We were rained out today and will play tomorrow at 8am.  If we win, we will play again in the afternoon.  A tough task for sure for any of the teams advancing but I would certainly like to be advancing...

Nuff said...

Waiting...

Yes sir, more waiting.  Well, I guess not just waiting in general, but waiting to play our match.  Trying to find out if we are on time.

Actually had a little NCAA sponsored breakfast today.  Enjoyed some unripe fruit and murky coffee.  Did the trick.  Met up with a few of the guys that wanted some eats before the 9am cut off.  I must give props to good old coach Tarangioli who suggested a gym visit.  Thus, we went to get our workout on.  Oddly, as mentioned earlier, there is a $5 daily fee to use the hotel gym but we coughed up the cash.  I tried to charge it to the room of Lynn Coach Mike Perez but it was a cash only establishment.

In any case, the gym offers 360 degree views of the Ohio which made the treadmill a nicer experience.  Not that impressed with the weights and so forth but what can you do.

We will get a bit of a hit at the off site courts perhaps and then over for the match at 5pm...we hope.

You can follow along here I hope.  If not try this one and click on our match and then to live stats.

Off to Panera for lunch my friends.  I hope to have good news for you later.

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Another day down...

Another day in Louisville folks and I guess I just think it is time to get this thing started.  Lets play some tennis.  Of course, with our starting time of 5pm, which could be delayed, who knows if we will get on the courts at all.  I guess we could shorten the NCAA sanctioned 15 minute pre-match warm-up if we need to.

We had a nice day touring the area and learning a bit about legendary explorers Lewis and Clark and also York.  Also, over to Panera for lunch and a team's worth of cinnamon rolls.  We did indeed venture over to the Tom Sawyer courts for a 3pm practice.  However, the site is a bit of a hike from the hotel...not particularly ideal honestly.  As luck would have it, the NCAA actually let our entire team party of 11 step foot onto the site.  That is a win for sure.

The fellas look pretty solid and ready to battle versus Grand Canyon University.  I had a chance to watch our opponents play as they were also practicing at Tom Sawyer.  They looked very strong to me and this will certainly be a tough match.  I would not be surprised to see a 5-4 either way.  The one difficulty is that there are no lights at the site and given our late starting time, I worry that we may not get the match finished before darkness.  Who knows, maybe it won't be what I expect.

We crossed the Ohio river to Indiana for dinner at the Outback Steakhouse as per the players wishes.  Of course, after steak the night before, I was not ready to stomach another slab of cow.  Thus, I had the shrimp and a delicious sweet potato.  Not bad.

We had a brief team meeting to remind the players of what to expect and then off to the hotel atrium again for some mingling.  We were blessed by a cameo guest appearance by NCAA National Women's Coach of the Year Simon Earnshaw from Armstrong Atlantic.  Simon is always good for a good story or two and many laughs.  He has done a great job this year and really deserves any recognition available.  I can only hope that some day I am able to figure out how to achieve such success and how to distribute the "bags of cash".

Well it is definitely bed time for Bonzo.  Of course, I really do not need to rise early as I do not need to adhere to the NCAA breakfast schedule as I am still not credentialed.  However, I need some rest and I would like to get to the hotel gym tomorrow.  I may have to go to the ATM though as the Galt House hotel actually charges a daily or weekly fee to use the facilities...a great policy for an athletic national championship event full of athletes don't you think?

I look forward to the arrival of Ivan and Kathy of our Concordia athletic administration.  They are so helpful to us and really add to our chances of winning matches down here.  We will see them tomorrow.

Nuff said...

Good morning Louisville...

Rise and shine!

Well I am up.  Maybe the only one.  I finally got tired of touring the hotel and looking at the ceiling above my bed, which thankfully is clean (the ceiling and the hotel by the way).  So here is a post:

As mentioned, the hard-working coaching staff did head over to Morton's Steakhouse for a meal last night.  I think we deserved it.  Sadly, the NCAA does not allow for more than your traveling party of 9 to attend the opening ceremonies.  Thus, our players went to Churchill Downs without us as we have brought along 9 players.  Too bad for me as a huge horse racing fan but maybe another time.  In any case, the reviews were positive and those that were able to attend had a nice time.  We certainly ate well at Morton's and it helped to ease the disappointment.

We met up with coaches Schwartz and Tasso in the hotel atrium for the remainder of the NY Rangers game and enjoyed the fellowship and the 3-0 win for the blueshirts.  Glad the bartender, who resembles the lead singer for the popular 80's progressive rock band "The Thompson Twins", was able to find the game and actually say a few words.  He was about as sullen a fellow as you will find and probably better suited to be a night watchmen with no necessary human interaction.

The bed felt pretty good at the end of the day.  I had the room temperature down to about 63 F so a good sleep avec (French for with) ear plugs was had by me.  Again, no access to the breakfast as we only have 9 passes hence the hotel tour and search for some sustenance.

Let's see what the day has in store for us.  We plan to practice at the tournament site at 3pm so perhaps I will find the hotel gym for a workout.  Also, I would like to walk around the neighborhood and see what is out there.  I hope I will be let onto the tournament grounds by the NCAA.  Who knows...

Have a great day!

Nuff said...

Louisville

Well, we arrived safely and are ready to begin the quest.  A bit of an early start via Southwest Airlines as we were on the 7:30am flight to Louisville through Baltimore.  Of course, gone are the days of getting to the airport 20 minutes before departure.  As a result, an unfriendly 4:45 alarm this morning.

This was my first time flying Southwest and experiencing the no assigned seat policy.  However, not to worry, I was in group A, which is good, for both legs of the trip and found myself in the aisle and bulkhead.  Not too shabby Clipper fans.

We are staying in the Galt House, in downtown Louisville which overlooks the Ohio river.

We enjoyed a bit of lunch and then off to the practice courts.  We had to find our own accommodations as practice in not allowed at the tournament site until tomorrow.  We found courts at Central Park just a few miles away and were surprised to find very nice courts...far better that what we experienced at Merrimack.  Very nice temperatures today and pretty decent hitting.  We hit for about an hour and then vacated the courts to a patiently waiting Ouachita Babtist squad.  Had a chance to meet Coach Ward, a nice guy.

Tonight is the opening ceremony which will be held at Churchill Downs.  Unfortunately, the NCAA only provides for 9 team members.  Since we are travelling with 11 Coach Neil and I will not attend.  Perhaps we will take the opportunity to find the local Morton's for a meal on the college.  Sorry about that Ivan...

Ok folks, gotta go.  The rental van I was given has faulty brakes and the tow truck is coming to take it back to the airport.  The fine people at Enterprise will be leaving me with an alternate minivan.  Hope it is a good one.

It is great to be in the great state of Kentucky, home of your 2012 National Basketball Champion Wildcats.  I hope I do not get accosted as I wear my UK apparel proudly.

I will be back to you soon.

Nuff said...

Graduates

A hearty congratulations to our two graduates Dane Ostilly and Geza Bazula.  We are proud of you and wish you well in the future.  Of course, there is still some work left to be done on the tennis court but for now, celebrate your accomplishment.

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NCAA's...

Greetings Clipper fans...

It's that time of the year again.  It's time to get excited for another NCAA Championship quest.  We have qualified for the "Sweet 16" in Louisville, Kentucky (a town that I normally think poorly of due to my Wildcat allegiance). 

We will square off against Grand Canyon University in the round of 16 and expect a great match.  Clearly, our quarter looks like the most competitive of the four.  Click here for the bracket.

I look forward to blogging the event from today up until we hit our last ball.  Check back for updates daily.

All the best to my Clipper family.

Nuff said...

SBTB:NOW! Blog est.2001: BELL Coming Soon to MTV2

SBTB:NOW! Blog est.2001: BELL Coming Soon to MTV2: "Saved by the Bell" will premiere on it's new home MTV2 beginning on March 12! BELL will air weekdays beginning at 12pm with 4 episodes and ...

Flying Jason Quintana...

Live Updates...

Follow todays match on Twitter @ASSUTennis

A Win...

Finally we were able to get over the hump and tally a win versus Flagler. I was certainly happy to win but we still have much work to do. That being said, we are pretty tough to beat in certain spots. We will need the other positions in the lineup to progress to that level in the near future if we are to achieve our goals.

We continue to struggle in doubles and we seem to have difficulty playing at a high level and with intensity at #2 and #1. David and Andreas have found the good tennis and are a perfect 3-0 on the spring trip. I must admit that I am very surprised about our lack of success at #2. Dani and Geza are a heck of a team and should be winning. It is really up to the coaching staff to figure out what is going wrong and to correct it. We need that point day in and day out. #1 is a bit of a mystery. We simply have not been able to get a pair playing at a high level at the same time. They have done a great job competing with the best but have had trouble keeping the intensity level high for an entire match. We have seen opponents do just that and that has been the difference between winning and losing. I do believe that we have seen great improvement and it should continue. I have confidence in our guys and they are open to learn and hungry to improve.

Versus Flagler, we went down again early 2-1 after the doubles. Although this was not what we were looking for or expecting in our bounce-back effort, I did feel very confident that we would be able to win five, if not six singles matches.

As I mentioned, we are pretty tough in spots. Benas played very good first and third sets and really fought hard. He is representing himself well and is improving each and every day. Benas is a young man who works very hard on and off the court and has the right attitude to succeed. I could not be more pleased. He plays with energy and intensity and that is responsible for his solid play. It was nice to see him get a win. Dani was solid defeating his opponent rather easily at #2. Andreas continues to battle but could not gain a win in another close match. Once he adjusts to the out of doors, he will be a solid top of the lineup player. David is just a machine. He does not give opponents an inch and was able to win while surrendering only one game. He has been a very bright spot on the trip. Mark is working hard at #5 and was able to win routinely. He will have to continue to work hard on fitness and maintain focus throughout an entire match. I still believe that he will drop very few matches this season. Tomasz cruised to victory and is beginning to find his singles game. He certainly has the tennis ability to succeed and will be a very tough out when his conditioning and intensity match his ability.

When all was said and done, we won the match 6-3 versus a tough Flagler team. It was great to get a win and gain some momentum going into the Armstrong match. In my opinion, along with many other coaches, Armstrong is the best team in the nation and maybe one of the best teams we have seen recently in NCAA D2. They are really not easy to beat at any of the nine positions. However, I think that we will be ready to play our best match of the young season and will compete very well. I think that we may see some nice surprises on Friday. It is very important to have a strong showing. We feel that we are a better team than our play and results have shown and that we should really be 3-0. We are essentially just two points away from being undefeated. Of course the record is what it is and our opponents have done a better job on the big points. They have been tougher and have deserved to win.

There is some good news as Geza seems to be feeling better and may be ready to play singles at the top of the lineup. It will really help us to get him back in there and move everybody down a spot. I am sure he is ready to give us a big effort.

We have a practice day today and will continue to work hard on improving each day. I will be killing it at the gym and also looking forward to another run on the beach. It is funny how beach scenery makes a run much easier and more enjoyable. I will miss that when we return back to NY or at least until there is a Bronxville beach.

Nuff said...

Another Loss 5-4...

I am certainly sorry to report that we lost another close one at Rollins Tuesday 5-4. Just as versus ERAU, there were some good things to take away from the match but the bottom line is that this is a match we should have won and one we will have to start to win as we go forward.

Our doubles, although improved, seems not quite good enough to get the points that we need to be a success. Andy and David continue to win and really dominated their match. We were not able to secure a point at either #1 or #2 though. Benas and Tamasz are improving but still struggle with the doubles concepts. We also are having difficulty stepping up to seize the big points. They have been right there in every match but seem to blink in crunch time. At #2 we certainly expect to be successful with the talent and experience that we have. This has not yet translated into any wins however. Dani and Geza lost another tiebreaker and once again had match points. We are certainly beginning to understand what can make the difference between a win and a loss and that can be just one point in any of the 9 matches. As a result, we were down 2-1 after the doubles.

I fully expected that a 4 point singles rally was within reach. I really liked our chances at 4,5, and 6 and I was not wrong as we swept the lower spots in the lineup. However, we are still struggling at the top so far this season. Benas continues to play well but has run into very tough opponents. I believe that he will develop this season as he plays the top players in the country. Andreas had a very good match at #3 that went three sets but was unable to pull it out. Andy is playing well but has just not been able get wins yet. The real surprise for me was to see Dani get soundly defeated at #2. I thought that we were starting to see the real Dani and was expecting a good effort. We didn't see that on this day and that will be something to work on. If he can produce points for us in the top half of the lineup we will be ok this year.

The good news is that we have been able to play two good matches against two very good teams. This is great experience for us and will only help us to improve going forward. As I have said quite a few times, we just need to get better every day and we will be fine in May. That being said, we have played two winnable matches, matches that we were able to win last year and in the past. Lets hope that we can build something special in the near future.

We are off to Flagler at 2:30pm today. It is another windy one but I am sure that we are all accustomed to that at this point. We will need a big response today and I will be asking for nothing but maximum statement effort. I do not expect Flagler to give us the match as they have hit some hard times recently and will be looking to bounce back themselves. We shall see.

I will try to be back on twitter today as my phone battery allows. Either way, I hope to report a win later on today.

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ERAU...

Hello Clippernation,

Well it was a tough start for the team as we lost 5-4 in a longish match to Embry Riddle. Actually, the match was a bit similar to last year's contest but this time we came out on the short side.

To be honest, there were a lot of positives to take away from the match. Also, I learned many things about certain players and the team in general. I have not at all changed my opinion that we will be a very tough team in May.

The doubles has been an issue for the coaching staff all year and we know that ERAU always plays solid in pairs. I was happy to see Tomasz and Benas play with intensity. They were up against the #1 team in the NAIA so their effort was sound losing 9-8. It should only get better. I was mildly disappointed with #2 as Dani and Geza lost 9-8 as well. I would have thought prior to the match that this would be our best chance to score a point but it was not to be. We got broken 4 times in the match and this simply cannot happen going forward. If we are to be successful, this pair must pile up wins this season. We will need more aggressive play and a bit more intensity in the future. David and Andy were solid at #3 scoring a win 9-7. My only issue is that they must be able to finish when they get a lead. In all honestly, we could have won all three matches...or lost all three. However, this is why we come here every year, to get good competition and to improve.

The singles also produced some positives. Benas continues to be a solid #1. The kid is going to be a factor here at Concordia. He competed very well and his match was decided by only one break which was his first service game. What I like the most is that he is the only player on the team who came into the office and asked to play #1 singles. As a coach, you simply love that. Andy came up against a tough opponent stylewise but certainly competed to the end. Dani had little trouble at #3 and looks like the player we need him to be and seems to be feeling better physically. David was back to business. He simply does not give away any points. I really enjoyed his approach and opposing coaches always comment about his play. At #5 Mark had some trouble with the conditions but also showed tremendous will to win as he pulled out a win 7-6 in the third set. Once he gets his focus, he will be a tough out for sure. I really appreciated his increased willingness to do the work as the match progressed. If he improves his fitness and mental approach, which he will, I still believe that he will lead the team in wins this season. I was a little surprised that we didn't come away with the win at #6. Tomasz should really be a "lock" down there. He had a little trouble with his fitness and also the windy conditions. He simply provided too much charity. He did compete well and fought to the bitter end but we will really need more from him going forward.

We have a day off tomorrow and will practice some things to get ready for Rollins on Tuesday. This is a very important match that we will need to be ready for. I am sure that we will benefit from yesterday's competition and learn from our mistakes. I really believe that this is a team that has tremendous potential. We are so young and have little college tennis experience. We have a high ceiling and should get better with every match. I am looking forward to the match with Rollins as I will be excited to see if we get better. I also look forward to seeing Coach Bohrnstedt whom I really like as I do most coaches I meet. He does a nice job at Rollins and I enjoyed speaking with him in Alabama at the ITAs in the fall.

We arrived home at about 7:30pm and that left a little time to relax. Of course, Coach Neil spent some quality time in the hot tub which is always a solid move with a sun burn. It seems to be helping his ankle and achilles which is a good thing. I enjoyed a jaunt about the compound and talking with some of the retirees here at Ocean Gallery. There are folks here from all over and it is a pleasure to chat with them.

The fellas enjoyed some Texas Holdem for amusement only as per NCAA regulation of course. I am happy that the "bracelet" was won by me!!! Domination! I will be off to the gym for a nice workout and then to the beach for some cardio. I love being able to get some runs in here while enjoying the scenery. Of course, I sorely need it as Coach Neil keeps me eating meals all day long. That guy can really cook...and eat.

I'll be back.

Nuff said..

We are in limbo somewhat as the weather is not cooperating this morning. We are waiting to hear from the coach at ERAU to see what the playing conditions are. The rain has left us but we have heavy winds that may interfere. Of course, we strongly want to play as we have come a long way and at great expense for these good matches. Of course, it would not really do us any good to play through a tornado but we are hopeful.

Stay tuned. We hope to get on the way to Daytona shortly. Follow me on twitter for match updates through

Nuff said...