PROFILE
Screen has quietly succeeded as tennis mentor
Hampton tennis coach Robert Screen
has guided the Pirates into the land of
NCAA net prominence.
The Pirates have won two national
titles. They are the '89 Division II
champs. The school claimed their first
collegiate crown in 76.
Without a doubt, he has become one
of the premier tennis coaches in the coun
try - black college or white college. He is
the only black college tennis coach to
ever win a national title and has yet to
experience a losing season.
h
Screen, who has a career record of
434-91 in 21 seasons, has turned Hamp
ton into a virtual gold mine of tennis
excellence during that time.
And the way he has succeeded is by
recruiting some of the Third World s
prime talent. Primarily, his team is com
posed of Nigerians and Brazilians.
Screen's pipeline of foreign players
was constructed in 1970 when he first
took over the tennis program at Hampton.
Screen was befriended by Gladys Hell
man, who was then editor/publisher of
World Tennis Magazine.
"She had always received numerous
letters fromjoreign players who inquired
about different schools in the U.S. And
she would attend the U.S. Tennis Nation
als in Forest Hill, NY. And through that
connection, I was able to meet the presi
dents of the tennis federations from other
countries."
In Screen's mind, it was only natural
that Third-World countries showed more
interest in sending their athletes to a black
college as opposed to only looking a the
tennis programs at predominantly white
colleges.
"The Europeans didn't respond to us,
but the Third World nations did and it has
worked out well for all of us."
It's a fortunate things for Screen and
Hampton that he has a supply of foreign
players. In the U.S., the top black tennis
athletes almost always go to a white col
lege. No doubt, HU couldn't be as coitf
petitive as they have been without having
top-of the-line athletes.
"We're able to get the better athletes
from those countries because of the ath
letes that have played at Hampton previ
ously. They come over and are treated
well. Those players tell other players in
their country about the school and the
program and they want to come and play
for Hampton.
"What helps out so much is that the
people that players recommend to us are
prospects who can step in and potentially
be a No. 1 player for us."
When you look at the Pirates' roster it
can readily be seen that their top players
come from across the water.
For example, Luis Nascimento is the
No. 1 players who comes from Brazil.
Nascimento finished the season at 18-8
and a No.2 national ranking Division II
singles play. Islam Ul-Haq is the team's
No. 2 players (18-4) and he attained a
national ranking of No. 8. Ul-Haq is rated
as the best player in Pakistan. Ul-Haq a
I Wmammm 9^
Photo by Max Dunhill
As for the really good black American tennis p\ayers, they're going
to teaUze sooner or later that a black college like Hampton can pro
vide them with some things that the big schools can t. I've seen so
many top players go to a white college and not do well because
they were never made to feel comfortable with their environment."
? Robert Screen
Muritala Ajibade (Nigeria) finished the
year as the nation's top-ranked doubles
team.
Because of the team's foreign domi
nance, there have been assertions that
Screen has purposely avoided the recruit
ment of black American players.
The truth is that Screen hasn't been
able to get the black American athlete
because they go to the while schools.
That issue, he explained, is a very
emotional one for him.
"We can get those athletes if they will
take a look at us," said Screen. "Every
year I go after those players, and in a lot
of cases, they won't even respond when I
contact them by letter."
Because the top black Americans go
to white colleges, some people have told
Screen that he should recruit black Amer
icans who may not be a gifted as the for
eign players he's been getting.
"They expect me to take the also
rans, H he said. "Hey, if a kid can't play
that well and still wants to try out for the
team, he's free to do so. But you can't
expect me to offer them a scholarship if
they can t play that well.
"As for the really good black Ameri
can tennis players, they're going to realize
sooner or later that a black college like
Hampton can provide them with some
things that the big schools can't I've seen
so many top players gd to a white college
and not do well because they were never
made to feel comfortable with their envi
ronment. Kids who feel comfortable
where they are, tend to play up to their
potential and that's what we've seen hap
pen with players in our program."
Screen not only has molded two
national championship teams, but he has
taken Pirates tennis to a level of consis
tency that has been difficult for many
other programs around the country to
match.
In 21 years, the PirateS have nevejr
been ranked lower than No. 6 in the
nation. Since '83, the team has finished no
lower than fourth. Last year, they were the
No. 1 team in the country, before losing in
the finals to Chapman College. They
ended the '88 season at 29-1. This year
they were 22-3.
Outwardly, Screen is a low key type
of coach. You'll seldom if ever see him
become overly emotional when his team
is on the court. "Screaming is not my
style," he said. "I don't get outwardly
excited. So 1 do look calm on the outside.
But people don't know what's going on
inside of me."
- Evan Nottingham .