Final Four...

Well folks, we did it. We advanced to the Final Four for the second consecutive year. Quite an achievement for us. I hope that this year we are rewarded for such an accomplishment. That being said, there is still more work to do. We are hungry to advance to the finals and also all the way to the title. Hey, why not us?

We defeated St. Edwards University 5-1 this afternoon and continued to play the good tennis. Although we did not play as well as yesterday in the doubles, we were still able to take two of three from a doubles savvy SEU squad. All doubles matches were closely contested and came down to just a few points. In the end, we handled the big points better and perhaps were even a little lucky in some spots.

As the attention turned to singles, we essentially dominated the action. Andrey, Alex and Andreas defeated their opponents with little difficulty. When the action ended, we were once again substantially ahead on all courts. Congratulations to the fellas on another great match and also to St. Edwards on a great season. I really like that SEU coach. He approaches his duties with energy and emotion and is certainly excited to be a part of his team. I wish more coaches brought his passion to the court. I even saw him literally give one of his players the shirt off of his back. Of course, I wish he had not suggested that he would like to fight me at one point during the doubles. I guess at times the heat of competition clouds judgement.

In any case, we have a rematch versus Barry tomorrow at 1pm. Barry ended our season last year and also beat us badly in early March. However, we and they are completely different teams now and I expect another war similar to last year's semifinal.

After our match today we spent some time relaxing at the pool. The players always seem to be ready to eat so after the refreshing swim we gathered everyone at Kobe for a Japanese meal. Always great fun to have the women's team join us in fellowship. We had a little fun in the hotel lobby and now it is off to bed for some much needed sleep. Gees, only six more hours to wait for the breakfast buffet...YES!!!

I think we have a great shot to win tomorrow but it is not going to be easy. I hope the players believe as well. WE CAN DO IT!

Nuff said...