Sweet Home Alabama

Such an important event but a strange place to have it. Yes Clipper tennis fans, we have traveled in a small group "back down to Mobile" (Alabama) for the ITA National Small College tournament as Dani Piludu will represent the region in the singles draw.

We took off yesterday after an hour or so wait on the tarmac courtesy of our friends at Delta airlines and LaGuardia airport while on an airplane sporting a sub 60 degree temperature...not to mention the somewhat overly friendly male flight attendant. We did arrive safely in Atlanta and then on to Mobile after a short walk to change terminals. I wish I had some extra time in Atlanta as my old childhood friend is hospitalized in the Atlanta area with a recent cranky appendix removal. In any case, I hope he is on he mend.

After a quick repast at Panera Bread, it was off to the hotel to check in, change into tennis whites and then off to the event site just 10 minutes away. This is the first time we have traveled to this event with only a singles player which means that yours truly is responsible for hitting with Dani for his warm up. I have not been hitting so much and am not moving so swiftly around the court. I can only hope that Dani is finding the hitting at least somewhat beneficial. I may be the first person ever to consider seeking a trainer at the event even before it officially started.

I am up earlier than the others as usual but soon I will provide my own version of a wake-up call to the fellas so that we can ready ourselves and head down to the complimentary breakfast buffet. Dani's match time is 10:30am. I will certainly report the result as the match concludes or you can follow along with me on twitter.

Feel-free to send your well-wishes to Dani here in the comment section of this post or send a shout-out on Facebook. I know he would appreciate the support. I think he has a real shot to win this tournament but it will not be easy as there are several capable entrants.

Nuff said...

Singles 3rd, Doubles 4th...

Andrey won his third place match over Rong Ma of BYU Hawai'i 6-4, 7-5. Still some ups and downs but ultimately a victory.

Plenty of room for improvement for the team as a whole and the plan is for more off season practice and fitness within the NCAA regulations.

Flight back to NY late this afternoon.

Nuff said...

ITA Day 1 Results...

Some good some not so good...

Andrey struggled in his quarterfinal match versus an inferior opponent as he had a fair amount of trouble finding his strokes and the good mental focus. However, he was able to advance over Shikar Kapur of Bluefield State 5-7, 7-5, 6-1. Ultimately, Andrey's fitness and skill were able to turn the match midway through the second set and he never looked back.

Of course, we all know that we will need better tennis from Andrey if we are to advance deeper into the singles and doubles. This event (click here for draws) brings many of the top collegiate players in the country to Mobile, and to win, you must be at your best.

More good news as we defeated Rockhurst in the doubles quarterfinal 6-3, 6-2. We were pretty comfortable all the way through this one but really started to click at about 2-2 in the second set. The coaching staff was really earning their big salaries today and the players were playing much better doubles at the end of the match. BUT, would this carry over to the second doubles match of the day (semifinal) versus powerhouse Valdosta State?

The answer is essentially yes! The guys, in fact, played even better. Of course, the opponents were stronger as well so they needed to do so. We grabbed the first set 7-6 with a tie-breaker that impressed everyone watching. Jumping out to a 6-0 lead, we captured the breaker 7-2. The second set went VSU's way 6-2 which set up a 10 point super-breaker for a trip to the final. A few costly misses and some untimely double faults led to our demise and a berth in the third place match. I was happy with the effort and the improvement for sure. It looks like we are on our way to better things. However, there can be a fine line between winning and losing in tennis and we will need to get better and be able to win close matches like this one if we expect to return to the National Final 4 and beyond.

Next up today will be Andrey's semifinal match versus Eudaldo Bonet of Armstrong Atlantic at 10:30 local time followed by Andrey and Daniele playing doubles at 3pm versus ACU.

Lets hope today is a big day for Clipper tennis and we get some nice wins. I would sure like to return to my hotel room, coaches nachos, the one-ply toilet paper, and the 62 degree room temperature undefeated for the day.


Be well everyone and nuff said...

Day 1 Mobile...

5am start...kinda early for my taste! Parkway closed for paving...detour. No easy pass and traffic so arrived late for flight...learned that you must get to airport at least 45 mins before flight or else your bags do not get on flight. Rental car company has no cars available...they know how to take the reservation but not how to hold the reservation...and that really is the most important part of the reservation, the holding.

Well that was fun now wasn't it. In any case we arrived safely in Mobile, AL and checked in to the hotel. After some serious bargaining, we were able to claim two suites...not too shabby indeed. Much love to Nicole for setting us up tight.

We were over to the tournament site for check in and a brief practice. It is always a pleasure to catch up with some old friends/coaches as well.

SHARK!!!


We attended the banquet, which in my opinion, gets worse every year. Always a pleasure to talk with Ola and Yuliya from the women's team. A quick stop at the Fresh Market and now back to the suite. Gotta make it an early night as Andrey plays singles at 8:30am. In addition, we have doubles matches at 1pm and 5pm. I hope to report some wins tomorrow.

Up early for breakfast.

Be well and nuff said...

National Doubles Champions

(click here for championship draw)

Mobile, AL

Alex Grubin and Andrey Boldarev won the ITA/NCAA II National Doubles Championship and will be ranked as the #1 doubles team in the NCAA II. This is the first National Doubles Championship for the Clipppers. Alex won the National Title in singles back in 2007.

Coaches Rockhill and Tarangioli traveled to Mobile with the players and a good time was had by all except for the below normal temps just reaching 60 degrees when it should have been in the 80's. Of course, I still had the AC on full blast thus doing away with all free radicals in the suite and forcing Coach Neil (or as it was written on the hotel reservation, Coach Greg), into his tent of 10 blankets on the floor for his night's rest. This does drown out the snoring a bit...thank God.

The fall season is now over and the guys will be getting ready for final exams and taking a nice break from the courts for the most part. As for me, I am looking forward to some additional free time and getting back into the gym.

Also, I am on the recruiting trail looking for one more player for next semester. With the right addition we should be able to make a solid run at the NCAA II Team Championship in May 2010. When I started at this I had three major goals in the athletic area: 1. To win the National Championship in singles 2. To win the National Championship in doubles and most importantly 3. To win the National Team Championship. So far 2 of 3 have been accomplished. Keep the faith everyone!

That's it...nuff said.