When App State men’s tennis head coach Bob Lake moved into his office at Appalachian State, an ultimatum confronted him from the start. Face to face with the athletics director at the time, a simple conversation turned into a blueprint for his tennis program.
“Basically, when I got here, it was all Americans, and the athletic director at the time told me that if I wanted to win, then I was going to have to get some international kids,” Lake said. “Without them, we can’t do anything because the top Americans are going to get sucked up by the big schools.