A great season...

Hi again Clipperfans. I have some sad news to report. The ladies fell this morning to a terrific Hawai'i Pacific team 5-1. Yulia was the only winner at #3 singles as she continues to impress at the young age of 17. All other courts battled but the opponent was simply too tough today. I really believe that the ladies represented themselves and the college well today. They deserve respect for their efforts and I know that they will continue to get better and will be back in the Final 16 again next season. Great job to the entire team from coaches to players. Also, congratulations to Cristina on a wonderful college career and best of luck to you in your bright future.

Of course we also wish the best of luck to Hawai'i Pacific moving forward. As I mentioned in an earlier post, once you win a round, you are a threat to win the championship. I have been so impressed by so many of the young men and women participating in this event and the ladies from HPU are no exception. Congratulations! Also, nice to meet the rest of the Pampulov family today. Thanks for spending a few moments with me.

There is a nice buzz around the event grounds today. There seems to be quite a nice level of passion about. I like to look around and see the players, parents, friends, family, staff and administrators all with some sort of passion for the game of tennis and the student athletes that they are here to support. These sorts of championship events really bring out emotions...both good and bad I suppose. I guess I believe that the best thing to do is to take care of your own business, give your best, and let the rest take care of itself. I always chuckle a bit when I see some others get involved with nonsense about player eligibility and other negative sentiment concerning another team and or coaching staff. This is truly an event to be enjoyed and hopefully to store away many fond memories, not to induce stress and hard feelings. Well, that is my plan anyway, we shall see.

Turning the page, we will travel to a local facility to get a short hit in prior to the match. It is a hot day so we don't want to spend too much time and energy on the practice court for sure. Most matches seem to be going along according to plan and time. As a result, I expect first serve to be at 4pm. If you want to check in on the match, their will be live footage at NCAA.com.

Lastly, please join me in praying that there will be no injuries today to any of the student athletes and that everyone has a great time and does their best.

That's all I have for now. Be well everyone.

Nuff said...

We are here...

We made it to Orlando safe and sound. After a slight delay courtesy of the fine folks at Jet Blue, we landed and secured our rental van. A thirty minute ride to the Hilton (which I hope to receive mega Hilton Honors points for incidentally) and a little unpacking to do before we will change clothes and grab a bite to eat.

Off to the practice courts at 4pm, which will be our match time Wednesday. Gonna be a hot one out there.

Was nice to meet Coach Pampulov of Hawai'i Pacific this afternoon. The Clipper ladies play HP in the first round...

More to come later.

Nuff said...