|
SPORTS
| October 29, 2003
Tennis
Program gains assistant coach
Texas Wesleyan’s Diego Benitez
says he will use his experiences to guide the men’s tennis
team.
By Britney
Tabor
The Shorthorn staff
Tennis coach Christian Wassmer has found an assistant after two
months of coaching the men’s and women’s teams by himself.
Diego Benitez was named Wassmer’s assistant Tuesday. He will
work with both teams but focus on men’s tennis. Wassmer said
he looked for someone who had head coaching experience and has worked
with high-level tennis competitors. Benitez has done both.
“It’s good to have an outside person who would bring
in different ideas,” Wassmer said. “He’s very
professional and tough, and that just makes a difference coming
in as a new coach.”
Benitez, 27, graduated from Texas Wesleyan University in 2000. After
graduation, he became the head coach at his alma mater and a volunteer
assistant coach at Texas Christian University. In the summer, he
worked with three players in Miami who are trying to get into the
Association of Tennis Professionals’ tour circuit.
Benitez said he hopes to contribute to the tennis program by using
the input and discipline he has developed by working with collegiate
and professional teams.
“I’m excited and very honored to be a part of this team,”
Benitez said. “I just hope we can achieve the goals that have
been set.”
Wassmer said he found out about Benitez from a coach at TCU and
hopes he can be instrumental to UTA’s program. Wassmer said
it has been hard trying to coach both teams alone. By bringing Benitez
to the staff, he said, things will run more smoothly in recruiting,
keeping the team competitive and getting athletes in shape for the
spring.
“I’m very excited about him being here, and we’ll
have better practices because I don’t have to worry about
scheduling practices for two teams,” he said.
Former Mavericks coach Patric DuBois resigned as head coach Aug.
8 after spending nine seasons with the tennis program. DuBois left
the university to become the Director of Recreation/Wellness Center
at Northwestern State in Natchitoches, La. Wassmer, who was an assistant
coach for five years, was named head coach, and graduate student
Lisa Jackson was his assistant until the position was filled.
Benitez has played tennis since he was 7 years old. He said he hopes
to share his experiences with the players he coaches. Benitez said
what he enjoys the most is the interaction between coach and player.
“I was once a college player,” he said. “Now as
a coach, I have an idea of what a player really needs before they
tell me.”
|
|
|
| Diego
Benitez, was named head tennis coach Christian Wassmer’s
assistant Tuesday.
|
|
|
