NC State Men's Tennis History of Success
8/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
The NC State men’s tennis team began in 1954 under head coach Jack Kenfield.
After building the program, Kenfield left the team to Norm Chambers in 1967, but Chambers only served one year as head coach.
J.W. Isenhour took over the men’s tennis team in 1968, and in his 14 seasons with the Wolfpack, he led the team to two ACC Championships. He also guided seven doubles teams and nine singles players to ACC titles. Isenhour left NC State with a 168-98 overall record.
Danny More and Henry Brandon each served one year as head coach, and Crawford Henry stepped into the role in 1984. In his 12 years with the Pack, Henry had two singles ACC individual champions, as well as one ACC doubles champion.
Eric Hayes, who served as head coach from 1996-2002, coached Roberto Bracone to back-to-back ACC individual titles. Bracone was named the ACC Player of the Year in 1998, the only player in NC State men's tennis history to win the award.
Current head Coach Jon Choboy took over the Pack in 2003, and has led the Pack to consecutive NCAA appearances in 2006 and 2007, a program first. In 2007, NC State defeated No. 43 William & Mary, No. 6 North Carolina, and No. 11 Texas to reach the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament, a first for Wolfpack men's tennis.
NC STATE’s MOST SUCCESSFUL PLAYERS
John Sadri (1975-78)
Sadri played at a level that all NC State student-athletes should strive to reach. Sadri left the court victorious 131 times- 86 singles and 45 doubles. For his accomplishments, Sadri was inducted into the ITA Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame. The victories included two ACC singles and doubles championships as the number one seed. In his last two seasons, Sadri dominated opponents with a 55-4 singles record. Sadri became the Wolfpack’s first All-American in 1977, advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA championship. He repeated as an All-American the following season and advanced to the finals at the NCAAs. There he fell in four sets to No. 1 seed John McEnroe of Stanford (see below on “The Match”). Following college, Sadri competed professionally. His achievements include a spot in the 1979 Australian Open Finals, reaching the top 20 in the world rankings and appearing on several Davis Cup squads. The Match John Sadri vs. John McEnroe. Power vs. Finesse. No. 11 vs. No. 1. East Coast vs. West Coast. How ever you look at it, the 1978 NCAA singles championship is viewed as one of the greatest college matches of all time. Heading into the match, McEnroe was the heavy favorite, being ranked 15th in the world and coming off a trip to the semifinals in Andy Andrews (1978-81) Before playing his first match at State, Andrews dreamed of winning eight conference titles (four singles and four doubles). Though he could not reach his high standards, Andrews left a mark on the tennis program with five ACC championships, two singles and three doubles. Andrews received recognition with All-American honors in 1980 and 1981. He was also a part of States back-to-back championship runs in 1978 and 79. During his career at State the team compiled a record of 69-12. Andrews preferred an aggressive style. He was quoted as saying, “I like to keep the action moving. I like to serve and volley and play at the net, even though my teammates tell me I’m best from the baseline. But, I get restless back there and want to make something happen, so I go to the net and get the point over with.” Matt McDonald (1977-80) McDonald found success at all levels in Roberto Bracone (1996-99) Bracone’s accomplishments at NC State speak loudly. However, they do not come close to telling the whole story. Bracone left State ranked in the top five for the most single season victories (20, in 1999) and tied for career wins in doubles (50). His career in the ACC  ended with two singles championships, a player of the year award and All-ACC honors four straight seasons. Bracone’s accomplishments were achieved during hundreds of hours of rehab from surgery on his right shoulder and elbow to repair nerve damage, a degenerative vertebrae condition, tendonitis in both knees and a helping of ankle injuries. Not to mention his three heart operations from 1992-94, two of which lasted 24 hours. Still not impressed? Bracone also led the Wolfpack to their first NCAA appearance in over 20 years, earned All-American honors in 1999 and played in the NCAA tournament twice, including an appearance in the Sweet 16. NC STATE RECORDS ACC Team Championships 1978, 1979 ACC Individual Champions 1976 John Sadri (No. 1-D) Scott Dillon (No. 1-D) 1977 Carl Baumgardner (No. 3-D) Matt McDonald (No. 3-D) John Sadri (No. 1-S) 1978 Andy Andrews (No. 5-S; No. 3-D) Bill Csipsky (No. 1-D) Scott Dillon (No. 3-D) Matt McDonald (No. 4-S) John Sadri (No. 1-S; No. 1-D) 1979 Andy Andrews (No. 2-S) Carl Baumgardner (No. 2-D) Mark Dillon (No. 6-S) Scott Dillon (No. 4-S) Matt McDonald (No. 3-S; No. 2-D) 1980 Andy Andrews (No. 1-D) Matt McDonald (No. 1-D) 1981 Andy Andrews (No. 1-D) Mark Dillon (No. 2-S; No. 1-D) 1991 Sean Ferreira (No. 2-S) 1992 Mike Herb (No. 1-D) Glen Philp (No. 4-S; No. 1-D) 1997 Roberto Bracone (No. 1-S) 1998 Roberto Bracone (No. 1-S) ACC Player of the Year 1998 Roberto Bracone All-ACC Selections 1991 Sean Ferreira 1992 Glen Philp 1993 Sean Ferreira 1996 Roberto Bracone 1997 Roberto Bracone 1998 Roberto Bracone 1999 Roberto Bracone 2000 Eric Jackson 2001 Eric Jackson 2004 Conor Taylor 2006 William Noblitt 2007 Nick Cavaday William Noblitt 2008 James McGee Jay Weinacker