Quarters...

Smooth sailing everyone. We started strong versus BYU Hawai'i 5-0 (click here for box score) to open up the tournament. I must admit that I was a little concerned about BYU as they had really been playing well coming into the event and are ranked quite a bit lower in the rankings from where they should be. In addition, I was unsure if the fellas were going to be able to play well right out of the gate as we had not played a tough match for a while; one with so must importance.

Thankfully, the players were sharp. They started strong, and for the most part, did not take the foot of the pedal so to speak. I was very impressed with our doubles play which will certainly be a major factor in how we do the rest of the way. Tamas and Andreas played with great energy and focus and cruised to an 8-1 victory. It was very gratifying to see all three courts making the good decisions. I have been preaching, begging, yelling and using a few other tactics with some success during the season but today the team showed that they do listen...sometimes. Great job! When we play with energy, focus and make the good decisions, we are tough to beat.

After the doubles sweep, the two needed singles points came from familiar places. As usual, Tamas and Andreas at #5 and #6 came through with the wins. However, most everyone else was in command as well. I certainly could not have asked for a better start to the tournament and I hope we can continue along the path to the prize. It is not going to be easy as next up today is St. Edwards University at 1pm. I expect temps to be up well into the 80's today again and that sun is hot on a tennis court, even for the coaches.

You can follow us online at NCAA.com for live footage and scoring. With a win today we will advance back to the "Final Four" for the second year in a row. Maybe that would earn us a decent ranking this time (sarcasm intended).

Welcome to Kathy and Ivan who made the trip last night to take a seat on the Magic Bus (or as the coaching staff from Armstrong Atlantic calls it...the "Clipper Fun Machine" for the rest of the tournament. Nice to have you. See you on the courts.

Be well everyone.

Nuff said...