SAN ANTONIO (April 19, 2011)-The Our Lady of the Lake men's tennis team has been extremely busy preparing for its National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Regional Conference Tournament that begins today. (Go here for complete schedule and results.)

Intense practices, conditioning and dedication in the classroom have driven the team throughout the season, and head coach Sal Castillo likes to lead by example.

Castillo competed in the 31st International Tennis Federation (ITF) Seniors World Team Championships in New Zealand, and he was there when a 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit the region.

Initially, Christchurch, Ashburton, and Timaru hosted portions of the competition, but after the quake, officials cancelled all competitions in Christchurch, but they continued in the other locations.

The tournament was originally comprised of team and individual events, but with half of the tournament cancelled, some team competitions, and all of the individual events, were eliminated.

The tragedy in New Zealand added a somber tone to the tournament, "people were killed, and many lost their homes, it's not a good backdrop for a world tournament," Castillo remarked. Even through everything that was happening in the surrounding area, the U.S. team fared well, taking third place. Australia took first and Spain placed second. Castillo, who noted this as his 12th world tournament, competed in three singles' matches and three doubles matches and did not lose one. "Under the circumstances, I am very happy with how well I did."

Since his return home, Castillo has focused his attention on the men's and women's tennis teams. The men's team ended its season with a 6-5 record -- the best since the University began competing in tennis in 2008. The Saints left April 18 for Oklahoma for the conference tournament that will determine which teams attend the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics' (NAIA) National Tennis Tournament in mid-May.

Luis Rovira will compete at the No. 1 spot; Juan Arteaga at No. 2; Pedro Arteaga at No. 3; Santiago Padilla at No. 4; Aaron Rodriguez and Ramiro Trevizo at No. 5; Jessie Rojas (at right with Coach Castillo), Aldo Galvan and Joell Moreno at No. 6.

Castillo has also made sure his student-athletes' coursework has not suffered in the process.

The Saints have been hard at work in the classroom. The tennis teams have the highest GPAs of any of the other athletic teams on campus. Castillo says that academics are even more important than the game, and he wants his players to excel on and off the court. "Time management is probably the most important part of going to college," Castillo commented. "The players know that if their grades are not where they should be, then they may not be able to take the court when it comes time for a match."

At the conference tournament this week, Castillo said that the teams' outcome will depend a lot on the draw. "You never know who you're going to be matched up with. If we are matched with the number one seed, then we may have a harder time. If we get a better draw then we will do better in the first and second rounds."

Another key to a good performance during the conference tournament is stamina. "The conference tournament is hard, not just in the level of the teams, but the amount of playing that is necessary. I've seen players simply run out of gas because they aren't in the best shape," Castillo said.

The teams have been working on intense conditioning all year with assistant coach Dante Childs. Childs and Castillo have seen significant improvements in the strength and stamina of their players. They feel that those improvements will give the Saints a fighting chance during the tournament.