April 8, 2002

By Sam Walker

Some claim tennis has become too boring. Players hide their emotions, look too robotic, and the action is no more than an abbreviated cycle of serve and switch. The people who have that opinion have never seen Wake Forest's Justin Kaufmann play. The senior who has already firmly etched his name into the Wake Forest record books has done so with a passion for the game that is unmistakable, unshakable. His on-court antics sometimes border on unacceptable, but there is no questioning he is not only there to win but to entertain. It's when players show their emotions that they become real to spectators and connect with the crowd. And that makes tennis exciting.

Kaufmann came to Wake Forest with no promises or guarantees. Perhaps that is what makes his story special. Kaufmann was a Missouri state champion and ranked as high as 78th as a junior. He sought out a place to play collegiate tennis, and he went after a scholarship at Wake Forest after agreeing to come and play without one his freshman year.

"He made the contact," head coach Jeff Zinn of Wake Forest said. "We knew he was good, and we watched him closely. He came form a strong area in the country and hands down he's the emotional player on our team. You've got to have one of those guys, and I like it. I like emotion when you play. It means he cares about winning. Justin takes losses hard, and he exalts in his wins. That's the way it should be. He walks a fine line, but he works on it and consciously thinks about it.

"He just shows that anything can happen.. It's just one of those success stories, and he deserves it. He's worked hard, always believed in his ability to play at this level, and he's succeeded. It's just one of those feel good stories."

Now he ranks third at Wake Forest in career singles victories and seventh in career doubles wins. Before the end of the season, his ranking in both those categories will likely improve. He is the first Wake men's tennis player to become an ACC Champion since Marco Lucioni earned that honor in 1986. Kaufmann was named the ACC flight champion at No. 6 singles last season. And he's worked to get there. His victories have increased as he's gotten older, and he's put in the hours of practice it takes to stay competitive.

"There' s really no great story behind it," Kaufmann said. "I came down here and was impressed with the coaches. I liked Jeff (Zinn) a lot and decided this would be the best fit for me. The team wasn't all that great when I got here, but it was a team I knew had potential to be good. My ranking wasn't all that great coming into college. It wasn't until my freshman year that I began to pick up my game. I came here with the understanding that I could possibly be able to work my way into a scholarship. With tennis, it's different with only four and one half scholarships to distribute."

Kaufmann was put on scholarship after finishing his freshman year with an overall singles record of 13-10 and 9-6 mark as a No. 6 seed. He was runner-up in ACC Freshman of the Year voting.

The passion has always been there, but the temper has not always been so controlled. Kaufmann admits to once arguing with a heckling crowd during a high school match, and he admits his behavior sometimes doesn't follow proper tennis etiquette. The behavior has changed over time. He has matured as a player. He credits his former junior coach Rex Haultain, a New Zealander, with helping him put his game in perspective and teaching him about hard work and discipline. But it is his smash-mouth style of play that has made him a champion.

"I'm a very fiery player," Kaufmann said. "I know I'm acting up out there a lot of the time. Sometimes it's just to keep myself amused because I'll get bored when nobody looks like they have any feeling out there. But part of it is that I have a bad temper.

"But I almost feel like I owe to the people who watch not to make it boring. I don't think tennis is boring or that it should be boring or that people should think of it as boring. Sometimes I'm out there and do something funny like crack a joke about one of my own shots. But you can tell when I'm genuinely mad and jokingly mad. I definitely walk a fine line between being fired up and being out of control.

"Coach (Shawn) Henchion really gets on my case about getting too emotional out there. There's been a couple of times when they've sat me down and told me that I need to calm down, or they're going to take me out of the lineup even though they know I should be playing. When they do that it's just to let me know I'm on the edge. As a freshman I got mad, but as I've gotten older I've matured a little more. Now I still get fired up, but I don't get out of control mad anymore."

What he does get is pumped up. In fact, close friends and teammates actually like to see Kaufmann in a competitive match because they want to see the "pelvic pump," a signature move that Kaufmann created back in high school that is only brought out only in big moments.

"I think that was a spur of the moment kind of thing," Kaufmann said with a wry smile. "I did it once in high school and once against N.C. State when I lost. That was embarrassing because I thought I was coming back. But it really started my sophomore season when I won the deciding match against Georgia Tech. I did it and people went nuts and told me I needed to do that more often. It became my own patented move. I did it when I won the deciding match at Furman this year."

"He hasn't really brought it out this year," Zinn said. "I think he's saving it for a big match. It's all in fun and part of Justin's personality. Everybody says tennis is stoic, and I don't like that. You notice the crowd is always around Justin because they know he's fiery, and they know he's funny. He's entertainment, and that's what we're here for."

Kaufmann and the men's tennis team have provided much entertainment this year. The Deacons are a top-25 team for the first time in school history and rolled up a string of 12 consecutive victories as of March 24. Eight victories are over teams ranked nationally in the top 70. Wake is ranked 22nd and looking to not only return to the NCAA Tournament field but also advance. Kaufmann says his role as a senior is to fire up the team before matches. Sometimes he does it by bringing up past defeats, sometimes by pointing out the possibilities.

"One of the things that is going to make us successful in the long run is that we're all friends," Kaufmann said. "Everyone on our team wants to be part of the team, and everyone wants to win not only for themselves but also for the team. My freshman and sophomore years we had good players, but we didn't have any team unity then. Now it's a communal fight. We cheer each other on, and it's hard to do because you're supposed to stay focused on your own match. But I think it actually helps us to keep an eye on our teammates."