CACC Women's Champions

Well the above title essentially speaks for itself. The CACC Championship stays in the trophy case here in Bronxville as the women won their third championship in as many years since joining this conference.

In the semifinal match, the ladies defeated Holy Family 5-0. Clearly, this is a one sided score but this was actually a long match. In fact, the match at #1 doubles was a two hour affair that we eventually won in a tiebreaker 9-8. The Holy Family team really came to play and was not going to simply let us have the match without working. Luckily, the ladies were well prepared and were hungry to move on to the finals versus Goldey Beacom College.

The final match was a bit more complicated for sure. The team was pretty confident as we had defeated GBC earlier in the season 6-3. However, GBC was without two of their starting players in their top six that day and thus would be stronger this time around. The coaching staff knew that the doubles would be vital today and we were really hoping for a 3-0 sweep. We were well aware that Goldey has some tough singles players and that it would be difficult to dominate there. Luck was on our side and again we achieved our goal of winning all three matches. Once again, the number #1 match was a marathon which lasted close to two hours that we again won in a tiebreaker 9-8. Big props to Yuliya and Clara for their toughness. With the 3-0 lead and the subsequent confidence, we split the next four singles matches and won the match 5-2.

I am really glad that the CACC Championships were played last weekend and not this weekend as it is easier to blow the leaves off of the courts than to shovel snow off of them. Who knows what Coach Stroble would say about that...


I am really proud of the ladies for what they accomplished this year. Clearly, they were placed in a tough position with the former coach abandoning the program after the start of the season and without notice. Also, it was not easy for them to play an entire season without any new players or any reserve players while also adjusting to a new coaching staff with a new philosophy. We really stressed the importance of the doubles and focused much of our practice time in that area. As a result, the team rewarded us with a cumulative 29-1 dual match record in doubles.

When I first was approached with the idea of getting involved with the women's team, I was a little uncertain of what would be to come. However, I thought that Coach Neil deserved a little help. I am really proud of what Neil did for this program and these young women, He stepped up and provided the team with the experience that they deserved. I really think that he did a remarkable job and should be considered for the regional coach of the year for his efforts.

I believe that the future is bright for the Clipper ladies as I have witnessed tremendous improvement with the players. There will also be help on the way with new members in January. It is not quite as easy to recruit for the women but I will apply painstaking effort to build this team into a nationally recognized program. I am not sure what my involvement will be beyond recruiting but let's see.

Nuff said...