The Hope College men's tennis team is aiming to serve up another Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship during the 2014 season.
The Flying Dutchmen shared the MIAA title with Calvin College and Kalamazoo College last season after beating Calvin in the final regular-season dual match.
Coach Steve Gorno begins his 22nd season at the helm at Hope with a roster of 12 players that includes eight returning letterwinners. The Flying Dutchmen's roster is comprised of two seniors, four juniors, four sophomores and two freshmen.
This year's co-captains for Hope are senior Parker Bussies of Zeeland (Zeeland West HS), top right, and junior Cody Herbruck of Grand Rapids (Forest Hills Central HS), bottom right.
Other returning letterwinners for Hope are junior Trevor Brogan of East Lansing (East Lansing HS), junior Matthew Culver of Clinton Township (Fraser HS), junior Jonathan Panzer of Rockford (Rockford HS), sophomore Jonathan Hoffman of Holland (West Ottawa HS), sophomore Ben Johnson of Brighton (Hartland HS), and sophomore Chris Tippett of Flushing (Flint Powers Catholic HS).
The Flying Dutchmen begin their season with a two-day indoor tournament in Grand Rapids on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 14 and 15.
Hope's indoor home opener is Friday and Saturday at the Hope/Kalamazoo Shootout at DeWitt Tennis Center.
The Flying Dutchmen will take their annual spring break trip on March 17-21 and will play six matches in Orlando, Fla.
MIAA play starts on Saturday, March 29 at Alma College.
In 2013, Hope claimed its third MIAA championship by finishing with a 5-1 dual-match record. The Flying Dutchmen qualified for the MIAA Tournament but lost in the semifinals. Hope had three players claim all-league honors: Most Valuable Player Bobby Cawood of East Lansing on the first team, and both senior Jason Muller of Petoskey and Bussies on the second team. The Flying Dutchmen recorded an overall dual-match record of 16-5.
Also last season, Hope was named an All-Academic Team by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association for the eighth consecutive time. In addition, six members of the 2013 team were named ITA Scholar-Athletes: Bussies, Cawood, senior Gabe Casher of Ann Arbor (Pioneer HS), senior Kyle Kreps of Holland (Holland HS), senior Daniel Owens of Rocky River, Ohio (Rocky River HS), and senior Davis Vanderveen of Clarkston (Clarkston HS).
In addition, this past December, the Hope's Vande Poel-Heeringa Stadium Courts were chosen the Outdoor Tennis Court of the Year by the American Sports Builders Association.
