 Our fifth inductee is Brad Friedel. Brad was the MVP of the men's tennis team as a senior as he played from 1996 to 2000. He recorded 24 singles wins and 23 doubles victories in his career and later went on to serve as an assistant coach and later a head coach for the Mustangs. Not a typical tennis coach, I would say. I would say you're generally your tennis coach at your thinking. It's kind of an older guy, probably a white polo shirt, white shorts, you know, white socks, white shoes, all that. This guy had, you know, blonde highlighted tips with, you know, flashy, Nike, hot, you know, green, yellow, whatever, an outfit and a younger guy that just something you wouldn't see from a typical tennis coach. And he's one of the, you know, nicest guys you'd ever meet, you know, he'd do anything for you. And I think that's what I appreciate most about him. And he, and again, going back to intensity, you know, one of the reasons why I like playing for him is he was intense, you know, he expected, he held us to a high, you know, the highest of standards, but he also held himself to the highest of standards. I got to play with him a lot at, you know, but this is just the college is, you know, one of those times in your life you're going to remember and he really wanted to make sure it was, he was impactful in making sure it was a memorable experience for us and it was that memorable experience. But he's just not your typical, you know, tennis coach, you know, he brought something different to the game. And I think that's where you have leaders, you have great coaches that they bring something different to the game. And that's what he, that's what he did. You know, I mean, he brought the game of tennis to us, but he also kind of brought the game of life to us, you know, what to expect when you get out of college and you get a job. And, you know, he has a wife and kids and all that kind of stuff. So he wasn't just a coach, but he was a mentor. And that's what really impacted me and something I really, I feel like I sought the approval of him as like a cooler older brother that I always, you know, looked up to. And not only just his tennis game, because I could never beat him one day, hopefully, when he gets really old and I'm not as old. But, you know, I hopefully will. But just in life, you know, he didn't just mentor with tennis, but with life and what his impact and in my life. And, you know, like I said, being one of my groomsmen, you know, he's been a part of my life for about 17 years. And that's, it's very exciting. From the class of 2000, it is my honor to welcome Brad Friedel into the Dick Watts Athletics Hall of Fame. It is absolutely outstanding to be home finally. After all these years, I'm back. It's been unbelievable seeing some of these familiar faces that I shared the athletic department with. Ms. Fran, Carol Zimmerman, Stephanie, Coach Raymer, Coach Adams. It's just been an absolute joy to be back here today and be a part of this amazing university. I can't help but stand here and not talk about the journey that I went on, being a part of the athletic department, the tennis program, the soccer program. So, I came in as a freshman as a soccer player, played in the fall season, came into the spring, Coach Adams was the coach of the tennis team, went out, went to practice, 7 AM practices, hitting balls after balls, feeding thousands of balls, we would hit every day. We got our first win against Caldwell College. I can remember that clear as day. You know, we weren't, and we really, we really enjoyed that victory. Let me tell you, we weren't the most humble group of individuals when we won that match. The next morning for practice, 7 AM practice, Coach Adams comes in, everybody on the line, like, wow, this is how we celebrate a victory around here. What's going on? So, we sprint, we sprint and we sprint and we backpedal to the baseline and we sprint to the net. And I'm telling you, people are dropping like flies. It's like somebody grabbed people's ankles from underneath that tennis court where you yank them down the ground. And there's all more people fall to the ground in my life on that team. But I wasn't going to go down. I was not going to fall. My leg was wobbling. I was shaking. I was moving back to the baseline, but I wasn't going to go down. And I'm sitting there and I'm like, why are we doing this? What happened? We just won our first collegiate match. And Coach Adams looked at us and said, it's the name of your jersey. It's isn't about you. It's isn't necessarily about the team. It's not about me, but it's about the name of the university of the college that you're representing. And that stuck with me. That stuck with me all four years that I was here playing. And transitioning into my sophomore year, the coach left for the soccer team, and they were building a fall and a spring season for tennis. And I'm like, there's something going on good with this tennis program. I want to be a part of it. So Coach Eventov came in and really took me to another level with my game. I mean, he was a university Maryland player division one. I mean, he really understood what it took to compete at a higher level. The team, sophomore and junior years, we weren't as competitive. Came upon my senior year that I was really debating whether or not I wanted to continue to play tennis. I was really considering actually going back and finishing my final year as a soccer player. And Coach Adams came to me, him and Coach Duncan. And he looked at me and he said, Brad, I'm going to do whatever it takes to make this final year of your senior season memorable. He's like, myself and Coach Duncan, we're going to coach this team. We're going to have players, we're going to have enough for a team for you to be out here to compete. And I looked at them and I believed them. And it was absolutely the best thing I could have did. We got into that fall, in the fall season, we played in the Catholic University tournament, which for me, I mean, not being in a conference, I mean, that was like our Super Bowl of tennis. Mary Washington, which was a powerhouse tennis university. Loyola, Maryland, St. Mary's College, they were all there and they had some outstanding tennis programs then. And I can remember, I was so excited waiting for the draw. I'm like, man, this is it. This is why I'm playing. I want to be out here. I want to compete. I want to show them what Villa Giulia is all about. And I got the draw and I got the, I think he was the number two player, but was playing number one that day, David Bristow. I remember his name. And I'm like, Mary Washington, this is what we want to do. This is why I'm out here. So I hit balls every night. I went to the tennis courts and just found people to hit with. I was like, I'm going to be ready for this tennis match. I want to represent my college. And that morning it was, it was probably barely above freezing. I got my warm-up pants on. I'm out there. The very, it was the first game. David Bristow, me and him, we're hitting forehand, backhand, cross court. It was a fantastic rally. It was like, I'm in this. I can compete with any of these guys. He lays probably the 25th ball. He lays this drop shot, barely over that. I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm on my horse, right? I'm like, there's no way this ball is going to bounce twice. I'm not losing this point. Rather than I wasn't going to get there. I wasn't going to lay out and be able to get to that ball. So instead, like most normal tennis players would do, I dove on a hard court in my warm-up pants in 32 degree weather and I laid there. And the first thing I did is I turned and I looked at David Bristow and he looked at me like, what are you doing? You are one crazy S-O-B. And then I hear, Brad, Brad, are you okay? I looked at my left and there's Coach Adams. And I'm like, yeah, Coach, I'm okay. Oh my gosh. I got up. My warm-up pants looked like I went into the woods and had a 12-round battle with a bear. I'm not kidding you. My pants were tore from the top of my leg down to the bottom. Blood was dripping from my knee, patched me up, went out there and played. I ended up losing 6-4-6-2. But the moral of that story is Coach Marty Dowd, who was very well known in the tennis community. He was the head coach at Catholic University. He put his arm around me and he said, Brad, he's like, you did yourself well today. You made that, you, the university is proud of you today. And that's all I wanted to do. That's all I wanted to do when I was out there playing tennis, is to compete and to represent this university the best way that I could. And the four years that I was here with the help of Coach Adams and Josh Eventol, getting me to the level that I needed to be, you know, I felt like that I gave everything that I could to this university because I owed it to the university to do that. You know, I would absolutely like to thank my parents, my father, who would always go out into a yard with me, no matter what the sport was, whether it was a soccer ball, baseball, driving me to the tennis courts, no matter what time of the night it was. He would always out there with me, throwing a ball, kicking a ball. I thank you for that. My mother, my biggest fan, she was my, didn't matter what I did. I think she would have been happy if I would have built Lincoln Logs for the rest of my life. She didn't care. But she was always in my corner, good or bad, did not matter. She said, Brad, I'm your number one fan, I'm your biggest supporter, I'll always be there. And I thank you for that. To my wife, who I met at Villa Jolie College, she used to come to my tennis matches all the time, would sit out there, would cheer me on, talk about motivation. You have this girl that you didn't want to necessarily know that, hey, I'm into this girl. But I want to keep it kind of like on the outskirts a little bit. I don't really want her to know that I really like her, but she was out there at all my matches. And after I graduated, I said, you know what was amazing was you came to all my matches and you supported me. And that was a great feeling. She said, Brad, I didn't know one thing that was going on in that tennis court. I didn't know if you were winning or losing or what the score was. I was like, well, that's even more amazing. That's unbelievable. That's fantastic. And eventually we got married. And we have two kids who are back there tonight, Braden and Callie, who I coach my son in soccer, and I train my daughter in soccer. And they are the most respectful kids. They give 100% effort all the time. They're always asking, daddy, can we go out and kick a ball? Can we do this? Can we do absolutely. I'm going to do the same for my kids that my parents did for me, because that's the least I can do. And that's what this university, what this college instilled in me. And finally, to my in-laws, thank you for allowing me to be a part of your life, for allowing me to be a part of your daughter's life. I know it's, I'm tough to get along with maybe at times, maybe I'm a little out there at times, but I do appreciate you. My father-in-law, when he said, yeah, you can, you can marry my daughter, I was like, oh gosh, this is, this could be, this could be a big downer. I'm going to, I'm building up, it's 10 years we've been dating. And finally my father was like, no, hell no, you're not going to marry my daughter. But he didn't, he backed me, and I appreciate that. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to stand up here, be a part of the Hall of Fame to all the inductees. Congratulations. I really appreciate the opportunity and being part again of the Outstanding University is the best time of my life. Thank you very much.