Derek Stephens, a senior on the men’s tennis team, has more to offer than just his skills on the court; he also has a passion for music just like his father, Robert Stephens. In addition to being an inspiration for his music passion, Robert Stephens has also been Derek’s coach.

“My dad is a tennis pro and my coach for my whole life,” Stephens said. “My dad was actually in a rock band too. That’s why we lived in L.A. when I was younger.”

Stephens also has taken the musical route, playing guitar in bands from time to time. According to senior Jay Weinacker, who has known Stephens since they were 14 years old, Stephens is really close to his dad.

“Derek talks to his dad about all the stuff he’s going through,” Weinacker said. “He relates the best to Derek because he’s been working with him the longest. They have a good relationship.”

Born in California, Stephens moved to Charlotte with his family for the majority of his adolescent years, where he was coached by his dad who is the Director of Tennis at Pine Lake County Club.

Stephens decided to play professional tennis, yet a back injury held him from the pro-circuit, which is when he picked up music full-time. Once better, he then went to the University of Tennessee to play tennis for a year and a half before transferring to N.C. State.

“I wanted to come back in-state,” Stephens said. “But there’s more to it than that. I had a few issues with the new coach. We tended to butt heads.”

Stephens became part of the Wolfpack in 2007-08, with lots of experience under his belt, something that coach Jon Choboy said he really liked.

“He has a lot of experience,” Choboy said. “It wasn’t like he was a freshman coming in, so you benefit from that quite a bit.”

On the court, Stephens has been an asset to the Wolfpack, especially when he plays outdoors, according to Choboy.

“His game style, as we head outside, is really tough to play against,” Choboy said. “This is his time of the year that we are counting on him a lot.”

Stephens said he credits his outdoor momentum to his father’s coaching, which was always outside.

“My dad’s club only had clay courts so that’s what I’m best at,” Stephens said. “Also I can get into a really good rhythm outside, which is something I can’t really do indoors.”

According to Weinacker, Stephens helps bring a lot of energy and passion to the team.

“He’s really vocal out there,” Weinacker said. “He’s really positive and you can feel a difference when he’s not on the court.”

Stephens said his energy comes from his passion for the sport.

“I feel like I can’t play well without being really passionate,” Stephens said. “It’s easy to be fired up when I’m on the court next to Jay Weinacker or even Christian Welte because they get really into it too — we all kind of feed off each other.”

As one of the three seniors on the team, along with Weinacker and Welte, when Stephens is in the lineup he brings a lot of comfort to Choboy.

“It’s great having three seniors. You feel comfortable sending out seniors into the lineup,” Choboy said. “You can’t replace that experience, you benefit from it as you go along. I’m just excited about this time of year for Derek and what he can do for us.”

This summer, Stephens plans to move to Spain and try playing professionally.

“I’d like to go out there and give it my best,” Stephens said. “[I’ll] just see how it turns out.”