The IUS men’s tennis team picked up their first individual award of the season following the week of March 29 when sophomore Kevin Sacksteder was named the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week.

Sacksteder won both of his matches against Asbury College, winning with teammate Matt Coomer, Spanish junior, in their doubles match and also winning his singles match.

This season Sacksteder, who plays on the IU Southeast No. 1 doubles team with Coomer and as the No. 3 in his singles matches, has helped the Grenadiers to a 3-3 record and a 3-1 KIAC record.

Sacksteder said he prides himself on being a player who works as hard as he can to improve his game every day.

“This award is a big honor because of the hard week of work I put in,” Sacksteder said.

The hard work that Sacksteder has put in has not gone unnoticed.

“He is the hardest working player on the team,” Coomer said. “He doesn’t miss practice and is always consistent.”

Sacksteder said he put in extra time during the off-season, hitting balls with teammates to trying to improve his game and also helping his teammates improve.

“I want to do well, but I also want my team to do well,” Sacksteder said.

Even though Sacksteder was the first player to win the conference player of the week award this season, he said he doesn’t see the award as something he did without his teammates.

“It took more than just me to win the player of the week award,” Sacksteder said.

Coomer said Sacksteder has been very successful this season because of the style of play he employs during his matches.

“He plays a defensive style of tennis that most people are not patient enough to do,” Coomer said. “He is a counter puncher. He waits for his opponent to make a mistake and then he attacks.”

Sacksteder said his father, Tom Sacksteder, taught him how to play tennis at an early age. Tom Sacksteder played tennis for IU Southeast.

Sacksteder said he played other sports growing up and didn’t start focusing on tennis until his sophomore year at Louisville Male High School.  He said this was when he realized he could become a very good tennis player.

Sacksteder has picked secondary education in mathematics as his major and future career field.

“I like math and want to be a tennis coach,” Sacksteder said. “So I decided that I wanted to become a teacher.”

By JUSTIN RAY

Staff Writer

jusray@umail.iu.edu