Too Much Excitement...

Good morning friends. Sorry about the delay in posting but the schedule has kept me busy and in need of some relaxation time.

Great news to pass on again! We were able to defeat an improved and very strong Flagler team yesterday 5-4 (boxscore) in another thriller. We have had the better of Flagler these last few seasons after twenty some years of losses at the hands of the Saints and coaches Shinn and Peter Scott in the earlier years.

This time, we had our work cut out for ourselves. Anyone who knows sports is aware of how hard it is to bounce back and play well after an emotional and physical victory such as our six hour win over ERAU Tuesday. The coaching staff was unsure of what to expect out there versus Flagler but were still cautiously optimistic.

When we arrived, it was evident that Flagler was excited and pumped up for the match. They have had a strong start to their season and certainly have reason to be confident. We started the doubles a bit flat and fell behind early. We just never got it going at #1 and #3 and lost those matches somewhat easily. Flagler has a strong #1 and we could not afford to be anything but at our best. However, at #3, we just, well, stunk up the joint. David was showing early signs of fatigue after his long match the day before and Andreas had not yet found his good tennis and confidence. As a result, we were quickly outclassed 8-3. Tamas and Geza kept us in the match with a win at #2. Certainly a match needed if you want to have any chance in the nine point format.

Needing four points to win the match, we started the singles. We felt confident in three spots but were not sure where the fourth (or fifth and sixth) would come from. Indeed we were able to capture #2, #4 and #6 to go ahead of the Saints 4-2. However, we were behind on all remaining courts. David was fighting hard but just didn't have anything left in the tank today. Also, his opponent was not helping his cause as he was rock solid. As a result, Flagler amassed their third point here at #3. Andrey had lost his first set and was playing a top ten ranked opponent in the NCAA II. He did manage to battle back but eventually lost his contest 7-5 in the third set. Andreas was down early as well and things were not looking so good for us. However, he was able to find his confidence and pulled out what was the match of the day 7-5, 7-5. This was so important for Andreas who has been struggling to find his good form. His opponent was very tough and was one of the best hustlers I have ever seen on the court. If Andreas did not play well, he would not have been able to give us our fifth point. Thankfully he did. All in all another great college tennis match. Flagler was very impressive. They are a strong team and a class act for sure. Win or lose, always a gracious and hospitable Coach Shinn as well and I thank him for that.

Also, always a pleasure to catch up and visit with friends Elden and Debbie Kamla who live in the St. Augustine area. The Kamla family is familiar to Concordia as Elden was head men's basketball coach and AD at the college in the 1980's. They are always very generous and supportive of our team and we certainly appreciate their friendship. I also appreciate their loyal blog following. We love coming to Florida each spring and they are one of the reasons we enjoy the week so much. Many thanks.

Today we are off to the Winter Park to play #6 Rollins. This is a big one for us and a great opportunity to move up in the rankings. Rollins is very tough and will be playing in front of their home fans. We will have to be at our best once again to win this one. For some reason, I am pretty confident. I have been impressed with the team so far and just hope that the consecutive matches is not too much for them. We shall see. If you are in the area, stop by for the match at 2pm and say hello.

Nuff said...