Volume 6, No. 5

END OF AN ERA Three seniors leave memorable stamp on men's tennis program By Homer Jacobs

ATHENS, Ga. – When the Aggie men’s tennis team bowed out of the 2001 NCAA Tournament with a 4-0 loss to TCU in the round of eight, it was obvious why Texas A&M’s players, coaches and fans were so dejected.

Losing to TCU – a team A&M had beaten earlier in the year in College Station – was bad enough. The Aggies, after all, played one of their worst doubles portions of the year and couldn’t gain the momentum back in singles.

But the hurt went deeper for this men’s tennis program. This was not just the end of another season, albeit the best one in modern school history with a 29-4 record.

Rather, this was the signaling of the end of a very special era – the one coach Tim Cass began to assemble four years ago when he landed the nation’s top recruiting class.

Over the last four years, thanks in large part to a trio of players who ended their careers with the 4-0 loss to the Horned Frogs, the Aggies have catapulted to near the top of collegiate tennis.

It’s been an amazing ascension for a program that won just nine matches four years ago. Led by seniors Shuon Madden, Dumitru Caradima and Cody Hubbell, the Aggies have won four Big 12 trophies (three conference tournament crowns and one regular season title), hosted two NCAA Tournament regionals and advanced to the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight in consecutive seasons.

Seniors (from left) Cody Hubbell, Shuon Madden and Dumitru Caradima set the standard for years to come.

They are marks that are as indelible as they are incredible.

"I think this program owes an awful lot to them," Cass said of his outgoing senior trio. "I’m really excited that they’ve bought into Texas A&M University. I really believe that they will be great supporters of this university for years and years to come.

"They will be very missed, but at the same time, I think they will have a presence here. What they’ve done is really going to push this program for a long time. I can see myself always using them as examples. In some sense, they’ll always be a part of this program."

There are seniors who go through the A&M athletic system who are quality players in all sports. There are some who will wear their Aggie pride on their sleeve forever and some who emerge into top-flight professionals.

But few soak in their experience in Aggieland like Madden, Caradima and Hubbell.

Cody Hubbell was as reliable and lyal a player as the Aggie tennis program has ever seen.

Madden, A&M’s most decorated tennis player, signed with A&M out of Miami Sunset High School mainly because of the persistence and persuasion of Cass.

He knew really nothing about Texas A&M or its traditions. Four years later, Madden may bleed deeper maroon than any other athlete on the big campus.

"After every year passes, I can’t imagine it being any more fun than it was," said Madden, this year’s Big 12 Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. "And then every time I come back for another year, it disproves that.

"Three and a half years ago, I really didn’t know what to expect. But I can’t put into words what it’s been like for my life personally, friendship-wise and the togetherness we’ve had. Anything positive you can throw into the mix, it’s happened these last three and a half years."

Madden is the ultimate team player, even though he competed in the individual portion of the NCAA Tournament last week. He is every bit the watch dog of the A&M program as he is the "Mad Dog."

When he’s not playing tennis – which is not very often – Madden is the ultimate cheerleader at other A&M sporting events.

"I think we all got here pretty much on the same page four years ago," Madden added. "I really didn’t know anything about A&M, except for what Cody was saying. You grow into it. We just learned from each other.

Dumitru Caradima and Madden teamed up to form one of the school's most dominant doubles teams.

"I’ve learned more here than 21 years off the court. It makes me proud to be part of a team and part of school that gives you so much support."

For pure feel-good, Cinderella stories, there is Hubbell’s career at A&M. After winning the state championship in 1997, Hubbell lived out his dream by wearing the maroon cap, a very faded maroon cap at every tennis match.

He toiled usually near the bottom of A&M’s deep lineup in singles, but joined with junior Jarin Skube to become one of the nation’s top No. 3 doubles duos.

And if ever there was a warrior to keep matches alive or clinch them in the clutch, Hubbell was the man.

Hubbell’s familial following was large, as parents Larry and Jan helped orchestrate A&M’s blossoming fan base with tailgate parties and loyal road trips.

When Hubbell first came to A&M, his parents and just a few others sprinkled the Omar Smith Tennis Center for home matches. This season, A&M led the nation in attendance with 7,887 coming through the turnstiles at the A&M Tennis Center.

"I’m so proud to be part of this school that gives so much support to sports in general, and now tennis," Hubbell said. "It’s (amazing) how many people come to our matches and how many people went to Athens. It shows you how big the Aggie family really is. It was kind of sad thing when we played our last match here. But I can walk off and say I gave my all to A&M and A&M gave its all to me. It’s been a blast."

While Hubbell was a local product from A&M Consolidated who understood the Aggie way of life since birth, Caradima admittedly didn’t have a clue about A&M even as a high schooler in New Braunfels.

A native of Romania, Caradima was on Christmas break when he saw his first Aggie football game on television. He pretended like he knew what was going in the game, so that he wouldn’t be seen as a "two-percenter" to the others in the room.

"Somebody came to my room and said, hey, A&M is on TV," Caradima said. "I had no idea. I just went into the room and looked at the TV so the guy wouldn’t say, ‘Oh, he doesn’t care.’

"It was very new to me, but it took me a year to get used to it. Now, every chance I get, I like to go to football games and follow the other sports. I get the traditions. I came in here as a Romanian, and I think I’m going to leave as an Aggie."

Whether it’s the pull of A&M or the guidance of Cass, in either case the three Aggie seniors bought into the program to take it to unprecedented heights.

The Aggies have won 53 matches over the last two years, beating powerhouse Texas four out of the last five times the two schools have met. A&M has beaten perennial tennis bullies like Pepperdine, Florida, TCU, Duke and LSU to establish itself as a major player on the national scene.

And in one year, A&M will be the host of the 2002 men’s national championships.

For any of those A&M fans who have made the trek to Athens, you can understand the magnitude of the event the Aggie community will be a part of next May.

Only the three stalwart seniors will not be a part the NCAAs, although all three are on track to graduate and will be major factors in the stands as the Aggies go for a third straight trip to the Sweet 16.

The Aggie men turned in their best season ever in the modern era, winning two Big 12 titles this spring.

But Cass admits there will be no replacing Madden, Caradima and Hubbell. Maybe better tennis players may come along, but it will be a surprise if better leaders emerge in the next few years.

"That’s going to be the toughest thing… to not have them out here every day in practice," Cass said. "You don’t need to baby-sit those guys. You can see the intensity they play with. They’re not going to be replaced at all, but you hope we can continue to do what they taught us to do."

Seniors-to-be Keith From and Skube will now take over the leadership role, along with junior Ryan Newport and sophomore Tres Davis. Add in rapidly-improving Khaled El Dorry and two or three incoming recruits considered as some of the top junior players available, and the Aggies should contend again for top-10 status.

"There’s six other guys on the team who work as hard as we do," Madden said. "Hopefully, the power will be spread out to where the guys can push each other as much as we’ve pushed each other.

"As each year goes by, we have matured as players. So hopefully, that will be the case to keep this thing going so it never stops."

Caradima jokingly called himself the "profound" one of the Aggie men’s tennis team. Fans can only hope his premonitions really do come true.

"I know that they’ve all got potential," Cass said of the 2002 Aggies. "I am sure there will be someone who will step up, and Aggie tennis will be a powerhouse again in the nation."

Table of Contents