International Toreros ranked 16th as spring tennis season opens – elcajon newson Elcajon News only

Ryan Keckley knows no borders when it comes to building the University of San Diego into a national tennis power.

“We’ll go to the far corners of the earth to get the right player who fits into our program and culture,” the Toreros’ coach said.

And he has. Kecley’s 10-man Toreros roster represents seven countries.

“I make one or two trips a year to Europe or wherever,” he said.

The international Toreros are ranked No. 16 nationally as the spring tennis season opens. They kicked off the dual-match portion of the season with wins over Oklahoma State on Saturday and 20th-ranked UCLA on Monday.

Led by junior Oliver Tarvet, USD has three singles players ranked among the top 100 in the nation along with four double combinations. Tarvet is ranked 15th nationally in singles. Savriyan Danilov is ranked 29th and Stian Klaassen 71st in singles, with Iiro Vasa just outside the top 100. Tarvet and Klaassen are ranked the top doubles team in the nation.

Five of USD’s six ranked players are from foreign lands. Tarvet, from St. Albans, England, last fall became just the fifth player ever — and the first in a decade — to win both the singles and doubles titles at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-American Championships in Tulsa.

Danilov is a graduate student from Moscow. Vasa is a senior from Finland.

Former European and Swiss national champion Berrut is one of two freshmen on the USD roster. The Toreros also boast German juniors Neo Niedner and Lambert Ruland.

College tennis is unusual because it features two seasons every school year. Individual tournaments are played in the fall. The spring season, which began last weekend, is devoted to dual-meet play culminating with the NCAA championships.

USD is favored to win a third straight West Coast Conference title, but Keckley and his players are looking further ahead.

“We’ve been to the NCAA Tournament six of the last seven years. But we’ve yet to get beyond the round of 32,” he said. “Our goal is to go deeper into the NCAAs. We’re the top-ranked team in California. But the rankings don’t do anything for you but put a bigger target on your back. We want to show more on a bigger stage.”

Said Tarvet: “Winning individual events in singles and doubles is great. But the NCAA team format is something special that you don’t often experience in tennis.”

The backbone of any successful team is talent. But talent alone will not get a player invited to become a Torero.

“When I’m recruiting, I’m looking for things not tennis-related,” said Keckley. “Work ethic and loyalty are very important to developing chemistry and our culture. Is a player going to buy in?”

Keckley, who is in eighth season as USD’s head tennis coach, said it took him four years to develop “a culture” with the Toreros.

“Players come here from various backgrounds and cultures,” Keckley said. “It can be different and difficult being able to play at our level and play away from home.”

Which is why Keckley boards so many international flights.

“I go because I’m seeking their trust as well as getting to know them,” he said.

Although Keckley prefers to bring in players as freshmen, he traveled to the nation of Georgia to interview Danilov, a 22-year-old student at a Moscow university. Danilov knew of USD by looking into the career of Toreros’ All-American alum August Holmgren.

“An American education is one of the best in the world, and I was looking to use tennis to reach a university in the United States,” Danilov said. “I also learned USD was the type of college I was seeking and Ryan was good at developing talent. Coach Keckley came out to see me play in Europe. Coming here was a very good decision. Doing what I was doing in Russia was very difficult. The logistics are so easy here. Everything is prepared. It makes my life easy. I can focus on tennis and classes. I was stagnating in Moscow. My game was not developing. It’s taken off here. I’ve grown as a player and a student.”

Tarvet said “fate” brought him to USD as a freshman. He was a nationally-ranked junior in England when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world in 2020.

“I had people warning me against going to play at an American university,” said Tarvet. “They told me American college athletics was cutthroat and uncaring. But I liked what I heard from two programs, USD and Cornell, where (current USD assistant Alex) Funkhouser was then an assistant coach. Then they were both at USD.

“While COVID made it difficult for everyone in my class, Keckley made it easy. He sent me a virtual tour of USD and supplied tons of information. He made me feel a personal involvement. There was immediate trust.”

Because one or two tennis players can change the fortunes of a program, NIL money is readily available to talented players who want to transfer.

“There is money floating around,” Tarvet said. “But USD is the only school I want to represent. I have a year and a half to go here. And the first 2 ½ seasons have been the most memorable of my career.”

Keckley said he has had only two players transfer out during his time at USD.

“Loyalty is important to me, the program and my players,” he said. “Because so many are far from home, we make this a family.”

Every week, U-T contributor Bill Center highlights one San Diego college team that’s making strides on and off the field. To nominate a team, email wcenter27@gmail.com.