It has been a tumultuous five years for the UC Santa Cruz men’s tennis program. After winning the program’s seventh national championship in 2009 and seeing Brian Pybas and Marc Vartabedian lead them to a surprising National Indoor Championship in 2010, the Slugs have been slowly fading into obscurity. They lost their legendary coach the summer of 2011, the recruiting well that used to pump out 3-stars went dry, they lost the last tie to the old regime (Coach Parmelly) last summer, and they have repeatedly lost instrumental players to academics and disinterest (Larsen, Nurenberg, and Bettwy). All the while, they have competed under the specter of the UC budget crisis that spawned situations like this, and seen themselves drop from a perennial national championship contender, competing instead to remain in the top 30. This season represents a decades-long low for the historic program. They are currently ranked 22nd in the country by the ITA and are likely poised for a second consecutive Round of 32 tournament exit.
All is not lost for the Slug faithful, however. After losing 5 of their starting singles players from last season, Cruz somehow managed to stay in the top 25 this season, thanks in large part to a dramatic 5-4 win over Whittier. The Slugs also placed two more players (Max Littlejohn and Garrett Deguchi) onto the ITA all-American team after their improbable victory in the ITA West Regional. Moreover, after a couple years of recruiting futility, first year coach Christian De Jesus Nazario seems to have shifted the program’s momentum by bringing in their first 3-star recruits in four years. Despite many reports of doom and gloom, it appears the Slugs will not go quietly into the California sunset, which is a very good thing for DIII tennis fans everywhere.
Not everything is perfect on Monterey Bay, however, as it is still possible that the administration will shut down all varsity athletics at UC Santa Cruz by 2017. In the meantime, UCSC has decided to up its yearly financial investment of about $200,000 by %400. Now the school will finally be – you know – about average in terms of athletic spending for a DIII school. We here at the blog want to do everything possible to keep this historic program around and competitive, so here today to talk about the situation is Coach De Jesus himself. Coach, thank you for agreeing to do the interview.
Q: First off, congratulations on your success in your first year as a head coach. In your own words, could you please describe the financial situation for UC Santa Cruz athletics and explain what the casual DIII tennis fan can do, if anything, to help?
A: Thank you so much. It was a very fun and exciting year for us. Well right now the UCSC Athletics Department is going through some changes. People say that those changes can be positive and some negative, but I think it really depends on how you choose to look at it. We’re very, very positive about every change that’s happening in the Athletics Department here at UCSC. The D3 tennis fans can definitely do SO much for our program. The best thing they could do is support the program and support the student-athletes. Things like come to dual matches, support fundraisers, doing articles and interviews with the team, liking our social media pages, etc. ANYTHING that can help us we’ll be grateful.
Q: So, specifically, which social media pages should we be liking? Are there any fundraisers going on right now that we could be chipping in to?
A: Good thing you ask. You can follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
Q: The article states that the budgetary augmentation started in the Spring quarter this year. How has that changed things for the program this year, if at all?
A: It hasn’t changed at all because it doesn’t take effect until the next fiscal year so in other words Fall 2014.
Q: Let’s say I’m a 3- or 4-star recruit looking for a DIII tennis program. I look at Cruz and I see the amazing facilities and the program history. I also see that the program has had two coaching changes in the last four years, the team’s ranking has been dropping, and there are rumblings about whether or not the program will be around in 4 years. Convince me to go to Santa Cruz.
A: Well that’s actually very funny because ANYONE will think that I have to convince someone to actually come to Santa Cruz, and that’s okay to think that. But that’s not the way I work. When I’m talking with my recruits I try to be as honest as possible. Searching for a place where you’ll evolve as a student, athlete, human being and a future professional is a really big deal, and I don’t want ANY player that I recruit to feel any kind of pressure from my part because it is a life-changing decision. My job is to provide them the right information depending on their positions and interests.
Our school is very good academically. It also has one of the top tennis programs in the nation. Every time someone visits, they fall in love with the campus. Then, they get to meet the team and watch them practice while I explain everything we do and everything we plan to accomplish. After that I tell them how big of an opportunity they have to be part of something special and make history. Then, to finish my conversation with them and their parents, I always tell them that my door is always open, and if they don’t choose Santa Cruz to start their journey, I’ll be happy to help them in any way I can to get into the program they want to get in.
Q: UC Santa Cruz athletics as a whole has had a hard time keeping coaches around, with many young head coaches like yourself using the low-paying jobs as a springboard to other positions. Are you in it at Santa Cruz for the long haul?
A: Everything I do I’m either all in or I don’t do it. My plan IS to stay in Santa Cruz. I plan to work with the team and build something special. So the answer is: yes, I’m in it for the long haul.
Q: So you’re losing your #1 doubles team, but TRN says you’ve got at least one big recruit coming in. How are you going to replace the leadership of Scandalis and Goetz, and what else should we expect out of the Slugs next year?
A: Yes, we say goodbye to Eli and Chris, our seniors. They are two very special players to me, but for next year, we have work to do. The team is shaping up really well, and, with our new recruits, things are looking really promising. In terms of leadership. it depends which players want to step up. A lot of times, the team itself has to take responsibility of their future. The coach has to point out the right path, and they have to walk it.
Q: I have to ask, is there any chance at all that Bettwy picks up his racquet again? He would have been great to have this year.
A: Funny that you ask. I agree that he could have been really good to have. We emailed each other a couple of times, but he’s not interested in coming back any time soon. If there’s an update on that topic, I’ll make sure you’re the first to know.
Q: Haha, good to hear. Bryce, if you’re reading, I think you should play next year! I saw you hit probably the most thunderous forehand I’ve ever seen on a break point last year. You let out a maniacal howl, and that had to be fun. You only get one chance to play college sports. I’m sure that means a lot coming from an anonymous blogger like me.
Anyways, what about the current program impresses you? And what would you like to see change in the coming years?
A: I really like how things are shaping up. We’ve a pretty good bunch of hard working and hungry guys that want to prove to everyone that they can play. With the recruits coming in and making that team culture part of their game, I can only see good things ahead.
Q: Coach, last but not least, is there anything else you would like people to know about UC Santa Cruz, the school’s financial information, or yourself?
A: I think the financial status is pretty clear in the article. Otherwise, I knew that taking over this job was going to be challenging because of its history. When you’re coming in after one of the best, if not the best, D3 tennis coach and one of his very committed and talented disciples, it’s very difficult for a young, first season, different culture coach to fill those shoes up. I really get that. But my job is not to fill those shoes up. My job is to run the program as it is because it has been a VERY successful program so far. Am I going to put a little flavor of my own? OF COURSE.
There you have it, folks. It’s been a rough couple years for the Banana Slugs, but Coach De Jesus certainly has stopped the bleeding. With a couple great players coming in next year, they’re going nowhere but up. Remember to please go and like their Facebook page and Twitter account if you haven’t already. Seriously, it only takes a couple seconds, and you could block their Facebook posts if you don’t want to see them anyways. Thanks to Coach De Jesus for agreeing to the interview and good luck to the Slugs as they finish out another great season!
Looking forward to another good season of Slug Tennis. NO KNOWN PREDATORS!
The Hopkins tennis situation is worse than cruz but both teams are in the final 8. Part time coaches and probably the worst courts in the country. No indoor courts on campus. women go out and win indoors and men finish in the finals. To say the part time coaches are not good is far from the truth. Seems like the Hopkins situation is where the part time coaches make the full time coaches look bad.
Certainly, Hopkins has a couple advantages that a lot of other schools don’t have
Yeah like the fact that the school is Johns Hopkins!
Hopkins has a brand new facility coming within the next year that I assume is being paid by the school. Coach Willenborg, who I guess used to be part-time, was promoted to a position called “Director of Tennis.” That does not seem part-time to me.
Hopkins also is a top 10 research school with name recognition, located in the East Coast in a decent sized city. They have an amazing pre-med program and high grades for many of their other programs. They are a private university. To say “these part-time coaches are showing up the full-timers” is a blatant black-and-white argument.
I read the linked article “Poor Sports: Most UCSC coaches struggle to get by on a living wage” and while it is apparent that UCSC coaches are not being paid a livable wage I remain less convinced that this is solely a UCSC issue. My friend was recently offered a head coaching position at a DIII school in the West Region and was offered $10,000/a year. I came from a DIII school in the West Region and I am positive our coach made less than $20,000/year. Certainly UC schools are going through tough times, but I tend to think that UCSC’s athletic funding mirrors the athletic funding of many other DIII schools.
Incidentally, great job with the blog!
You’re right. At other schools, the head tennis coach is considered a part time job. Those schools tend to suck at tennis (though some coaches go above and beyond anyway), as the coaches give lessons and pursue other things to make a living wage. Most competitive schools make their coaches full-time faculty and make much more.
It most certainly is not a UCSC issue. I think that program is getting the publicity due to its extremely rich and successful history. There are many other D3 schools out there that have the same coaching situation, and many getting offered the above numbers to coach 2 teams (same stipend). D3West’s words are a little harsh because I have been a dual team coach on a “part-time” stipend and wouldn’t say our programs suck. I’d say middle class in the entire D3 realm but rarely mentioned on this blog in recent history, to give a sense of our ability (to be mentioned on the blog you need to be a top 30 contender or a realistic upset option). UCSC is, and should rightfully be, the poster child for this issue across the D3 tennis landscape because of their storied success. They’re an example of the dramatic improvement of D3 tennis in recent years in that it requires more than just a beautiful location and facilities to be a top notch program. For any program to succeed at the highest level nowadays, all the stars need to align (some stars carry more weight, especially coaching situation). Facilities, coaching, resources, academic reputation, and recruiting potential. All factors are individually important in a successful program. I find that with a stable coaching situation, missing one of the other factors can be overcome. However, without a stable coach, none of the other factors will matter in the long term (short term can be overcome with dedicated student athletes from my experience).
The life lessons being learned by the Slug players are unique and extraordinary. No trophy can match these lessons. Thank you for drawing attention to this morass throughout the season.