Two weeks ago, Bryan Shelton received a surprising phone call.
On the other end of the line, the first-year UF men’s tennis coach heard Spencer Newman’s voice.
Newman decided to return to Florida and play for the Gators after spending a semester at Michigan.
Newman was 43-17 in singles during his first two years at Florida and led the Gators with 32 victories during the 2011 campaign.
Former UF coach Andy Jackson announced his resignation on May 25, opening the door for Florida to hire Shelton on June 8 as the 10th coach in school history.
Shelton tried to change Newman’s mind, but the junior transferred to Michigan on June 22, 2012.
“My first goal was to try and get him to stay,” Shelton said. “I wasn’t successful, unfortunately, because we would’ve loved to have him back in the fall. Since then, he has decided this is the place he needs to be. It’s kind of like the prodigal son who has returned, because everybody here has opened up their arms and (are) just so happy that this guy is back.”
Newman will be ineligible this spring due to transfer rules. But that hasn’t stopped Newman from helping No. 12 Florida in practice where Shelton said the junior has “worked his tail off.”
The Miami native played on the Nos. 3-5 single courts last season. His timely fist bumps and long rallies were a crowd favorite.
“When we heard, we were all really excited,” junior Michael Alford said. “It feels like he was gone a while, but it was only a semester. It is good to have him back. He’s enthusiastic and a really good player.”
Alford is one of six upperclassmen on the Florida roster this season. Seniors Bob van Overbeek and Billy Federhofer return.
The injury-prone van Overbeek is healthy heading into the spring season, Shelton said.
Juniors Florent Diep and Stephane Piro round out the upperclassmen. Piro, from Marseille, France, makes his spring debut on Saturday against No. 65 Miami on Saturday at noon at Linder Stadium.
Shelton will determine the lineups within 12 hours to match time. While as many as eight players could see time on the court, there will be one familiar face watching from the crowd — Spencer Newman.
“He has infused some energy into our program from the very first day he arrived,” Shelton said.
Contact Adam Pincus at apincus@alligator.org.
