Join ORU Athletics every Friday in a weekly series featuring interviews with coaches and staff members.
10 Questions with Mark Milner, Director of Tennis at Oral Roberts University:
- How are you and your family adapting to life at home?
We're adapting pretty well. One of the biggest challenges is dividing up time for my wife and me to focus on work, while also entertaining our two girls. On a positive note, it has been nice spending more time with my family. We've played more board games than ever, which have been fun.
- What are you doing to keep your children engaged?
I think like a lot of parents, we are trying to create schedules so we have a routine. Our girls are in 2nd grade and kindergarten so we have been helping them with their different school subjects. Thankfully, we have had a lot of nice days outside, so we spend a lot of time riding bikes and playing outdoors.
- During this "stay at home" period we're in, how are you communicating with your staff and players?
It's been a combination of phone calls, emails, and text messages.
- Many of your international players are still on campus even though everything around them is closed. How are they coping academically and socially?
It's definitely a major challenge for these student-athletes to remain on campus. They are used to being outside, training and competing at this time of year. Now they are limited to the dorms and cafeteria, but we have a very strong group of young men and women that understand the severity of what's going on and they are doing their part to end this pandemic.
Academically, it's an adjustment to everyone going to virtual learning, but our teams have always been strong in the classroom so I know they will finish the semester strong. We also have an amazing academic support staff who have been very helpful with the student-athletes.
Socially, they have been doing as well as they can be. They have been doing a lot of Facetiming with their friends and playing online video games.
- The NCAA has limited the recruiting rules during this time. What are the biggest challenges you're facing while recruiting from home?
Right now, it's not much different than it normally is given that we should be in season and I'm usually not getting to hit the recruiting trail until May. So, all of the correspondences are through phone calls, text messages and watching videos online. Once the summer hits, it's normally when I can get on the road and watch potential student-athletes compete. With many of the tennis organizing bodies shutting down events until mid-summer, it going to be a challenge watching recruits play live before the start of the 2020-2021 school year.
- What can you tell us about the current states of the ORU men's and women's programs and where you are in recruiting?
We like where we are on both the men's and women's sides.
The men were 1-1 in conference play when our season abruptly ended. We had two thrilling matches that came down to the last match on court against Omaha and North Dakota. We've signed two talented players for next year, and those recruits combined with our returners, we look to make a run at a conference championship next year.
On the women's side, we made a drastic improvement from the 2019 season. We had four new players this year that stepped up and played the top four positions. Our ladies were chosen to finish second in The Summit League and we were looking to make a run at the championship. We're definitely looking forward to next season.
- Since you took over as Director of Tennis for the men's and women's teams two years ago, both programs are steadily improving. What factors have led to the success?
There are several factors in our improvement. One of those factors is the building of the Bernis Duke Tennis Center. We were blessed several years ago when the University decided to upgrade, among other things, the tennis and track facilities. Recruits are blown away when they step on campus, or when we send pictures of the facility. The facility has also been a huge help in player development. Our student-athletes have an amazing work ethic. Outside of normal practice, our athletes can walk three minutes from their dorms and get a training session in on their own, whereas before, they weren't able to do that because we trained off-campus.
Secondly, a ton of credit goes to my assistant coaches. They both have had success previously as coaches and players themselves and are very knowledgeable in recruiting and player development. I think what we have done a good job as a staff is knowing our strengths and weaknesses and implementing them into our programs.
Lastly, we have an amazing support staff at ORU who goes above and beyond for these student-athletes' successes off the court, which helps them perform on the court.
- ORU tennis has a proud history going back to the 1960s when Bernis Duke coached the program. How is college tennis different today?
College tennis has changed drastically since the 1960s. Back then, there weren't very many international students being recruited to the US. However, Coach Duke was a pioneer in recruiting internationally and as a result, the majority of college tennis players are now international. A lot of the rules have changed over the years as well. Most recently, the format of college tennis has changed to shorten the length of matches. One of the hopes for this rule is to put more college tennis on television.
- You played a handful of matches before the season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. How difficult was that for and your players?
Extremely difficult for all of us. We all put in blood, sweat and tears for our college tennis season and for it to be cut short is very sad and unfulfilling. I feel terrible for the seniors who didn't get to have their senior day, or compete in their last conference championship, or take their last spring break trip with their teammates. Again, we all are disappointed, but we understand it was necessary.
- What message do you have to lift up your players during this difficult time?
Trust in God and know that He has a plan. Lean on your family and friends. I understand that this quarantine seems like an eternity, but know it will pass and things will get back to normal before you know it. Control what you can control and stay positive.
10 Questions with....
March 27, 2020 – Mike Carter
April 3, 2020 – Ryan Bush
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