Leandro Toledo

Men's tennis

Senior Leandro Toledo first heard about his fast-approaching goal when his coaches turned him on to it as a sophomore. No Gopher, they told him then, had ever been a four-time All-Big Ten selection. That honor could come by the end of this month for Toledo, twice named Big Ten player of the week already this season.

"I'm kind of playing toward that," Toledo said. "Preseason, I set the goal to become an All-Big Ten player. It would be a great thing to be the only one that has accomplished that in a great program."

The Hamburg, Germany, native has won his last six matches, a 22-9 overall record in singles and a national ranking of No. 25. All of his losses have been to opponents ranked within the top 100.

Last season Toledo became the school's first All-America men's tennis player since 2002. He went 23-10 in singles, defeating eight opponents ranked in the top 100 and making it to the third round of the NCAA singles tournament.

"The biggest improvement has been playing on my best level every match," Toledo said. "Freshman year I was really inconsistent and now it's getting the consistency of playing a good match every weekend. I'm serving way better than I did freshman year."

Toledo feels the team has a strong and deep lineup and hopes he can help the program make a run at the Sweet Sixteen. He'll also have a shot to repeat as an All-America selection, especially if he stays hot.

Master Tesfatsion