Oklahoma State University Athletics
Howarth Makes Transition to No. 1 Singles
June 21, 1999 | Cowboy Tennis
April 22, 1999
If someone told Rob Howarth last year that he would be playing No. 1 singles this year, he never would have believed them. But that is just what he is doing.
Last year, Howarth played No. 5 singles and No. 3 doubles for Oklahoma State. Due to the loss of five starters from last year's squad, the Adelaide, Australia native has moved up to No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles.
"Rob has really made the transition to No. 1 singles," head coach James Wadley said. "He has defeated some ranked players and has really been hitting the ball well lately. He has a good serve and a good forehand and backhand. We hope that he gives us the leadership to go on and be successful."
Howarth feels that a great deal of his tennis success can be attributed to his parents, John and Marlene.
"My parents encouraged me in everything that I did. I played football when I was young, and I played tennis also. Whatever I wanted to do, they encouraged me," Howarth said.
In addition to help from his parents, Howarth got much of his tennis inspiration from Australian tennis professional Pat Rafter.
"I think that Pat Rafter was my biggest influence. He's done a lot for Australian tennis in the past couple of years," Howarth said. "It's good to have an Australian ranked in the top two or three in the world. We haven't had that in a while. It's a good inspiration for Australia."
His parent's encouragement has definitely helped Howarth. This year, Howarth is 10-6 at No. 1 singles with wins over 91st-ranked Dinko Verzi of Nebraska and 100th-ranked Dony Papadia of Colorado. He has won five of his last five singles matches.
"It feels good to have played these guys and to be able to beat them because I knew I always could," Howarth said. "It's good to be able to get some wins and have some confidence."
In doubles, Howarth and freshman Matt Prentice are 12-4 overall in the No. 1 position. In their first match of the season, they defeated then-No. 1 ranked Dumitry Caradima and Shuon Madden of Texas A&M 9-7.
"I would have to say beating the No. 1 doubles team in the country from Texas A&M during the first match of the season was my greatest moment," Howarth said. "We weren't really expecting that much. I had never played with Matt (Prentice) before and we both came out and played really well and we beat them. It was a really good feeling."
Howarth began his career at UNLV before transferring to Oklahoma State in 1996. In 1997, he was the Big 12 champion at No. 5 singles with a 22-3 overall record. He also was the runner-up in the Big 12 at No. 3 doubles with Daniel Russo. Last year, he posted a 17-7 singles record and a 18-5 record in No. 3 doubles.
He will be playing in his final match at the DuBois Tennis Center Saturday as the Cowboys face Big 12 rival Kansas.
"It's good to have a match here at home before we play in the Big 12 tournament. It should be tough. The guy at No. 1 is ranked 35th in the country. They have a fairly solid team," Howarth said. "It will be tough for all the guys to win their matches, but I think if everyone plays well, we have a good shot at beating them. Hopefully Matt and I can win at No. 1 doubles and get a shot at the NCAA tournament."
However, Howarth is also looking past Kansas to the Big 12 tournament, which will be held April 29-May 2 in College Station, Texas.
"I think that we will draw Colorado in the first round. I think that we match up pretty well against them, even though we lost our last match to them. I think we all have pretty good chances of beating them at every position," Howarth said. "The younger guys just need a bit of confidence. I think that we have a good shot at winning our first match against Colorado and then I think that we will come up against Texas A&M, which will be a tough match. We'll just see and take each match at a time."
"I definitely want to keep playing tennis in college. I wish that I could play anotheryear," Howarth said. "Not being able to play another year is disappointing, but life goes on. I have to move on. I can't be in college for the rest of my life."
By Blythe McCarty
OSU Media Relations
