C-LeB28
Moderator
I'm sure the band fan would be proud. :lol:
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/3157928
Prairie View tennis team starts pulling it together
After a 30-year drought, group is back in the game
By W.H. STICKNEY JR.
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
Imagine a history book without chapters chronicling events that occurred over the span of more than 30 years, and how disconcerting that would be.
Yet it's been easy to overlook what has transpired in the men's tennis program at Prairie View A&M in the past 30 years. The team had no championships and little success.
But during the past four years, John Cochran has begun to change that. He and the Panthers are writing a new and glorious chapter for the often-overlooked sport.
This month, Cochran's men's team romped through the Southwestern Athletic Conference championships, bringing the school the first league tennis title since 1970. It's been a quick turnaround, said Cochran, a graduate of Texas Southern. Reaching the pinnacle is a source of pride for the 42-year-old Chicago native. But the importance of the accomplishment hasn't hit him and his staff.
"You know what? Honestly, we've just built this from the ground up," Cochran said Tuesday. "(Athletic officials at Prairie View) have just watched me plow the ground. It was a matter of finding the players. It's no different than at Rice, U of H, UT, A&M, they've got the players. And the biggest thing is, when you've got the money, you get the players. I had less money, so I had to do more selling on the school."
The components of the men's tennis team are like the colors in a rainbow, bright and radiant alone, a harmonious vision in combination.
Student-athletes from Hawaii, Zimbabwe, Colombia, Venezuela and Jamaica have joined forces with ones from Corpus Christi, St. Louis and Vernon, to take the SWAC by storm.
"It's been a work in progress," said Blessing Brunzawabaya, the lone senior and a native of Mutare, Zimbabwe. "And when we got to the (SWAC) finals last year, we knew exactly what we were going to do next, because we just missed (the team title) by just one hurdle. So we thought, 'Oh, well, let's just revamp and this year (2005), we're going to make it different."
The ethnic diversity of the team, Brunzawabya said, was initially difficult but has become one of the unit's galvanizing influences. In any team, it takes a long time, especially when you have different people from different backgrounds coming together, he said.
"It actually took us a little longer than we anticipated," he said. "But when it came together, it really clicked. And from then, it's been just one family, one unit."
Xavier Godoy, a junior and transfer from TSU, nailed down the final match victory that delivered the SWAC title.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/3157928
Prairie View tennis team starts pulling it together
After a 30-year drought, group is back in the game
By W.H. STICKNEY JR.
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
Imagine a history book without chapters chronicling events that occurred over the span of more than 30 years, and how disconcerting that would be.
Yet it's been easy to overlook what has transpired in the men's tennis program at Prairie View A&M in the past 30 years. The team had no championships and little success.
But during the past four years, John Cochran has begun to change that. He and the Panthers are writing a new and glorious chapter for the often-overlooked sport.
This month, Cochran's men's team romped through the Southwestern Athletic Conference championships, bringing the school the first league tennis title since 1970. It's been a quick turnaround, said Cochran, a graduate of Texas Southern. Reaching the pinnacle is a source of pride for the 42-year-old Chicago native. But the importance of the accomplishment hasn't hit him and his staff.
"You know what? Honestly, we've just built this from the ground up," Cochran said Tuesday. "(Athletic officials at Prairie View) have just watched me plow the ground. It was a matter of finding the players. It's no different than at Rice, U of H, UT, A&M, they've got the players. And the biggest thing is, when you've got the money, you get the players. I had less money, so I had to do more selling on the school."
The components of the men's tennis team are like the colors in a rainbow, bright and radiant alone, a harmonious vision in combination.
Student-athletes from Hawaii, Zimbabwe, Colombia, Venezuela and Jamaica have joined forces with ones from Corpus Christi, St. Louis and Vernon, to take the SWAC by storm.
"It's been a work in progress," said Blessing Brunzawabaya, the lone senior and a native of Mutare, Zimbabwe. "And when we got to the (SWAC) finals last year, we knew exactly what we were going to do next, because we just missed (the team title) by just one hurdle. So we thought, 'Oh, well, let's just revamp and this year (2005), we're going to make it different."
The ethnic diversity of the team, Brunzawabya said, was initially difficult but has become one of the unit's galvanizing influences. In any team, it takes a long time, especially when you have different people from different backgrounds coming together, he said.
"It actually took us a little longer than we anticipated," he said. "But when it came together, it really clicked. And from then, it's been just one family, one unit."
Xavier Godoy, a junior and transfer from TSU, nailed down the final match victory that delivered the SWAC title.
