TERRE HAUTE — When the Missouri Valley Conference released its all-century tennis team earlier this summer, it was a chance for Indiana State men’s tennis coach Jonas Piibor to reminisce about the days when he and his cohorts took the Sycamores’ program to its highest point — a national ranking of 17th in the nation in 2000.
Piibor, a two-time No. 2 singles champ and one-time No. 1 singles champ in the MVC, is joined by three of his former teammates as well as former ISU coach Brian Boland, who has built a national power at Virginia since his departure from his alma mater in 2001. Boland had a 122-33 record at ISU, beginning his tenure in 1996 and twice taking the Sycamores past the first round in the NCAA Tournament.
Three former teammates of Piibor joined him on the all-century team, which was to celebrate the MVC’s centennial year of 2007. Stefan Hirn was two-time No. 2 singles champ and graduated in 2002. Vedran Vidovic played from 2000 to 2003, taking one No. 1 singles title. Lovre Brajkovic was also a one-time MVC champ at No. 1 singles. The fifth Sycamore player recognized was Lars Nordmark, an ISU standout from 1983 to 1986.
Piibor said he was proud to be included on the list of all-time MVC greats , which includes seven Wichita State players. ISU became the Shockers’ nemesis during Boland’s years as coach as the Sycamores put together a MVC winning streak of 57 matches that began during Piibor’s first season at ISU.
“Obviously, I’m proud to be on that list. It shows the result of the hard work that you put in,” said Piibor, who is still busy recruiting as the 2008 spring season approaches. “For me, it’s a nice recognition to be on that list.”
Piibor’s team finished 11-12 last season in his second year as head coach, but his young team reached the MVC tournament semifinals after winning eight of its last 11 matches.
The clear goal is to get the program back to where it was when he played, Piibor said earlier this week.
Boland, whose Cavaliers reached the NCAA quarterfinals this spring, was also mentioned by the MVC for his outstanding achievements as coach.
“That was really nice to have Brian Boland on the list,” Piibor said.
“To have that Indiana State affiliation with him being now at Virginia ... he’s done a great job there. It’s just a matter of time before he wins a national title at Virginia. Maybe he’ll win more than one.”
Boland is confident Piibor can achieve his goal of getting ISU back on top of the MVC and back into the college rankings.
“He was a great player back in the day when he played for me,” Boland said. “I have a great deal of admiration for his work ethic and passion for the game He’s doing everything he can to get Indiana State back to a high level. I’m certainly proud of everything he’s ever done.”
Something Piibor was a big part of creating a merciless yet fun atmosphere at the Duane Klueh Tennis Complex.
“The main part is we were very competitive. Every moment on and off the courts we were very competitive. We fed off each other and that was the main thing,” Piibor said of his playing days. “That’s something I’m working on now to create a competitive atmosphere.”
Craig Pearson can be reached by e-mail at craig.pearson@tribstar.com.
Given to Fly
August 4, 2007
Given to Fly: Reminiscing about ISU men’s tennis glory days
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GIVEN TO FLY: Come to expect new standards of excellence
Records are definitely meant to be broken; athletes today are faster and stronger than those in the past in many endeavors in athletics.
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GIVEN TO FLY: ISU women have solid recruiting class
The caliber of athletes that the Indiana State women’s basketball coaching staff is bringing in is on an upswing.
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GIVEN TO FLY: Major leaguers John, Dorsett meet up at tonight’s game
Terre Haute’s only two big leaguers of the last 50 years — Tommy John and Brian Dorsett — will catch up with one another today.
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FOOT NOTES: Valley natives perform well on national stage
Several Wabash Valley natives continue to shine on the national track and field scene.
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'Til It's Over: Sycamores ‘in a good place,’ but searching for more in MVC
Can Teri Moren lift Indiana State, last year’s seventh-place team in the Missouri Valley Conference, to one of the league’s contenders in her first year on campus?
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'Til It's Over: Two sets of identical twins should keep North Central baseball a contender
The last high school baseball team standing in the Wabash Valley was the North Central, the Thunderbirds falling short 4-3 in the Class A Semistate on Saturday just one game shy of Victory Field.
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'Til It's Over: Jarvis, Anderson confident Olney, hard work leads to Division I dream
Olney, Ill., population 8,000-plus and known for its population of white squirrels, might not be the dream destination for high school basketball players in Indiana.
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'Til It's Over: Robinson 7-footer more focused in postseason; 6-foot Jones keeps producing
Robinson 7-footer Meyers Leonard is not going to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA some day, but his odds of reaching the league are pretty solid if his game continues to evolve as it has during high school.
- 'Til It's Over: ‘Stepping stone’ game points Sycamores in right direction Whether the win comes against a top-25 team or a conference pushover, ending a four-game losing streak is always a relief.
- 'Til It's Over: Indianapolis ISU recruit rolling along in senior season As Indiana State recruit Anna Munn approached Christmas with the Decatur Central basketball team, the senior guard didn’t seem to need much of a wishlist.
- 'Til It's Over: Magic’s still there for '79 Sycamores For the former Indiana State players who visited the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in late November, the weekend was a chance to relive memories with teammates and see Larry Bird’s career with the Sycamores celebrated again.
- CRAIG PEARSON: North has strong history in cross country state finals Vigo County is home to just four IHSAA state championships in team sports. Most recently, Terre Haute South won girls titles in basketball (2002) and tennis (2001).
- 'Till It's Over: It’s been rough year but no need to break up Cubs' core Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry is only in the first year of a three-year contract, and aren’t back-to-back division championships enough to keep him around despite this year’s season filled with bad luck?
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'Til It's Over: Hansbrough, Hibbert give Pacers glimpse of future
You might have heard of the Indiana Pacers’ 2009 first-round draft pick. He was on the television once in a while during his four-year career at North Carolina.
- 'Til It's Over: Bertoli, Moore put on show in abundance of events “Anthony and Erica” may not have the marketing capability of “Dan and Dave,” but neither of Indiana State’s outstanding multi-event participants had let-down performances this weekend in the Missouri Valley Conference Championships.
- ‘Walking wounded’: ISU seniors return to provide spark All three ISU seniors will graduate in May, and all three will be in uniform today as Indiana State battles Bradley in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament quarterfinals.
- Given to Fly: Northview standout runner Thacker coming to ISU Doc Brown told an old-timer in a saloon in “Back to the Future III” that despite having automobiles in the future people run for recreation.
- Given to Fly: Schilli’s Rodman-like performance aids ISU With Indiana State’s women’s basketball team ranking eighth in the Missouri Valley Conference in field-goal percentage (36.5), the Sycamores need as many shot attempts as possible to maintain their standing on top of the league.
- Given to Fly: A classic in every sense of the word What tournament director and co-founder Gary Fears had in mind when creating the tournament came to fruition Tuesday. Marshall, with an enrollment of 438 students, became the smallest school to win the Pizza Hut Wabash Valley Classic in the ninth season of the tourney.
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Given to Fly: ISU women should build confidence off strong outing
Indiana State did not pull off the monumental upset Saturday against No. 23 Kansas State, but the Wildcats are —aside from Connecticut in 2005 — the best team the Sycamores have played in the Jim Wiedie era.
- Given to Fly: ISU women's hoops team slides onto commercial radio Coach Jim Wiedie expects the Indiana State women’s basketball team to have a bit of a retro feel this season, meaning the Sycamores have the potential to get back to creating havoc with their full-court press.
- Given to Fly: ISU vets hope to prove pundits wrong Indiana State’s only two seniors were surprised to see they were picked ahead of just three Missouri Valley Conference women’s basketball teams Tuesday morning.
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Footnotes: In first marathon, former Sycamore comes out a winner
Indiana State graduate Dani Prince made her debut in the event with a victory in the Columbus Marathon on Sunday.
Prince’s goal was a time under 2 hours and 50 minutes, and she ran a 2:48.56. -
Given To Fly: ISU volleyball turning things around
It was an extremely busy weekend for Indiana State athletics this weekend.
- Footnotes: Here’s hoping perfect weather is still around for Nationals in November The weather made for a perfect fall afternoon Saturday at LaVern Gibson Championship Course. For what it’s worth, the Farmer’s Almanac calls for more sunny conditions from Nov. 20-24, with the NCAA Championships falling on the 24th this year.
- Terre Haute natives cherish memories of ‘House that Ruth Built’ Yankee Stadium was packed as usual on Easter Sunday in 1979. George Steinbrenner’s Yankees were one loss away from being swept by the Milwaukee Brewers to start the season. That was no way for the two-time defending World Series champions to perform, so the boss had a conversation with his new veteran left-handed starting pitcher prior to the game.
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Footnotes: Oregon men and women have strangehold on preseason NCAA cross countryrankings
The Oregon men and women were almost both unanimous picks as the No. 1 teams in the nation in the preseason cross country national rankings released recently.
- Given to Fly: Bronze medalist has strong ISU ties One of the remarkable American medalists of this 2008 Olympics thus far also provided one of the most sparkling stories in the brief history of the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course here in Terre Haute.
- Former ISU QB gets back to Amarillo This week, Indiana State signed its most highly-touted football prospect in years, and former quarterback Julian Reese is ripping it up for the Amarillo Dusters of Arena2.
- Indiana State track sending strong group to NCAA regional Three sophomore women and three senior men lead a large Indiana State contingent of track and field athletes into the NCAA Mideast Regional this weekend at Fayetteville, Ark.
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