May 10, 2001

Welcome to fausports.com, the Official Web Site of Florida Atlantic University Athletics, and "Ask An Owl," your direct link to Florida Atlantic student-athletes and coaches.

Our next guest is Nate Hooks, cross country and women's track coach.

Submit a question to Coach Hooks

Coach Wheelen's Responses

Question from B.J. Kinner: With FAU going to the NCAA Tournament two years in a row and seemingly an annual contender, will the school look to host any NCAA competition?

A: For the most part, you have to be in the top-16. Right now, we have a long way to go before we can start thinking about that.

Question from Mario Alavea: First of all coach, congratulations on your first conference championship. I saw where you lost some close ones to some higher-ranked teams. How frustrating were those?

A: It's not that frustrating. It's part of the process of improving. Without challenges, you don't improve as a team. In those losses, we found out what areas we needed to get stronger in.

Question from Wendi Simulinsky: How tough has it been to build a winning program in both men's and women's tennis at FAU?

A: One of the challenges is to build a schedule good enough to compete at the national level. Another aspect is recruiting. To be successful, you have to have eight-to-ten talented players to compete at that level. That way we have flexibility not only in practice but during matches to switch personnel around.

Question from Ralph Burdue: With the success of the men's team the past few years, are there any plans to play more highly-ranked teams in the future?

A: Yes. That is our biggest challenge for the future. The better our schedule is, the higher we will be ranked.