Men's Tennis

Thanks for visiting the San Diego Mesa College Men's Tennis Website! For those of you who are interested in trying out for the 2011 season, please contact Head Coach, Michael Hootner, at coachhootner@gmail.com. Also, please fill out this online questionnaire.

Also, the team will workout this summer on Tuesday and Thursday from either 6-8 PM or 9:30-11 PM at Mesa College. In the fall, we will also practice on Tuesday and Thursday nights from 8-10 PM. We will also have fall matches and the ITA Fall Regional Championships. So, follow the above instructions for more information! Thanks for your interest in Olympian Tennis!

Video of the 2009 and 2010 Back-to-Back Championship seasons are now available for you to view online! To view these videos, go to: www.viddler.com. In the search box, type in either:

1) sdmcmt20091

2) sdmcmt20092 or

3) sdmcmt20093.

We will also use, www.veoh.com from now on. To view the 2010 team in action, in the search box in Veoh, type in:

1) sdmcmt20101.

Once the clip appears, place the mouse over the clip. You will then see a small italic "i" in the lower right-hand corner of the clip. Put your mouse over that and you'll see the times for each player. Enjoy!

SAN DIEGO, CA 6/17/10 Sophomore, Dane Thomson (San Diego, CA) earned All-American status for 2010 by finishing #4 in the final singles rankings.

Teammate, freshman, Alex Nichols (Bakersfield, CA) finished #9 in the final rankings. The two also finished #9 in the final state doubles rankings. "I'm very proud of these two young men," said Olympian Head Coach, Michael Hootner. "Both had an amazing year and were both tremendous ambassadors for the program," concluded Coach Hootner

SAN DIEGO, CA 5/14/10 Sophomore, Dane Thomson (San Diego, CA) won the Mesa College Male-Athlete-of-the-year award this afternoon. Thomson finished the year 17-9 in singles and 10-7 in doubles while earning a trip to the State Championships in singles and doubles. "I'm surprised and humbled," said Thomson. "There are a lot of great male athletes at Mesa considering there are 10 male sports so to be the top vote getter is a great honor. I'd like to thank my coaches and teammates as well because without them, this wouldn't have been possible," concluded Thomson.

NEWPORT BEACH, CA 5/7/10 Sophomore Dane Thomson (University City High School, San Diego) and Freshman Alex Nichols (Bakersfield, CA) made it to the "Elite 8" in doubles while Dane Thomson made it to the "Elite 8" in singles. "It's an amazing accomplishment to be one of the eight best doubles teams and one of the best eight singles players in the entire state of California," said Olympian Head Coach Michael Hootner. "The team played it's best tennis at the end of the year and that's a real credit to their commitment in the classroom, their conditioning and mental preparation, and proper eating and drinking habits," concluded Coach Hootner.

4/20/10 SAN DIEGO, CA By a vote of 3.5 to 1.5, Freshman Alex Nichols (Bakersfield, CA) was voted the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference Player-Of-The-Year over teammate Dane Thomson (San Diego, CA). Nichols went 19-3 in singles play while winning the PCAC singles title last Saturday, 6-3, 6-0 over Thomson.

Nichols and teammate Dane Thomson both won two matches at the 110th annual Ojai Tennis Tournament earning berths into the "Sweet 16". Nichols then teamed with James Howard, earning a berth into the round of 16 before bowing out to the #1 seed.

Nichols, Thomson, and Howard will all now prepare for the Southern California Regionals on 4/28. Nichols and Thomson will play both singles and doubles while Howard will play doubles with teammate Kezien Keshavarzi who will be filling in for Hung Truong.

4/17/10 SAN DIEGO, CA The Olympians followed up their regular season Pacific Coast Athletic Conference Title with a post-season PCAC title today. It was the first title for the Olympians since 1991.

Freshman, Alex Nichols (Bakersfield, CA) won the PCAC singles title 6-3, 6-0 over teammate Dane Thomson. Both then teamed up in the doubles finals but lost to Palomar 6-0, 1-0 ret.

The Olympians now head up to Ojai from 4/21-24 and then to the SoCal Regional Championships 4/28-5/1.

SAN DIEGO, CA 4/15/10 #1 seed, sophomore, Dane Thomson (San Diego, CA), #2 seed, freshman, Alex Nichols (Bakersfield, CA), and freshman Yousef Benhamida (San Diego, CA) all qualified for the Southern California (Individual) Regional Championships in Los Angeles, 4/29-5/1 by making it to the quarter-finals of the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference today.

Sophomore James Howard (San Diego, CA) and freshman Hung Truong (San Diego, CA) also earned a trip to Los Angeles in two weeks along with the team of freshman Krishna Samperio (San Diego, CA) and freshman Royce Leon (San Diego, CA).

4/12/10 SAN MARCOS, CA Olympian Head Coach Michael Hootner won his second straight Coach-of-the-Year award on Monday. "I want to share this honor with my players because without them, this wouldn't have been possible," said Coach Hootner.

The Olympians have won 19 straight Pacific Coast Athletic Conference matches dating back to 2008, including back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010. In his three years as Head Coach, Hootner has coached an All-American, a PCAC Player-of-the-Year, 12 players to the Southern California Regionals, two players to the State Championships,and a Mesa College Male-Athlete-of-the-Year recipient, while his 2009 and 2010 teams earned berths into the CCCAA Dual Team State Championships. The Olympians have also been ranked as high as #8 in Southern California.

For Coach Hootner's full bio, click here.

SAN DIEGO, CA 4/6/10 The Olympians beat second place Palomar College today, 6-3, giving the program it's 19th straight PCAC win, dating back to 2008. "It's an amazing accomplishment," said Olympian Head Coach Michael Hootner. "We only had two returners from last year's Championship team and for us to run the table again and go undefeated in conference play is something they should be very proud of," concluded Coach Hootner. With the win, the Olympians are now 10-4 overall and 8-0 in PCAC play.

EL CAJON, CA 3/25/10 The Olympians had a bye today, but, as a result of Grossmont Colleges 7-2 thrashing of Palomar College, the Olympians win their second straight Pacific Coast Athletic Conference Championship (PCAC), outright. "I'm very proud of this group," said Olympian Head Coach, Michael Hootner whose team has won 18 straight PCAC matches dating back to 2008. "We are in better shape this year, are deeper, and have more experience. The conference was better overall and everyone was trying to knock us off. Last year we sorta surprised everyone but this year, the target was on our back and we did a great job of handling the pressure," concluded Coach Hootner.

SAN DIEGO, CA 3/19/10 The Olympians beat Los Angeles Pierce College 6-3 on Friday. With the win, the Olympians improve to 9-4 overall and 7-0 in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference.

SAN DIEGO, CA 3/18/10 The San Diego Mesa College Men's Tennis team won it's 18th straight match today dating back to 2008, 9-0 over cross-town rival, San Diego City College.

SAN DIEGO, CA 3/16/10 The Mesa College Olympians Men's Tennis team continued it's dominance of the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference by defeating Imperial Valley College, 9-0. The win gives the Olympians 17 straight PCAC wins dating back to 2008. Freshman, Adam, "Zac" Hlavaty, making his first start of 2010, won both of his matches in singles and doubles. "I was real nervous at first but after I started playing it was like riding a bike. I was glad I could help the team win because that's the most important thing," concluded Hlavaty.

3/11/10 SAN DIEGO, CA The Olympians extended their winning streak dating back to 2008 to 16 on Tuesday against cross-town rival Grossmont College, 5-4. "This was another great win", said Olympian Head Coach Michael Hootner. "Grossmont played really well today, especially in doubles, but fortunately for us we played really well in singles," concluded Coach Hootner.

SAN MARCOS, CA 3/4/10 The Olympians won a hard fought 1st place showdown with Palomar College on Tuesday, 5-4. The score was tied 3-3 after singles and the Olympians proved to be the better doubles team prevailing in three sets at #1 and #2 doubles; 10-7 and 14-12, respectively. "I believe our tougher non-conference schedule, conditioning, and mental toughness helped us today," concluded Olympian Head Coach Michael Hootner.

To View the 2010 Men's Tennis Media Guide, click here

For a hard-copy of the 2009 Media Guide, please send $10 payable to Mesa College Men's Tennis to: Mesa College Men's Tennis, 7250 Mesa College Drive, San Diego, CA 92111. To view previous year's media guides, please click the "Archive" section on the left hand column of this page.

3/2/10 SAN DIEGO, CA The Olympians played a stingy Fullerton College team on Tuesday and eked out a 6-3 win. "We could have lost 5-4 but we were mentally tougher and were in better shape and that was the difference," said Olympian Head Coach Michael Hootner. The match was 3-0 in favor of the Olympians after #1, #2, and #3 singles all won (Thomson, Nichols, and Samperio) but then after #4 and #5 lost (Benhamida and Howard), Kezien Keshavarzi, playing at #6 in place of Royce Leon who was out ill, won a thrilling 3-setter 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. "I'm glad the monkey is finally off my back," said an exhausted but ecstatic Keshavarzi. "I'm glad I was able to help the team be in a better position going into doubles and more importantly win the match," concluded Keshavarzi.

SAN DIEGO, CA 2/23/10 The first place Olympians improved to 3-0 in PCAC play after a 9-0 win against cross-town rival San Diego City College. "It's always fun to beat your cross town rival," said sophomore, James Howard (San Diego, CA). "But we have our toughest matches coming up so we have to continue to improve and not let up," concluded Howard.

If you'd like to see all of the latest photos and information on the Olympians, invite us to be your friend on Facebook. Once you are logged in, in the search box, type in, "Sandiegomesacollege Men'stennis" and then invite us to be a friend.  Thank you alumni, friends, and family for all your support! Recruits, we welcome you to be a friend of the program as well!

Follow Coach Hootner's tweets at: www.twitter.com/michaelhootner.

Follow the San Diego Mesa College Men's Tennis Program Tweets at:  www.twitter.com/SDMesaMTennis.

12/15/09 - SAN DIEGO, CA With the 2010 season only a month away, the Olympians are excited to build off their 2009 success. The 2009 Olympians went 10-0 in Pacific Coast Athletic Conference (PCAC) play and earned a trip to the southern California dual team championships. The Olympians finished the season ranked #15(click here) in the state according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). "We won't be sneaking up on anyone this season," said Olympian Head Coach, Michael Hootner. "The target will be on our back this year. We have a very competitive schedule and some great kids including four returners from our championship run," concluded Coach Hootner.

The Olympians are led by sophomore, Dane Thomson (photo) who finished the 2009 season ranked #42 in the state in singles. The Olympians open up against one of the top teams in the state, Mt. San Jacinto, away at 2 PM on 2/3. For a list of the complete 2010 schedule, click here.

Email coachhootner@gmail.com with questions.

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July 1, 2009 - SAN DIEGO, CA    Nissim Cohen (Bonita Vista/San Diego, CA), a member of the 2009 Mesa College Olympians Men's Tennis team, has verbally committed to Babson College in Babson Park, Massachusetts. 

Cohen, who played #2 and #3 singles and #1 doubles for the Olympians this season was an instrumental part of this year's historic success that enabled them to go a perfect 10-0 in conference play and capture it's first Pacific Coast Athletic Conference Championship since 1991.

Babson, an NCAA Division III institution boasts one of the top business schools in the country.  Babson is coached by Jim Berrigan, who will be beginning his 11th year at the helm for the Men's and Women's programs.  "We are very excited that Nissim has decided to come to Babson," said Berrigan.  "He will bring depth and experience to our team and make us much stronger overall," concluded Berrigan.  To visit the Babson Men's Tennis website, click here.

Cohen was 9-8 in singles and 7-9 in doubles play this season.  Cohen will have three years of eligibility remaining for the Beavers. To view his Babson profile, click here.

Olympian Head Coach Michael Hootner has announced the beginning of the Match Point Booster Club. 100% of all donations will be used specifically for team meals, uniforms, new equipment and travel costs. Click here to download the entry form. Also, if you click the "Archive" section in the left column, you'll find all the archived Match Point Newsletters.  If you have any further questions, please email Head Coach, Michael Hootner at, coachhootner@gmail.com. Thanks for your support!

APRIL 2, 2009 - SAN DIEGO, CA      The San Diego Mesa College Men's Tennis team won its first Pacific Coast Conference Championship since 1991.  The Olympians went 10-0 in conference play and finished 12-3 overall.  "I'm very proud of this team," said Olympian Head Coach, Michael Hootner.  "We improved physically a great deal throughout the season, but what allowed us to get to the next level was our mental toughness.  Everyone improved in this area and that is why I firmly believe we were able to withstand our opponent's best and win all of our conference matches, especially the close ones," concluded Coach Hootner.

The team will then be off for spring break before competing in the SoCal Team Championships on 4/14 (site and time TBA).

The Pacific Coast Conference individual championships will be held at The Balboa Tennis Club from 4/16-4/18 beginning with singles first at 12 noon on the first day.

Thanks for your support and way to go Olympians!