryan Magsino, and senior Mark Peart. The duo have provided the Lightning a formidable combination in the number two and three slots in the line-up.

"This year's team has shown a great ability to learn and work together as a team," said second year head coach Zack Davis. "Their team work has been great all season, and it has shown in their competiveness throughout our victories, and our many close defeats."

Lehman fans have also been treated to stellar tennis this season by Kingzang Tobgay, Rabiedra Hansraj, Yongda Leung, Shuhsuan Lim, James Mariani and Ahized Attia.

The Lightning coaching staff is comprised of coach Davis, and his long time assistant Randy Jennings. Davis, a former coach at CCNY, is a familiar face amongst the tennis circuit, coaching amongst many of the legendary coaches in the junior national and national levels. Davis and Jennings give the Lightning a presence which commands respect in the tennis world, and assures his athletes they will learn the fundamentals of the sport.

"All of our athletes here at Lehman learn exactly how tennis is supposed to be played," said Davis. "When competing in such a competive conference as the CUNY, fundamentals go along way in being successful."

The Lighthing tennis squad is on track to qualify for the CUNY conference tennis championships which will begin on April 24th at the United States National Tennis Center. Lehman will look to capture the school's first tennis championship, and win the CUNY's first ever automatic bid to the NCAA championships.

"The CUNY championships are something that this team is looking forward to this season," said Davis. "With an improved line-up, we think that we have a chance to surprise some of the higher seeds in this year's event."