MAAC Coaching Spotlight – Fairfield’s Jeff Bricker
Edison, N.J. (June 9, 2020) – Fairfield University Men’s and Women’s Tennis Head Coach Jeff Bricker sat down with the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) to provide insights on the Fairfield program, the canceled 2020 season, and what it’s like to coach two teams at the same time. Bricker led the men’s team to its fourth-straight MAAC Championship appearance in 2019 and the women’s team to a MAAC Championship title. He is the defending MAAC Women’s Tennis Coach of the Year.
Q: What was going through your mind after the Fairfield Women’s Tennis Team captured the title last season?
A: Just excitement. They worked really hard, we all did, to get to that point. To have that culminate with a championship is very exciting. It was also exciting because we were an underdog, we were really young. My expectations were that we would be there in the end, but with a young team you just don’t know. Especially with a team as good as Quinnipiac was and is, it will always be a challenge. It was exciting for them and they rose to the challenge, it was excellent.
Q: During the final match at last year’s championship, was the match violation that clinched the title on your mind? Did you say anything to Jessica Pil during the match?
A: So actually, I was on the other side with our No. 1 player Amanda [Nowak]. When she finished, that put the match at 3-3, so I ran over to Jess. I knew she won the first set and I knew it was close in the second. When I ran over, she was in between the second and third set and she was getting some treatment, she was having some physical cramping. So, while I’m there, Ed Paige (Coordinator of Tennis Operations) told me the Quinnipiac player at that point had three overrules. I didn’t really say anything at that point, I just thought it was good to know. That first game, Jess hit a ball that was in and the Quinnipiac girl called it out. The official overruled it and that gave Jessica the game, it was a game penalty. At that point it occurred to me that this could happen, but Jessica was cramping. I couldn’t really get too much into it with her because she was trying to stay calm. Fortunately for us, the Quinnipiac player was arguing the overrule and that gave us a little more time. At that point I walked over to the team and explained the overrules, I don’t think they really realized at that point what could happen. But I told Jessica in the next game to hit the ball as deep into the court as you can, I want you to hit it harder. She was like, why would I do that? I was trying to get her to hit closer to lines because I knew the other player was nervous and when nerves get ahead of you, you can unfortunately make some of the wrong calls. To be honest, Jessica wasn’t really able to do that. There was too much going on for her to focus on those things, so she went back to playing her style, which is fine, I was just trying to get her to the end of the match before her cramps became too severe. At this point the team realized that one more overrule would mean a MAAC Championship, a match violation. When the Quinnipiac player made the final call, the official didn’t really have a choice. Jessica didn’t really know what was happening. She was like, why is everybody out here? We had to explain it to her. It was pretty awesome, pretty surreal.
Q: What does it mean to you to be named the 2019 MAAC Women’s Coach of the Year by your peers?
A: It’s a staff award, really. It’s not just me out there. Matt [Cook] and Ed [Paige] are there, we have our support staff back at campus as well. We have Nick [Wormley] who is my administrator, Paul Schlickmann and all he has done for us as an athletic director, the academic staff, the training staff, and strength and conditioning. It’s a great award, an honor, especially being chosen by your peers. But for me it is a team award. All the work they put in, at the end of the day it’s all about them. They bought in and believed, and we were able to help them achieve their dream. It was a really special day, it’s a special honor. There are a lot of great coaches in the MAAC, so to be chosen is something that I will always be grateful for.
Q: What are your thoughts on Amanda Nowak, the 2019 MAAC Women’s Tennis Player of the Year? What did you see when recruiting her?
A: Her father actually played hockey at Fairfield, so I think that is where the connection started. We talked to each other via recruiting and I was certainly interested, but I wasn’t sure if we were going to be her choice in the very beginning. She actually came up to the Northeast to play in a tournament and I went out to watch her. What stood out to me was her tenacity. She wasn’t playing well in the recruiting process; she was slumping a little bit. But you could tell her backhand was fantastic, and you could see her intelligence on the court, but you could just see someone who was so annoyed and angry when she was losing. Not necessarily in an outward way, but she just had that hunger to win. That’s something I wanted on the team. I want all my players to have that tenacity and hate to lose mentality, and I think she hates to lose more than she likes to win. When she got to campus, that whole class, you could see how hungry they were from the first day. We already had a lot of talent on the team, but others really stepped up when they saw how driven that new class was. I knew Amanda had a lot of talent, but when she came back in the spring, she had an ankle injury. She couldn’t play for the first three weeks. We threw her in a match against Bryant when the trainer said she could go, and she dominated. She won in about 45 minutes and we both laughed because we both knew there were no expectations. It was that match that I realized how good she could be, and she wasn’t even fully healthy. She had that refuse to lose mentality, and that is tough to come by. She wants to win and be part of a winning team, and that’s what you need. She is a special player. It’s just trying to get that out of her.
Q: While recruiting, what specifically do you look for in student-athletes?
A: One of the first things we look at is their academics. Fairfield is a great academic institution, so we are looking to get people who will excel both in the classroom and on the court. Two years ago, we had the highest GPA in athletics at Fairfield. We are looking for people who are intelligent, and the reason being that tennis is a cerebral sport. You have to be able to think out there, and that’s something all of our players have to do. Amanda [Nowak] understands the game of tennis as well as anyone, the angles and the right shots, and she isn’t the only one. Aina [March] is a genius, she is an engineering student, I think she has gotten a 4.0 the last two years. I can name them all, all of our players are very bright. We are certainly looking for that, but when we get to the tennis court, I’m looking for athletes. People that I know will continue to grow and improve as we make them stronger and more fit. I’m looking for people who want to be pushed on a daily basis, on the tennis court and in the weight room. But, obviously, we are looking for good people. People that want to be part of a team, part of an atmosphere where, you know, we love each other. There are people out there that are in it for themselves. You want somebody that will work to get better and is willing to be pushed, because at the end of the day, that’s what I do. I try to push them very hard on a day-to-day basis. I’m looking for those athletes who want to take the next step.
Q: How do you balance coaching both the men’s and women’s teams? What does your schedule look like?
A: It can be a challenge. Somebody once asked me if I’d prefer to coach one team over the other. If I really sit there and think about it, the answer is no. I’m so close to both teams. Fortunately, I have assistants than can help out. Matt [Cook] does a great job, working around his other job schedule. We have Ed [Paige] as well, who is retired other from helping with tennis, so he can certainly help a little more during the day. But schedule wise, I try to break it up as much as I can. When we are outdoors, the men generally practice around 12:00 p.m. and the women will come out around 2:00 p.m. There’s sometimes a slight overlap as the women come out and the men are finishing up. I try to give them as much attention individually as I can, because there are times where you have to do things at the same time and it’s difficult to focus with so many things going on. I try to give them as much individual attention as I can. Matches, occasionally they will have to play at the same time. That’s probably the most challenging part. I’ll be with one team while my assistants are with the other, but it doesn’t happen that often. We usually travel together and what will happen, for example, if the women play first the men will come and support them, then when the men play the women will stay and do the same. It makes for some long days, but they are fun. I think it’s the best way to get the most out of both teams. After six years now I think I’ve gotten it down.
Q: How is your tennis game? How would you fare against your student-athletes?
A: Oh gosh. I mean at this point, my body just won’t hold up anymore. They are about 15 to 20 years younger than me. So, not well. I can still get out there if I need to. If you start throwing serves into it, forget it. It’s not a great scene. I get out there and hit when I need to, but it is a young person’s game. I still play a little bit when I have time, but not so much in season. It depends what type of physical shape I’m in. There are times where I’m excited to get after it, and others where I won’t even bother. That’s why I love coaching so much, it gives me an outlet. I played college tennis and it was fun and I loved the competitiveness of it, but I’m not interested in being out there and playing competitively now, even in my own age group. But I’m very interested and competitive when it comes to coaching. I live vicariously through them on the court.
Q: Are there any great courts you have visited or played on, or taken your teams to?
A: Going to the US Open courts in Flushing Meadows, that’s always special. When we went to Pepperdine for the NCAA Tournament last year, that was pretty cool. That was unbelievable. Amanda [Nowak] and I went back for the Oracle ITA Masters Tournament this past fall. The USTA Center in Orlando is state of the art, fantastic. Those are probably the big ones. A lot of the power five schools are great. I’ve been to Georgia, out to Ohio State before I started coaching, just to name a few. Their facilities are fantastic. It’s nice to see from a standpoint of, you know, what do we need to do to get to that point. It’s good to have ideas and talk about fundraising efforts to improve our facilities. I can tell you, that is something we constantly talk about. In terms of branding, we took some things from Pepperdine that we could do financially with branding on the court and locker rooms and stuff. You have to be paying attention to the places you go so you can take it back and implement it at your program.
Q: What were your thoughts on this season before it was canceled?
A: I thought we had a really good chance on both sides. The men for the past five year have been stuck in that four seed range, but I compare the men this year to what the women were last year. They were really young and new in terms of the starting lineup, but very talented. I started to see it come together there in the end, which is really disappointing. I thought we had the horses there to give Monmouth a run. Marist was good as well, same with Quinnipiac. We had a new player at No. 1, a senior at No. 2, a redshirt junior at No. 3, and freshmen littered the rest of the lineup. Our doubles were very good too, I couldn’t have been more excited for the men. For the women, we lost Courtney [Connors] and Gabby [Campos] from the championship team, but we brought in a transfer, Paulina Bakaite, who I believe was top 150 in the world, she played at Florida International her first year. And we actually brought in Gabby’s sister, Laina, and another young woman from New York, Francesca Karman. So, I thought we had the depth to be the team to beat again. Paulina got injured in the end of the fall, so that hurt knowing she wouldn’t be able to play this year, but we still had depth. This year was one of those times where we were losing matches that we were winning the year before and we were dealing with some injuries, but towards the end they were starting to turn it on. Diana [Prinos] was starting to play better, Anna [Komer] was starting to play better, Aina [March] had a big win in our last match. The freshman were getting great experience. I liked our chances this year because of our experience, it was just gut-wrenching for our seniors to end that way.
Q: What was your initial reaction to the cancelation of the season?
A: We were in Florida on our spring trip. The coaches were staying in one apartment and the teams were staying in townhouses. We flew down right as it was getting ‘hot’ I suppose, if that is the right term. We played a match or two, and we saw that the NBA was suspended and I just though, oh my gosh. We started to hear that the basketball tournaments were playing without fans, and we were trying to gauge what the heck we were doing down there and what the next step would be. It felt like we were waiting for a day and a half for a shoe to drop. We were set to play James Madison. I was on the phone with their coach and he said that their conference had suspended the season. Finally, I got the call from our Athletic Director saying that he needed me to hop on a call, that the MAAC was canceling the spring for everybody. It was such a bummer, having to walk over to the townhouses to tell them the season was over after all of the hard work that they put in. It was one of the harder things I ever had to do. I can tell you that as a coach, my assistant Ed and Matt can probably attest, I was so stressed out that week. Trying to figure out what we could do, what we couldn’t do. I didn’t want to expose my team to this, going to different places and restaurants and stuff, just on edge the entire time trying to do the right thing because their health and safety is of the utmost importance to me. Once we got that answer, I was devastated. But in some sense, I was relieved that we would be getting our athletes back to a safe place, to campus and their homes, which I think was the right decision. But that walk over was so tough, one of the hardest things I’ve had to do. For them not to be able to finish, especially the seniors, it was tough.
Q: What was the reaction from your student-athletes?
A: I think they had an idea of what was coming, its not like they don’t have access to their phones and social media. I think initially they thought that it may just be postponed, so they were still holding out hope. So, when I came over and told them that the season was officially canceled, that there was no opportunity to restart it, there was a lot of stunned silence and certainly some tears. For those who were finishing up their schoolwork, I know they have some eligibility left, but for some it just isn’t possible to come back based on their jobs and majors. A lot of numbness, it didn’t really feel like it was setting in. I had a call with Diana [Prinos] the other day, and you could tell that she is still coping. It’s not just her, all of them are.
Q: What have you personally been doing during the pandemic? How are you and your family?
A: Family is good, we are healthy. My wife is working from home as well and the kids are finishing up the school year. We have a nice big yard, so plenty of running around and trying to stay healthy and active, trying to look for the positive in things. We have had some weekly Zoom calls with the team, I was wondering if they would be into it. They love it. They’re home, home is a great and safe place obviously, but they want to be with their friends and tennis family and college family as well. So, these Zooms have been great because it’s basically like we are together, even if it’s just a computer screen. It’s a nice outlet for them, to have a sense of normalcy during a weird time. For them there was a two-month span where they couldn’t play tennis, which is unheard of for them. I knew a lot of them were getting jumpy to get back out there. But beyond that, I’ve been doing a lot of recruiting via telephone and Zoom and things like that. A lot of alumni stuff, trying to get our men’s and women’s alumni groups together for the upcoming year. We do a lot of mentorship stuff, just trying to get everybody to talk and realize how great a place Fairfield is. Everybody I’ve talked to loves it here, so it makes it easy for me to reach out to our players and have them talk about it. We are starting to introduce our incoming freshmen to the groups, getting them fired up and ready for the fall.
Q: What is the first thing you are going to do when allowed back on campus?
A: Oh man. I’ll just start with I’m optimistic that we will be back on campus, I have a good feeling. It’s just a feeling, there is obviously nothing concrete yet, but I do think we will be back and able to do some stuff. The first thing I’m going to do, I don’t know honestly. I’ll just be excited to see everyone, probably talk nonstop. Anybody on the team can attest to that. Just to be able to see everybody, be super excited about that first group meeting. Beyond that, I think we will all be excited just to get back to what we do, playing tennis, practicing, and going back to class. I will say that one of the things I’m looking forward to is celebrating with the seniors that graduated, doing that in person. Fairfield did an amazing job of doing virtual senior days, I thought they were really well by the entire staff at sports information. It was as special as it possibly could be without us actually being there. But I look forward to being able to celebrate them and their careers in person, probably at an alumni event. But also, just joking with everybody, I love that. I’ll tell them I’ll run them into the ground. But really, just seeing everybody again and being together.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 39
th year of competition during the 2019-20 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.