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Sunday, April 29, 2001

Carnegie Mellon's Pete Moss was forced to become a better coach the moment Kayvon Fatahalian arrived on campus two years ago.

"I have to bring my coaching abilities up to his playing level," Moss said of Fatahalian, a 5-foot-7, 150-pound sophomore with a lethal left-handed ground game who is the premier singles player in NCAA Division III. "I have to be on my guard because I don't want to tell him something that is wrong. I do not blow smoke at him.

"He knows more about his game than I do."

Fatahalian, who grew up in Round Rock, Texas, a suburb of Austin, recruited CMU. A nationally ranked high school player, Fatahalian contacted Moss when he went looking for a college that could offer a top computer science program and provide an opportunity to continue his tennis career. It came down to CMU and MIT.

"I knew he was good," Moss said. "I didn't know how good he was until he went to the nationals and swept everybody away."

Unseeded, Fatahlian upset the No. 3 and 4 seeds on the way to becoming the second freshman to win the Division III men's singles title. He won all five of his matches, dropping just one set.

Fatahalian will defend his title at the national championships May 21-23 at DePauw University in Indiana.

"Everyone knows how good he is now. Everybody he plays raise the level of their games sky high," Moss said. "I wouldn't say he's the heavy favorite, but they're going to have to beat him to win the title. He's not unbeatable, but he won't beat himself. He's playing at the same intensity -- very high."

Fathalian basically sets up his practice schedule against some of the top players in the area and works on different aspects of his game.

"He knows what he has to do," Moss said. "When he wants to drill, I drill him."

Moss was asked if he has spotted any glaring weaknesses in Fatahalian's solid all-court style that relies on steady ground strokes from the baseline.

"Not yet that I can see," Moss said with a laugh.

"He's a very disciplined player. His strengths are his mental toughness and quickness. He knows what he has to do to win. Lefties have an advantage because most players are used to returning spin from a right-hander because that's what they usually see. They have to make adjustments when playing a left-hander."

Moss, who coaches the men's and women's teams at CMU, hasn't had a male player anywhere near the level of Fathalian in his 11 years.

"But I did coach Keri Mills, CMU's first All-American in tennis," he said. "She was here from 1995 through 1998 and reached the nationals four years in a row and was ranked as high as No. 2 in the country as a freshman."

Fatahalian is No. 1.

"He was recruited by a number of Division I teams," Moss said. "Three or four coaches still are mad at me. But we're happy to have him, and he's happy to be at CMU."

Campus courts

The Penn State women's team has had a banner season, finishing sixth in the Big Ten with a 5-5 record. The previous high finish was eighth place and the five wins was the most in school history, equaling the combined total of conference victories in the previous five seasons. The Lady Lions (13-8) are led by fifth-year senior Pilar Montgomery and Rebecca Ho.

Freshman Jacob Cook won the singles title and helped Frostburg capture the team championship at the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference men's tournament. Frostburg finished the season 13-0 overall and 8-0 in the conference.

Duquesne's women finished fifth to tie their best finish in the Atlantic 10 Conference championships at Hamilton, N.J. Katie Riedinger, a freshman from Plum, was 1-0 at No. 4 singles and 2-0 at No. 1 and 2 doubles with Leia Zingone.

Duquesne's David Brady, a sophomore from Sydney, Australia, was named to the Atlantic 10 men's all-conference team.

Kutztown, led by Guillermo Ramos, defeated Bloosmburg, 5-2, in the final to win the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference men's team title. Lauren Witmer helped Millersville claim the women's crown with a 5-3 victory against Bloomsburg.