the lines are still good

Follow the happenings of an animated college tennis coach and his teams in their pursuit of an NCAA National Tennis Championship. It is always the impressive trophy that is displayed for all to admire that gets the attention, but it is the journey to claiming that trophy, the relationships built, the people served and the memories created, that live forever...and what I hope you will find interesting...

Monday, June 27, 2011

Hey Bernie Tomic...


Gotta give a shout out to Bernie. I remember watching this guy beat the #4 seed in the Junior US Open, Fernando Romboli of Brazil back in 2007. He was 14 years old and maybe weighed 120lbs. We were surprised then that he won but I am not surprised to see him winning now.

Go Bernie.

Nuff said...

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Surgery Goes Well...


Good news! Surgery went well yesterday as the skilled Dr. Nicholas, who has served as team physician for the NY Jets and NY Islanders, was able to repair Coach Neil's Achilles tendon.

Of course, the surgery was the easy part. Now the hard road of rehabilitation begins. In general, there will be a period of non-weight bearing followed by a process of strengthening and stretching. All in all your coach should be mobile for the fall season and should be ready for 4.5 USTA tennis next summer.

In the meantime, you may see Neil zipping around on some sort of clipper blue scooter for more rapid ambulation.Join me in wishing Coach a full and speedy recovery.

Nuff said...

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

OUCH!!!


Everybody send your collective good thoughts to Clipperland as good old Coach Tarangioli goes in for his MRI exam today. Unfortunately, your Coach was injured last night during a USTA 4.5 match.

In only the fourth game of the match, your pal Neil hit his service return from the ad-court and like any good doubles player, began to follow his shot into the net. With that dynamic push off, he felt as though "someone hit me (him) in the back of my (his) lower leg with a tennis racquet".

That is never a good sign and usually means at least a significant strain of the calf/Achilles area. I certainly hope that a strain is all that this is and not a significant tear of the tendon or muscle which would likely require surgery and a fair amount of recovery time.


I will certainly keep you up to date with the process. In the meantime, do not hesitate to send off some well-wishes to Coach Neil. I know he would appreciate hearing from you.

Email Coach Neil: tuki_1@hotmail.com

Nuff said...

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Happy Father's Day...


I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the fathers out there a very Happy Father's Day. These well-wishes go out especially to the fathers of our current players that have let us borrow their sons for our tennis purposes. Also, I would like to extend greetings to all former Clippers that are now fathers themselves. It is always a pleasure to see so many of you throughout the year and I hope you all enjoy your special day.

I am pretty sure that if my own father, and former coach of the Clippers, were still alive today, he would want to have a good meal and spend some time with his grandchildren. He would probably splurge and order himself his annual Manhattan cocktail consisting of whiskey, vermouth, bitters and a cherry. I am not sure he actually enjoyed this Manhattan or it was just something that he did once a year for a reason he never shared. I tasted this drink once and found it to taste like I would suppose gasoline would. No thanks.

Have a great day all.

Nuff said...

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Clippers Sign Majauskas

Hello again Clipper family folks,

I am pleased to announce that Benas Majauskas of Lithuania has signed a letter of intent to join the team as a student athlete this fall.

Benas has extensive international tennis experience and will be expected to play at a high level here in Bronxville. He was a charter member of a group of solid players from an emerging tennis nation including practice partner Ricardas Berankis. As a 17 year old, Benas achieved an ITF junior world ranking of 367 before choosing to concentrate on academics rather than traveling for tennis. Benas will also be an asset in doubles as he has won two futures events with a partner.

For a quick look at his court work see below:



Join me in welcoming Benas to the Concordia family and wish him nothing but success during his time here.

Nuff said...

Friday, June 10, 2011

Olfans Signs...

Greetings Clipper fans!

In some summer good news, Tomasz Olfans of Poland has signed a letter of intent to attend Concordia in the fall. Tomasz joins the team and brings an exciting game to New York that will help continue the strong tennis tradition that you all have become accustomed to.

Tomasz also has extensive ITF junior and men's experience that will serve him well versus the top competition he will face at the NCAA II level. He has been ranked as high as #548 in the ITF junior world rankings, with limited events, defeating several players inside the top 200.

For a glimpse his game see below:



We look forward to having Tomasz here in Bronxville and competing once again for an NCAA II National Championship. Join me in welcoming Tomasz.

Nuff said...

Sunday, June 05, 2011

Perspective...


I am happy to report that the fine folks at Dell have finally fixed my computer and it seems to be functioning normally at this point. I hope that this good fortune continues for many years after the warranty expires.

During the time shortly after our third semifinal loss in as many years to Barry, I thought quite a bit about why we have not been able to get the job done, advance to the final and have a chance to claim the championship. In addition, I have been hot on the recruiting trail to bring in new players to assist next season. There will be five new players this fall.

As I look back on my twelve years with the team, it is easy for me to become frustrated with the fact that I never achieved my goal. It is often hard to remember the many good times. I came across a quote that really makes a lot of sense:

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."
- Anonymous

I encourage all of you to keep that smile and remember the good things. I will try hard to as well.

Nuff said...