BEREA, OHIO --  The 2014-2015 Baldwin Wallace University men's tennis team has goals of winning the Ohio Athletic Conference regular season and OAC Tournament titles and returning to the NCAA Division III National Tournament.  The Yellow Jackets and veteran Head Coach Brian Rector have both the talent and firepower to accomplish those goals.

Rector, who enters his 26th season at his alma mater and is the winningest men's tennis coach in the OAC and Ohio collegiate tennis, has a career mark of 456-89 with an .837 winning percentage.  His teams have had eight 20-win seasons in the last 12 years, including a 29-1 mark in 2012 when the Yellow Jackets advanced to the second round of the NCAA tourney.

This fall, Rector returns six of his eight starters, including five singles student-athletes and his top three in the lineup.  During the past three seasons, this group has produced a 71-6 record with a .922 winning percentage with one OAC regular season title, an OAC Tournament championship and an NCAA tourney berth.

Leading the way will be returning singles starters in number one player and senior three-time All-OAC and two-time Academic All-OAC standout Kyle Patterson (Wooster/ Triway), junior two-time All-OAC No.2 player Peter Harris (Akron/ Richfield Revere), junior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC No.3 player Doug Ganim (Westerville/ Olentangy Orange), sophomore No.5 player Nathan Katz (Upper Arlington/ Bexley) and senior No.6 player Letch Radomirov (Fairview Park/ Fairview).

Patterson, who carries a 3.774 grade point average, enters his final season with a 65-16 career singles and 61-19 career doubles mark. He was 14-8 at No.1 singles and combined with graduated All-OAC and three-time Academic All-OAC player Brad Minrovic '14 for a 21-5 slate at No.2 doubles. Harris is 44-9 in singles, including an 18-6 mark last season, and a 43-14 doubles slate, including a 22-5 mark with Ganim at No.1. Ganim is 42-10 in singles the past two seasons, including a team-leading 20 wins and a 20-4 mark a year ago. In doubles, he has a 43-14 career mark.  Katz had a fine freshman season and was 17-9 overall in singles and 4-1 in doubles play.  Radomirov transferred to BW two years ago and was 14-6 in singles play and 5-1 in doubles. 

"We return a solid group of veterans, including six starters," said Rector. "Our top three are all strong players. The battle in the fall will be for the fourth, fifth and sixth spots in the lineup, and we have a number of candidates who will compete for those jobs." 

A year ago, sophomore Kevin Fredrick (Archbold) had a 4-2 singles slate and started at No.3 doubles and compiled an 18-6 mark at No.6 with graduated Academic All-OAC player Zach Elbin '14.  This season, look for Fredrick to battle for a spot in the starting singles lineup with a number of other returnees.

In addition to six returning starters, Rector also returns five other veterans.  They are sophomores Gavin Bushong (Marysville), Brian Carano (Akron/ Richfield Revere), Brandon Caynor (Norton) and Jake Liebler (Medina/ Senior) and senior Dan Rowsey (Ashland/ Senior), who will play just during the 2014 fall season.

Of the six, Carano, Caynor and Liebler have the best shots at competing with Katz, Radomirov and Fredrick for the fourth through six singles spots and the three open doubles spots.  Carano had a 5-2 singles and 4-1 doubles mark. Caynor was 5-0 in singles and 3-2 in doubles. Liebler was 7-3 in singles, including a big, match-clinching win versus eventual OAC champ Otterbein last season, and 6-0 in doubles. Rowsey was 1-0 in singles and 3-0 in doubles.

"We have some depth," said Rector. "The key will be how far have our sophomores come in the last year and how much can they push each other and the top three in the lineup.

"I think we are in the conversation when we talk about winning an OAC title and returning to the NCAA Tournament, but the OAC has at least four-to-five strong teams.  We will have to work hard, improve each day and meet each challenge head-on."

The Yellow Jackets open the season on Saturday, September 13 when they hope to host a pair of matches and play on the newly renovated courts at the "Pop" Collins Tennis Complex on campus. BW also will play this fall at both the Oberlin College Tournament and the annual ITA (Intercollegiate Tennis Association) Central Region tourney.  In the spring, BW annually travels to Hilton Head, South Carolina during spring break to play a minimum of five matches and then begins its spring schedule in mid-March.