Remember Assumption College???

I was perusing the ITA “latest results” web page when lo and behold, I stumbled upon a record for Assumption College. It seems as though the Greyhounds lost, a not so tight match, to Nichols College 6-3, a small NCAA III school not known for any sort of tennis prowess.

For those of you that are new fans of Clipper tennis, Assumption, for a decade under coach John Ippolito was a dominant force in the region. Of course, they were not only known for their tennis ability, but also for their thug-like act at the direction of their coach, who was a strong character for sure.

It is hard to believe though that it has been over four years since the Assumption team has been competitive. Indeed, after Coach Ippilito left, the program really is, well, not much of one. However, at one time, Assumption was where we wanted to be. They were always in the top few in the East Region, always conference champions, and always a threat to advance to the NCAA Final 16. Seems strange to uncover that the last time they did in fact advance to the National 16 was way back in 2002.

I am really kind of torn here. I really didn’t like the Assumption teams much. They were often abrasive, abusive, obnoxious, and downright unpleasant on and off the court. Truthfully however, there were indeed some players, like Sean Kenney, who was among the best in the country, that were always nice and respectful to me, but most of the others...not so much. In any case, like I said, I am torn. I miss the competition at the NCAA II level in our region. I miss Kuztown, Bloomsburg (although not the trips there and the subsequent weather), and yes, even Assumption. They set the bar of excellence in the region. They showed me what I needed to do to get to the top. There comes a point at which a competitive guy like myself gets tired of losing the big matches and needs to do something about it. So I did. Yet, if it wasn’t for Assumption and others, to some degree, our success, which clearly has risen to a level above our former competitors, may not be so plentiful. For this I am thankful.

It is a bit sad to see the Greyhounds at their current level. However, I bet that their conference rivals like Bentley and Merrimack relish the opportunity to beat up on them after so many years of the reverse. I suspect that, even for them, it will get old some day.

I hope that one day Assumption tennis gets back to a level of success. We could sorely use another major player/rival in the region. Under new direction and with new players, I am sure that sportsmanship is better these days on the courts for the Greyhounds. It is sad that the last time I saw Assumption was in 2007 at the East Regional final. We beat them 5-0 and advanced to the Sweet 16. In a disappointing display, the Greyhound players after the match, were calling us cheaters, insisting that I was using illegal players, and trying to instigate a physical confrontation. Yes, unfortunately, that is my last memory of Assumption tennis. Oh well, the future is bright at Concordia and who knows, perhaps also at Assumption

Nuff said...