College Tennis Teams - Baylor University

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Camp Staff - Baylor Tennis Camp 2004

Joey Scrivano

• Two NCAA Final Fours ('08, '11)
• Five NCAA Elite Eights ('06, '08, '09, '10, '11)
• Eight-Time Regular Season Big 12 Champion ('03, '05, '06, '07, '08, '09, '10, '11)
• Six-Time Big 12 Tournament Champion ('06, '07, '08, '09, '10, '11)
• Three-time Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year ('06,'08 and '09)
• 2006, 2008, 2010 ITA Texas Region Coach of the Year
• 2005 TTCA Coach of the Year
• 2001, 2002 Sun Belt Coach of the Year

In his ten seasons leading the Baylor women's tennis program, head coach Joey Scrivano has put his Lady Bears among the best in the nation, along with being the top program in the Big 12 Conference nearly every season. Scrivano has the led BU to eight Big 12 regular-season titles, a current string of six out of seven Big 12 Tournament titles, and seven consecutive NCAA Championship appearances, reaching the NCAA Final Four in 2008 and 2011.

Scrivano has compiled an astounding 99-9 mark in the Big 12, along with a 303-82 mark overall as the leader of the program. In his time at BU, he has been named the Big 12 Coach of the Year three times (2006, 2008, 2009) and the ITA Regional Coach of the Year three times (2006, 2008, 2010). Scrivano's squad has dominated the Big 12 during his tenure, especially over the past four seasons, where they have a 82-4 record.

Individually, Baylor has had an enormous amount of success under Scrivano. In 2005, Zuzana Zemenova became the first unseeded player in NCAA history to win the NCAA singles title. Zemenova, a five-time NCAA All-American, also earned her way back to the singles title match in 2008. Most recently, Scrivano coached standout Lenka Broosova to BU career records for singles and doubles victories over her four years at Baylor. Scrivano has coached his student-athletes to 19 All-America honors in his tenure, including Broosova's six and Zemenova's five honors.

In 2012, the Lady Bears finished second in the Big 12, posting a 25-8 overall record, with a 7-2 mark in conference play. Scrivano led the team to its eighth consecutive NCAA round of 16 run. Five Lady Bears finished in the top 20 in singles, and three placed in the top 10 in doubles in the ITA Texas Region rankings.

During the 2011 season, Scrivano led the Lady Bears to their second NCAA Final Four appearance in the last four seasons and finished the year with a 29-4 record, including Big 12 regular season and Big 12 tournament championships. Baylor ended the season ranked No. 6, marking the fourth consecutive season ending the year in the top six.

In 2010, Scrivano's team completed their third consecutive undefeated 11-0 Big 12 regular season, then went on to win their fifth consecutive Big 12 Tournament championship. Baylor, who achieved the program's first No. 1 ranking, entered the NCAA Team Championship as the top overall seed, but fell to eventual champion Stanford 4-2 in the quarterfinal round. Baylor held the nation's No. 1 ranking five weeks during the season.

The Lady Bears were represented in the NCAA Singles Championship by Broosova, who finished in the Round of 16, and Nina Secerbegovic, who earned a spot in the quarterfinals and ended the season with a team-best 43 singles victories. Secerbegovic and Broosova were each named All-Americans for their performance, while Broosova teamed with Csilla Borsanyi in the doubles tournament to earn All-America honors, reaching the quarterfinal round as well.

Scrivano kept the Bears at the top of the Big 12 and on the brink of a second Final Four appearance in 2009. After winning his fifth consecutive Big 12 regular season title and fifth consecutive Big 12 Tournament title, Scrivano led the Bears to the Elite Eight before losing, 4-3 to fifth-seeded Notre Dame, ending the season ranked sixth nationally. In addition, Scrivano's doubles tandem of Broosova and Borsanyi made a spectacular run to the Final Four in NCAA Doubles action.

2008 was a banner year for the Lady Bears: 32-3 dual match record, 11-0 in Big 12 regular season play, midseason ranking of No. 2 in the nation (program high) and finished the season ranked No. 4 nationally.

Scrivano coached his 2007 Bears to their third consecutive Big 12 regular-season title. Scrivano's squad finished the season with a 24-7 record, capturing the Big 12 Tournament championship for the second straight season and advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 for the third time in as many years.

In 2006-07, Baylor saw a 25-match Big 12 regular season win streak come to an end, but the Bears quickly put the loss behind them, finishing the season with a 10-1 conference mark. In the Big 12 Tournament, held in Kansas City, Mo., Baylor marched past Nebraska (4-0) and No. 71 Oklahoma State (4-0) before facing No. 37 Texas in the championship match for the third consecutive season. The Bears out-lasted the Longhorns in a highly contested battle, earning a 4-3 victory and the tournament championship.

Baylor hosted a regional and quickly advanced to the NCAA Championship, defeating Oral Roberts (4-0) and No. 26 Texas A&M (4-1) to earn a spot in the Round of 16. For a third straight season the Bears were pitted against a top-five Florida squad that ended Baylor's season with a 4-2 victory; the Florida loss marked the third consecutive season that the Gators ended Baylor's tournament run. At season's end, the Bears earned a No. 13 ranking.

Scrivano has also had several successful individuals since coming to Baylor. In 2007, Zemenova earned her third consecutive Big 12 Player of the Year award and earned the Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship & Leadership Award, an honor not bestowed upon a Baylor athlete since 1997. Along with Zemenova's storied success, first-year member Broosova made her mark, winning the Big 12 No. 3 singles title and earning Southwest Region Rookie of the Year honors.

In 2005-06, the Bears claimed their third Big 12 regular-season title, going undefeated (11-0) for the second-straight year, and also tallied their first-ever Big 12 postseason championship after defeating Texas in the finals. At the NCAA Tournament, Baylor soared through the first three rounds before falling to No. 4 Florida. Baylor's advancement to the quarterfinals became a first in program history.

Along with an undefeated Big 12 campaign, 2006-07 saw the netters earn a then-program-best 28-4 record. The team also received its highest ever Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) final ranking, ending the season at No. 6 in the nation.

Under Scrivano's guidance, the 2005 Bears posted a 24-6 mark and ended the year ranked No. 14 in the ITA poll. The Bears produced the program's first perfect Big 12 record, breezing through league play with an 11-0 mark. In addition, freshman sensation Zemenova claimed the NCAA singles championship becoming the first unseeded NCAA champion and en route, became the program's first singles All-American. Zemenova also was named women's tennis Honda Broderick Award winner.

By guiding the Bears to six conference championships in seven seasons, Scrivano is nine-for-10 when it comes to conference titles and NCAA Tournament appearances. After leading the University of South Alabama women's tennis team to three-straight conference championships and a like number of NCAA Tournament berths in his first three years as a head coach, Scrivano, in his first year at the helm of Baylor's women's program, accomplished the same feat. In fact, he guided the Bears to their first-ever Big 12 championship in women's tennis.

Scrivano, who was hired in July of 2002 as Baylor's associate director of intercollegiate tennis and head women's tennis coach, inherited a team that had placed fourth in the Big 12 the previous season, was bypassed for the NCAA Tournament, graduated an All-American, lost the Big 12 Freshman of the Year and returned only three position players. Scrivano was able to bring in players to bolster the roster and dramatically improved the players who returned. The result, a 9-2 Big 12 record and a conference championship. The fact that the Bears did so well was impressive given the fact that they had only one player ranked among the top 100 in singles all season and no doubles tandem ranked at all.

Scrivano knew about Baylor and its tennis facilities prior to taking the job. He got a look at the BU tennis program and facilities during the 2002 season when he brought his then-40th ranked South Alabama team to the Baylor Tennis Center and promptly handed Baylor's 19th-ranked women's team a 7-0 blanking.

While he was head coach at the University of South Alabama, the Jaguars posted a 60-18 record and won three-straight Sun Belt Conference titles in three seasons. In addition, the Jaguars made it to the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament in 2000 and to the second round each of his last two years.

During his tenure at South Alabama, Scrivano tutored All-Americans Martina Ondrejkova and Iva Puflerova. Puflerova and Ondrejkova won the 1999 National Claycourt Doubles Championship and he guided them to the 2000 Final Four of the NCAA Doubles Championship. He also coached the combined men's and women's squad that upset Stanford, ranked No. 1 nationally, to win the 2000 World Team Tennis National Championship. Scrivano was twice named Sun Belt Coach of the Year (2001 and 2002) and was selected ITA South Region Coach of the Year in 2001.

Scrivano joined the South Alabama staff in 1999 as a men's and women's assistant coach. He helped guide the women's program to a first-ever NCAA Elite Eight appearance beating No. 8 UCLA and No. 9 Pepperdine along the way. He served as an assistant coach at Northwestern in 1998 and an assistant coach at the University of Mobile in 1997. In addition, Scrivano has coached several NCAA All-Americans and WTA Touring professionals and has also been the head coach three times for the Tennis Europe National Team which prepared U.S. juniors for ITF European tournaments.

His broad range of experiences, both in the collegiate ranks and working with U.S. juniors, serves him well in the tennis recruiting wars which are an important part of building a successful collegiate tennis program.

"I'm excited," Scrivano said. "I'm looking forward to this challenge. There are a lot of things in place here to get the job done. My goal has always been to win a national championship, and it's nice to be at a school that shares that goal."

Scrivano played collegiate tennis at Eastern Michigan University where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in communication in 1997. Scrivano is a native of Cambridge, Ontario, Canada.

Matt Knoll

• 2004 NCAA Team Champion

• 15-straight NCAA appearances

• 1999 College Tennis Online National Coach of the Year

• 2005 ITA National Coach of the Year

• 2008 USPTA National Collegiate Coach of the Year

• Six-time Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year

('98,'02,'03,'04,'07 and '09)

• 11 Big 12 titles in last 14 years

• Member of Baylor Athletic Hall of Fame

Throughout his 17 seasons at the helm of the Baylor tennis program, head coach Matt Knoll has produced phenomenal results. Since arriving at Baylor in 1997, Knoll has amassed a 399-106 (.790) record. His teams have captured 11 Big 12 Conference regular season titles, including eight in a row from 2002-09, and seven Big 12 Tournament championships, including three straight from 2007-09.

However, the program's biggest accomplishment came in 2004 when it captured the NCAA national championship. Knoll's teams also won the 2005 National Team Indoor Championship and finished as the NCAA runner-up in 2005 and NCAA semifinalists in 2006 and 2007.

In addition, Knoll was named the National Coach of the Year three times (1999, 2005, 2008). He has also been honored as the Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year six times (1998, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009). Knoll was also inducted into the Baylor Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008, becoming just the second tennis representative to receive the honor.

During his tenure at Baylor, the program has risen to the top, becoming one of the nation's top two most successful collegiate men's tennis team over the past 12 seasons (2002-13). During that span, the Bears have not been ranked lower than No. 18 in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) poll. Baylor was ranked No. 1 after winning the 2004 NCAA championship, No. 2 in the final poll in `05, No. 4 in `03, `06 and `07, No. 6 in '11, No. 7 in `02, `09 and '10, No. 8 in `08, No. 18 in '12 and No. 12 in '13. For 10 years from 2002 through 2011, Baylor was one of only two schools, UCLA being the other, to be ranked in the top 10 of the final poll each year.

From 2004-2007, Baylor was the only men's team to advance to the NCAA semifinals each year. During that same period, the Bears posted a 118-14 (.894) mark.

In summary, during Knoll's time at Baylor, the Bears have finished the season ranked in the top 10, 12 times. Baylor has made 16 straight NCAA Tournament appearances and reached the round of 16 14 times in the past 15 seasons, including the NCAA finals in both 2004 and 2005.

CONTINUED DOMINANCE

Following the 2004 championship many critics believed the program could not continue its winning ways, but since the title season Knoll's teams have continued to produce tremendous results on the court.

Last season,

In 2012, Knoll was faced with one of the youngest teams in his time at Baylor. Five freshmen, a sophomore, a junior and two seniors made up a roster that finished the season with a 19-12 record. The Bears advanced to the finals of the Big 12 Championship and made it back to the NCAA Championship round of 16. Under Knoll's watch, freshman Mate Zsiga earned All-American honors in singles play.

With five student-athletes returning and the addition of three newcomers, the 2011 Bears recaptured the Big 12 regular season title with a perfect 6-0 mark, downing Texas A&M for the crown. In addition, Baylor finished the season at 22-5, was ranked No. 6 in the Final ITA rankings and advanced to the NCAA Championship quarterfinals where it was eliminated by fourth-ranked Ohio State. The Bears added two more All-Americans to their already impressive list as John Peers and Roberto Maytin earned the recognition in doubles.

In 2010, Knoll welcomed back six letterwinners from the 2009 squad, including three seniors, as his team looked poised to continue its Big 12 Conference dominance. However, after a 16-3 non-conference record, the Bears lost to Texas A&M and Texas to start conference play. The losses cost the Bears a chance at their ninth straight conference title, but Baylor closed out Big 12 competition with four consecutive wins before being dealt a quarterfinal loss in the Big 12 Championship by Texas A&M. Using their senior leadership and the Knoll's guidance, the Bears rebounded from their second loss to A&M to march all of the way to the NCAA Championship quarterfinals as the No. 7 seed, defeating the Aggies in the round of 16 for the ultimate revenge. Baylor lost in the Elite Eight to No. 2 Tennessee, 4-0. Senior Denes Lukacs earned All-American status for the third time during his career, becoming just the fourth Bear to accomplish that feat. He closed his Baylor career with 135 career victories, while fellow senior Dominik Mueller was named an Academic All-American as he finished his career as BU's career leader in dual-match victories with 96.

In 2009, with just one senior on the squad, Baylor posted a 26-6 mark to earn the No. 7 spot in the final ITA rankings. The Bears were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament in the Elite Eight by third-ranked Ohio State, 4-1. The squad won the program's eight- straight regular season Big 12 title and the ninth overall and notched the program's seventh Big 12 tournament title. Lukacs earned All-American status for the second straight season and became one of only five Bears to become a two-time singles All-American, joining Benjamin Becker, Benedikt Dorsch, Lars Poerschke and Johann Jooste.

As the 2008 season dawned, lone senior Poerschke was projected to lead the Bears back to the top. However, he battled injuries throughout the season, as the Bears still posted a 25-9 record and finished the season at No. 8. Both Poerschke and Lukacs earned ITA All-American honors in singles. The Bears were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament in the Elite Eight by top-ranked and undefeated Virginia. Baylor won the program's seventh straight regular season Big 12 title and eighth overall and notched another Big 12 Championship title.

The Bears completed their 2007 campaign with a 28-4 mark and were ranked No. 4 in the FILA/Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) final national rankings to close a string of five straight years being ranked inside the final top four teams. The Bears fell to 10th-ranked Illinois in the NCAA semifinals; however, they once again claimed both the regular season and tournament titles in Big 12 play.

In 2006, Knoll's squad surprised many by advancing to the NCAA semifinals before falling to undefeated and top-ranked Georgia. The Bears finished the season ranked No. 4 in the country. Baylor also claimed its fifth straight Big 12 regular season title.

NATIONAL PROMINENCE

The 2004 and 2005 campaigns proved to be, to this point, the most successful in the program's history. The men's tennis team brought Baylor its first team national title in school history in 2004. The Bears posted a 32-2 record, ending the season on a 24-match win streak. Baylor claimed the Big 12 Conference title, along with the Big 12 tournament title before going on to claim the NCAA championship over UCLA. Baylor senior Benjamin Becker also claimed the program's first individual championship as well earning the NCAA singles title.

In 2005, Baylor posted a 33-1 record and sported a 57-match win streak, which was halted in the championship match loss to UCLA. Baylor recorded its fourth consecutive Big 12 regular season and tournament titles as well. Dorsch, a senior, claimed the program's second straight NCAA singles title in 2005 following Becker's 2004 championship.

INDIVIDUAL SUCCESS

Under Knoll's guidance, the Bears have produced two NCAA singles champions (Becker and Dorsch); two ITA Players of the Year (Dorsch, twice) and 11 players have earned All-American status (24 times). In fact, Dorsch earned double All-American status in all three of his seasons at Baylor. Three Knoll pupils, Becker, Dorsch and Poerschke, have enjoyed success on the ATP Tour. Becker has ranked among the tour's top 50 while Dorsch has been ranked as high as 160. In addition, Becker was selected to represent his native Germany in 2007 Davis Cup competition. Poerschke has reached as high as No. 279 on the ATP rankings.

EARLY BAYLOR YEARS

In 1996, Baylor finished 7-14 overall and did not win a conference match. Following that season, Baylor hired Knoll as coach and lead the Bears in the Big 12's inaugural season. The Bears finished eighth in the Big 12 in 1997, and since then have finished either first or second every year.

Following his hire, Knoll inherited a team with no seniors that had a 0-7 conference record. Knoll's first squad improved to 13-12 overall, adding Jooste, David Hodge and Johannes Michalsky to the team.

Year two saw the Bears improve again, jumping from eighth to second in the Big 12 and earning the program's first NCAA Tournament bid.

The Bears continued to grow in year three of the Knoll era, as Baylor showed signs of the success that was to come. Baylor finished second in the Big 12 for the second time and the Bears earned a top-10 final ranking after advancing to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals. The Bears registered their first 20-win season, finishing at 25-4.

In year four, the Bears took the first of nine Big 12 regular season titles going 8-0 in conference play. The 2000 roster featured three All-Americans: Jooste, who earned honors in singles, while Hodge and Mark Williams were honored for doubles. Baylor upset defending national champion Stanford that season and reached the NCAA quarterfinals.

In 2001, the Bears lost four standouts Jooste, Hodge, Pawel Gajdzik and Michalsky. However, Baylor still reached the NCAA Tournament for the fourth year in a row.

In 2002, the Bears won their second Big 12 regular season title, the first of what proved to be eight in a row. They took the Big 12 Conference regular season and the championship titles, a first for the evolving program. The Bears went undefeated in conference, 7-0, for the second time in three years and then-freshman Becker earned All-American honors.

In 2003, the Bears inched closer to the national title, advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals and finished the season ranked fourth, a program-best at the time. The Bears won their third Big 12 title, positioning themselves for a 2004 national championship run.

PRIOR TO BAYLOR

Before arriving at Baylor, Knoll served as an assistant coach for two years at the University of Kansas. During his time in Lawrence, the Jayhawks won two Big Eight Conference titles, two Region V championships and made two NCAA Tournament appearances.

Knoll coached three All-Americans, three Davis Cup players and one Olympian at Kansas. He worked in a number of capacities at Kansas, including a stint as the director of the 1996 Big Eight Conference Tournament. Knoll was also the director of the Lawrence Tennis Association (LTA), a community tennis association that organized junior and adult leagues and tournaments along with junior tennis leagues.

Before coaching at Kansas, Knoll spent one year as the head men's tennis coach at Northern Iowa. He helped rebuild a program that was virtually noncompetitive before his arrival.

Prior to accepting the job at Northern Iowa, Knoll served as a teaching professional at the Overland Park (Kan.) Racquet Club for three years.

Knoll's first coaching experience came at the University of South Alabama, where he spent one year as the assistant men's and women's coach. Under his guidance, both squads were also crowned Sun Belt Conference champions.

Prior to coaching, Knoll enjoyed success as a player. He began his collegiate career at Kansas State, where he participated until the program was dropped. From there, he transferred to Washburn University for the remainder of his collegiate career. He received Academic All-American honors and was voted the team's Most Valuable Player.

Knoll finished out his playing career by traveling on the Satellite Professional Tour. He graduated Cum Laude from Washburn University and went on to earn a Masters of Arts degree from Kansas. Knoll is a USA Tennis High Performance Coach and a USPTA Professional.

PERSONAL

Knoll resides in Waco with his wife, Greta, a Minnesota native. They are the proud parents of twin sons, Erik and Karch, born in February 2003.