North Carolina State University Athletics
Chris Drake Named Volunteer Assistant Men's Tennis Coach
3/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 1, 2005
RALEIGH, N.C. - NC State men's tennis head coach Jon Choboy, and assistant coach Matt Halfpenny, have announced that Chris Drake has joined their staff as a volunteer assistant coach. Choboy and Halfpenny have NC State off to its best start in over 20 years, and both coached and recruited Drake while at Brown University. Drake won over 100 singles matches, the second best mark all-time for the university. A 2003 graduate of Brown, he will assist the coaches with on the court drills and will use his playing experience and work ethic to influence the Wolfpack team.
Drake, from Needham, Mass., is currently playing the professional circuit, most recently defeating the No. 390 player in the world. He trained at NC State for 10 days before embarking on the tour, and he hit with NC State players Conor Taylor, Nick Cavaday and Will Shaw.
"I was able to train at NC State before I left [to play professionally]," Drake said. "Having coach Choboy and coach Halfpenny and the team to train with and hit with was a big asset to my game, and I look forward to returning and helping them out in return."
Drake played in the Portugal Satellite, which was four weeks during Jan. 25 to Feb. 19. In singles he qualified for all four weeks, and in doubles he and Trevor Spracklin won week two and the final week four. His current rankings are 1039 in singles and 693 in doubles in the world.
"The growth that I experienced as both a player and a person has proved invaluable to me as I pursue a career in professional tennis," Drake said. "The coaches encouraged me to look beyond just wins and losses and instead focus on always developing my game to reach its fullest potential."
