March 27, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -Each week throughout the 2014 spring season, we will feature a member of the No. 23 Penn State men's tennis team in our "Player Profile" series. This week, we feature senior Russell Bader (Austin, Texas). Bader is 15-2 in singles this spring, competing mostly at No. 2 singles. He is 22-6 overall and is currently in sixth place on the all-time wins list at Penn State with 89 career victories. Bader has paired up with Leonard Stakhovsky (Kiev, Ukraine)in doubles. The duo is 11-3 this spring and ranked 28th in the ITA Poll. Bader has 74 career doubles wins, good for third place all-time at Penn State. The Nittany Lions host No. 10 Illinois on Friday at 3 p.m. and No. 28 Northwestern on Sunday at Noon.
Major: Accounting
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Favorite place to go in your hometown: Rudy's BBQ
Siblings: Brother - age 26, Sister - age 24
Why did you come to Penn State? I originally looked into Penn State because of its reputation as a great academic school. I also wanted to go to a big school in a big conference where I would get to play against great competition and be a part of a big athletic program. When I took my visit to Penn State, the spirit of the school and campus blew me away and I told my parents when I got home to cancel my other recruiting trips because I was going to Penn State.
What are your plans after you graduate? I plan to graduate with a Masters in Accounting and return to Austin, TX to work at an accounting firm.
How long have you been playing tennis? I started playing tennis when I was 6 years old and played competitively till I was 12. At 12, I decided I wanted to quit tennis and play other sports for a while. I did so until I was in high school where I played on the high school varsity tennis team. My sophomore year I decided to start playing more competitively again as I had once done before and set the goal to play for a DI college team.
Nicknames: Badeski
Pregame rituals/superstitions: Nothing really, maybe just listening to some music and joking around with the guys. I try to stay relaxed and loose.
Hobbies: Fishing, Golf, Basketball, Card Games, Crosswords
Hidden Talent/Something people don't know about you: Not sure
Favorite place to eat on campus: The Mix
Favorite place to eat off campus: Chipotle
Favorite TV Show: Breaking Bad, Homeland, Game of Thrones
Favorite Cartoon Character: Peter Griffin
Favorite Movie: Gladiator
Favorite Actor and Actress: Denzel Washington and Natalie Portman
Favorite sport to play/watch(other than tennis): Basketball
Favorite team: Anything Penn State
Favorite non-tennis athlete: Stephen Curry
Who is the funniest person on the team? Matt Barry
What song do you listen to most? "The Man"- Aloe Blacc
If you were a rapper, what would your name be? Lil Badeski
How do you pass time on road trips? We usually will spend a small part of the trip sleeping or listening to music, but most of our time traveling is spent talking with one another on any range of topics. We love to hear stories from Coach Zinn's past and share with him some of our own stories.
What are you most looking forward to this season? I'm mostly looking forward to enjoying my last year of representing the great Penn State University every time I step onto the tennis court. I want to win matches for my team and see our program rise to new heights.