When did you first start playing tennis?
When I was four years old, I had my first lesson with Jan Young at Cupertino Hills Club
When did you start playing in tournaments?
I started in the Northern California Novice tournament when I was nine, and won my first Under Ten tournament that same year. I got a N. California sectional ranking when I was twelve years old and was ranked eleventh or twelfth in the section. Then I just tried to get better as I worked my way through higher levels of the Novices.

Which junior tournaments did you play in? I played in the 16s and 18s national hard courts and clay courts and in Kalamazoo, which is the final tournament of the year, the big one. I played the Junior Excellence tournament every year from twelve to eighteen years old. That is a tournament where the top twelve players in each age group are invited to play in a round robin format just before the sectionals. I played for the USTA Junior Davis Cup Squad my last year of high school and we played both national and international tournaments against the cream of the crop. The USTA provided coaching and sponsoring. Then we all played the US Junior Open at Flushing Meadow. That was my first real experience playing international players.

What happened after you turned eighteen?
I went to UCLA and played for the college team. In 1987 we got to the NCAA finals and lost to Georgia. I became All-American that year, and held that status all through college. All-American is a recognition that sets you apart from all the other college players. The following year, 1988, we won the NCAA doubles championship and I also got to the singles’ final. In 1989 I reached the quarter-finals in the singles and doubles at NCAA. During my ’88 summer I qualified for the Junior Davis Cup squad for college players, turned pro, and was able to play some pro tournaments. I got my first pro ranking and started to collect ATP points. I earned a wild card into the US Open doubles that year and won the first round.

Have you played any famous players?
Yes, I played Pete Sampras in the juniors, beat him once and lost to him once. I played Boris Becker, Andre Agassi, Michael Chang, and I beat Ramesh Krishnan and Todd Martin. I beat Becker at the Australian Open in the doubles, one year.

What was it like on the pro circuit?
At first it was exciting, something I’d always wanted to do. Ever since I was fourteen I knew I wanted to play pro tennis. Suddenly I’m in it and I was fresh and new and that was when I did my best. I went to Wimbledon two or three times and it was a neat experience. It takes a bit of seasoning to play on grass, even though I was a serve and volleyer. I needed a couple of years to get used to it. But in 1989, I played in an ATP tournament at Newport, RI, also on grass, and I won the doubles, plus a nice fat pay check to go with it. But being on the circuit requires a lot of traveling and it becomes tiring

What was your best year as a pro?
1990. I reached the semifinals of the US Open doubles with Sven Salumaa, playing in the Grandstand court. We were up by two sets to love and then lost to Aldrich and Visser. In 1991 I reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open doubles with Brad Pearce. Again we were up two sets to love but lost. We should have won those matches. I was ranked # 90 in singles and # 40 in doubles at that time. It was a great year.

When did you retire from the circuit?
In 1992. At the end of 1991 I tore a tendon in my foot and was out for about six months. I tried to come back but my ranking had dropped so low I had to start out at a very low level and I decided I didn’t want to do that, so I went back to school and finished my degree.

What made you decide to come to Sunnyvale to coach?
At first I wanted to be head coach at a university and I coached at Pepperdine for a year, then was offered the assistant coaching job there. But when Jan Young offered me a job at STC I turned down the Pepperdine offer, thinking that STC offered a more interesting opportunity.

What do you like about the STC?
Well, I really like the facility for one, got a ton of courts. Just a nice atmosphere, a nice environment, seems like very good people there, easy to work with. And it’s my roots, I followed Jan out here to take lessons, and I spent many hours as a junior, practicing at STC, so it’s like a second home to me.