by Jack Jackson
Daily Lobo
Men's tennis coach Alan Dils could come back to school for a degree in chemistry.
It's not the best individual players that make a solid doubles team, Dils said.
"It's personalities," he said. "The doubles team is like a marriage, with two players who can exist together and get along together. It's definitely in the chemistry."
Dils has found just the right mix in his doubles pairing of David Kowalski and Ryan Stotland. The two come into the season ranked as the No. 3 doubles team in the nation.
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As a whole, the men's tennis squad is No. 65 in the country, the highest of any team in the Mountain West Conference.
Individually, Stotland is ranked No. 122 in the nation, while Kowalski is not ranked.
Stotland said their styles complement one another. He is a good server and volley player, while Kowalski is better at returning. "It's good that we both know our positions," Kowalski said. "There is a certain comfort on the court when you can trust the person you're playing with - that they will be there at the right time."
The pair's different sets of skills have taken them on separate routes toward teaming in doubles.
"In many ways, Ryan has had more early success in doubles than singles," Dils said. "David's always been a good singles player.
Dils even referenced one of the game's greats when discussing the move from team play to solo.
"John McEnroe used doubles as a springboard for singles," he said. "Other guys are good singles players but don't understand the strategy behind doubles."
Singles and doubles are two different games, Dils said.
"In doubles, you need to be very quick, with quick hands," he said. "You don't have to be as fast with your feet because you're covering a much smaller part of the court." Dils said he had an idea heading into the season that his top pair would be highly ranked.
"We knew they were good, because they played together last year and finished third in the region," he said. "The two teams above them - we had better wins, but they had beaten us. I thought they'd have a pretty good shot at the number one spot (in the conference)."
Stotland and Kowalski both said it's satisfying to play together and be reassured the other player is doing his job.
"It feels great to play when you begin to develop that flow on the court where the two of us find ourselves in tune with one another," Kowalski said.
