New Toy...

(click title "New Toy" for device information)

Nothing like a man and his new toy. I will certainly have lots of fun with this at practice, matches and during the team experience. Looking forward to sharing some video footage with you all soon.

Nuff said...

Food for Thought...

I always liked watching O.J. Simpson play football, act in the Naked Gun movies, and run through airports during rent-a-car commercials. Although I also think that he is a murderer, I really like one of his quotes that is listed along the sidebar of my blog.

"The day you take complete responsibility for yourself, the day you stop making any excuses, that's the day you start to the top."

Recently, I have been thinking quite a bit about some other points that have a similar subject matter:

1. What is happening TO you is really BECAUSE OF you.

2. Sometimes, the one who opens the wound is the healer.

Thoughts???

Nuff said...

Champions...

Click here for story.

Congratulations and well done.

Nuff said...

Singles 3rd, Doubles 4th...

Andrey won his third place match over Rong Ma of BYU Hawai'i 6-4, 7-5. Still some ups and downs but ultimately a victory.

Plenty of room for improvement for the team as a whole and the plan is for more off season practice and fitness within the NCAA regulations.

Flight back to NY late this afternoon.

Nuff said...

Thanks for playing...

The tournament says..."Thanks for stopping by."

Click here for updated draws. Consolation here we come. One last match in singles and a 5pm flight back home to NY and the land of sound dentistry.

See you soon.

Nuff said...

ITA Day 1 Results...

Some good some not so good...

Andrey struggled in his quarterfinal match versus an inferior opponent as he had a fair amount of trouble finding his strokes and the good mental focus. However, he was able to advance over Shikar Kapur of Bluefield State 5-7, 7-5, 6-1. Ultimately, Andrey's fitness and skill were able to turn the match midway through the second set and he never looked back.

Of course, we all know that we will need better tennis from Andrey if we are to advance deeper into the singles and doubles. This event (click here for draws) brings many of the top collegiate players in the country to Mobile, and to win, you must be at your best.

More good news as we defeated Rockhurst in the doubles quarterfinal 6-3, 6-2. We were pretty comfortable all the way through this one but really started to click at about 2-2 in the second set. The coaching staff was really earning their big salaries today and the players were playing much better doubles at the end of the match. BUT, would this carry over to the second doubles match of the day (semifinal) versus powerhouse Valdosta State?

The answer is essentially yes! The guys, in fact, played even better. Of course, the opponents were stronger as well so they needed to do so. We grabbed the first set 7-6 with a tie-breaker that impressed everyone watching. Jumping out to a 6-0 lead, we captured the breaker 7-2. The second set went VSU's way 6-2 which set up a 10 point super-breaker for a trip to the final. A few costly misses and some untimely double faults led to our demise and a berth in the third place match. I was happy with the effort and the improvement for sure. It looks like we are on our way to better things. However, there can be a fine line between winning and losing in tennis and we will need to get better and be able to win close matches like this one if we expect to return to the National Final 4 and beyond.

Next up today will be Andrey's semifinal match versus Eudaldo Bonet of Armstrong Atlantic at 10:30 local time followed by Andrey and Daniele playing doubles at 3pm versus ACU.

Lets hope today is a big day for Clipper tennis and we get some nice wins. I would sure like to return to my hotel room, coaches nachos, the one-ply toilet paper, and the 62 degree room temperature undefeated for the day.


Be well everyone and nuff said...

Day 1 Mobile...

5am start...kinda early for my taste! Parkway closed for paving...detour. No easy pass and traffic so arrived late for flight...learned that you must get to airport at least 45 mins before flight or else your bags do not get on flight. Rental car company has no cars available...they know how to take the reservation but not how to hold the reservation...and that really is the most important part of the reservation, the holding.

Well that was fun now wasn't it. In any case we arrived safely in Mobile, AL and checked in to the hotel. After some serious bargaining, we were able to claim two suites...not too shabby indeed. Much love to Nicole for setting us up tight.

We were over to the tournament site for check in and a brief practice. It is always a pleasure to catch up with some old friends/coaches as well.

SHARK!!!


We attended the banquet, which in my opinion, gets worse every year. Always a pleasure to talk with Ola and Yuliya from the women's team. A quick stop at the Fresh Market and now back to the suite. Gotta make it an early night as Andrey plays singles at 8:30am. In addition, we have doubles matches at 1pm and 5pm. I hope to report some wins tomorrow.

Up early for breakfast.

Be well and nuff said...

Stony Brook Final Results...

After a long weekend of tennis for players and coaches alike, your Clipper netmen were able to capture 4 of the 6 flights (1 of 2 doubles and 3 of 4 singles). For complete results in draw format click here.

It was a pretty good showing for the team however certain areas needing improvement showed themselves for sure. We really ask, expect and demand that the players give their best each and every time they take the court. We need this type of effort because each day is a day to improve and an opportunity to build for a championship. There were simply a few too many mental mistakes for my taste but I am still proud of the guys and their effort.


We will be off to Mobile, Alabama early Wednesday morning for the ITA National Small College Championships. Andrey will be playing singles and Andrey and Daniele will compete in the doubles. It will be nice to play versus the top players in the division and to see where we are in the scheme of things at this point. Also it is a good chance to further get to know the players and enjoy their company.

Nuff said...

Day 1 Results...

It was essentially a good day at Stony Brook as we advanced to the semis in 9 of 13 possible positions. All doubles teams advanced as well as 5 of 9 singles entrants. (Click here to view results in draw format)

There were several bright spots and a few disappointments for sure. The competition is somewhat weaker than I expected as NYIT is a first year team and Middlebury elected to bring the bottom of their lineup, which I think is a bad coaching move and also unfair to the other teams looking for good competition. Of course, all you can do is beat the player on the other side of the net.

We have a young team again with many first year players. Some are still learning the Concordia philosophy and what is being asked of them by the coaching staff. All in all a good day of tennis and we still have a chance to win 5 of the 6 flights.

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Early departure...

It's an early morning for Coach Dano. First, I am off to Bon Appetit to pick up the team breakfast order, which I know John will have ready on time, and next heading to Stony Brook for a full day of tennis.


Hope to do well. I will post the draws or a link to them when they become available.

Nuff said...

Team

Preparing for Stony Brook Invitational...

The team has turned its attention to the Stony Brook Invitational which is this weekend. We will be competing with 7 other schools representing several divisions. Others attending are NCAA D1: Stony Brook of course, Hofstra, Bryant and Sacred Heart...NCAA D2: NYIT...NCAA D3 Middlebury (2010 D3 National Champions)and Bowdoin.

I expect a long weekend as there is much tennis to be played. The format has 4 singles flights and 2 doubles flights. The first two rounds will feature 8 game pro-sets in singles and doubles with no-ad scoring. The semis and finals will be 2 out of 3 sets with a super-breaker for the third for singles and still 8 game pro-sets for the doubles.

I believe that we should do very well and and of course the goal is to win all 6 flights! In addition, this will be solid preparation for Andrey and Daniele as the ITA Small College Nationals are next week in Alabama.

With any luck we will have good weather for the weekend.

Nuff said...