The top-ranked Virginia men's tennis team has steam-rolled its way to a 23-0 record this season, making it the favorite to win the national championship this spring. As good as this tennis team has been recently, though, it was not so strong until coaches Brian Boland and Tony Bresky arrived in Charlottesville.
While Boland serves as the team's head coach?, he will not hesitate to explain how important Bresky has been in building this program into the national powerhouse fans and opposing teams have come to know. Bresky, the 2005 ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year, talked about his relationship with Boland, the prospect of a head coaching position and how special this year's team is.
SB: You and coach Boland have been together for eight seasons and have shared a lot of success together. How would you compare your coaching styles?
TB: I think that our philosophy on tennis is pretty similar. Obviously, when I first started coaching I was working under Brian so the majority of what I've learned, I've learned from him. I have only had one mentor, and he has been it. I think we really stress the importance of continually competing, working hard and having a positive attitude and trying to control the things you can control as opposed to really getting ahead of yourself. Some of my thoughts on when I was a player and some things I have learned from Brian have carried onto my coaching.
SB: What has allowed you two to build the kind of program you have at Virginia?
TB: Oh, numerous things. The administration has been great. The community here is super supportive. What can you say about Virginia? It's an awesome school, good academics, a super athletic department, and it's a great place to play tennis. I think a lot of the work that myself and Brian have done in building the facilities and the overall level of the program, Virginia was a place that deserved a great program. It had some great players, but it had never had a great team, and I think it was just a matter of time and putting in some hard work and getting the right kind of student-athlete who was willing to buy in to our system.
SB: You were recognized in 2005 as the National ITA Assistant Coach of the Year. I imagine your phone has been pretty busy with some head coaching offers. What has made you stay at Virginia?
TB: I think that when I first got here, Brian and I had set our goals high. I think before I even consider moving to a different place, I'd really like to see our team win a national championship. We have had a lot of great accomplishments, won a lot of ACC titles now, Somdev Devvarman won the individual title, this year we won the National Team Indoors, been ranked No. 1 a couple times. It has been a great ride. I think our ultimate goal is to win the national team title, and I think that is something that I would like to be a part of. Having said that, at the same time, people always think the grass is greener on the other side. Obviously, my goal is to be a head coach some day somewhere, but I am really enjoying working with Brian. He treats me with a lot of respect and gives me a lot of authority with this program. I get to do a lot of the things that I really enjoy doing, whereas when you become a head coach, you are going to have to take on different responsibilities. I guess I just want to make sure that when I do move on, it's the right fit for me.
SB: This year's team has been dominant, but you have been a part of Virginia teams in the past that have been ranked No. 1. Would you consider this team the best you have been a part of?
TB: Honestly, yeah. We have been ranked No. 1 in the past and we have had some really great players here. I think this year's team is really special. Not only is it a super-talented team, but it's a really hard-working, disciplined team, which is something I think maybe we lacked a little in the past. There is still a long ways to go, but certainly the talent, the discipline and the enthusiasm -- it makes for a special kind of environment for us to train in and to compete in.
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