The spontaneous spark

While Matthew Shuichi Westmoreland was working his way up the junior tennis rankings in Hawaii, he was always entertaining to watch, but you were never quite sure what was so appealing.

He was talented, sure, but not the most talented. He could be spontaneous and unorthodox, but at his core he was simply a grinder.

After three years coaching Westmoreland at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, director of tennis Steve Moore has sensed all the intangibles he brings to the court. Moore paints a vivid picture of the junior’s appeal.

"As a coach you love a fighter," Moore says. "There is nothing we love more than a charismatic fighter, nothing better. Give me six Matt Westmorelands and I’d coach until I was 90."

The 2010 Island Pacific Academy graduate has worked his way up to No. 2 for the Islanders, now ranked 58th nationally.

He was the 2011 Southland Conference Freshman of the Year, when he rolled to a 15-8 record at No. 5 and one of his victories clinched the team’s fourth consecutive regular-season title. In an injury-interrupted sophomore season, Westmoreland played No. 3 and was co-captain for a team that clinched another title.

This year, he is one of three upperclassmen and captain of a squad with five freshmen and only two players who speak English as their primary language. That’s Westmoreland and senior Andrew Maingot, whose father is head pro at Corpus Christi Country Club.

Maingot might be the only guy more comfortable than Westmoreland in this coastal city on the Gulf of Mexico, located 250 miles south of Galveston and 150 miles east of the Mexican border. It is the only university in America located on its own island.

"It’s like a sand bar; we’re a couple minutes from the water," says Westmoreland, who reached two state high school finals for Island Pacific. "There is surfing 20 minutes away. That’s why I like it. I can go to the beach all the time. You can do pretty much anything here that you can do in the water in Hawaii."

Not that Westmoreland has been slacking. It is not in his nature and you can’t climb a college ladder the way he has if you do. Moore called him "just the spark the team needed" when he came in and helped the Islanders to the NCAA tournament. Each year the coach has added elements to Westmoreland’s game "that take a lot of hard work" — a slice, volley, doubles wisdom, a revamped serve.

He expects his captain to turn it on now, in the "hot, windy, grinder part of the season" because of his fitness, work ethic and background.

"There’s no doubt the indoor part of the season is the part he struggles with," Moore says, then laughs. "He’s not used to that."

From now until Westmoreland graduates in physical therapy and contemplates a pro career, Moore simply wants him to trust his game. Everything else is in place.

"Believe in his David Ferrer, Lleyton Hewitt game," Moore says. "He doesn’t have to try to play big to win big. He just needs to really trust in the big moments. Then, just contin

ue to be the amazing leader he’s been. He is one of the best leaders I’ve ever coached. He is really continuing to do a phenomenal job as captain."

Westmoreland admits only to being pushed to a higher level by the coach and competition, particularly this year. He feels a comfort zone with the leadership role forced upon him. Now, if he could just find some home cooking.

"If you come here, you can enjoy really good Mexican food and BBQ," 

he says, "but I like the Asian food."