Recruiting...

Hello Clippers folks,

It's been a bit of a roller coaster ride this off season as big changes are in store for the rosters next season...

On the men's side of things we graduated David Tisserand, Andreas Lindell and Andrey Boldarev.  These fine young men greatly contributed to our success during their tenure here at Concordia and will certainly be difficult to replace.  Each have seen at least two NCAA "final-fours" and Andrey reached this milestone all four of his years.

Luckily we have two players already here on campus that will step right in and we expect them to have a similar impact to that of those recently departed.  There will also be others joining the roster that will be announced in the near future and I look forward to sharing that shortly.

The women's picture will be significantly altered as the core of our roster will not be returning to our squad in the fall.  Of course, we graduated Yuliya Plevako, Ana Mendes, and Camilla Xavier and they will be missed.  In addition, Estelle Fougeray, after a super first year in Bronxville,  has decided to give medical school a shot back in her native France and we wish her the best of luck.  Luisa Candido will certainly be missed as she has opted for a transfer to another university.  Lastly, Zi Ling has also left Concordia to attend another university.

Clearly, there is much work to do and I have been doing it...or at least trying to do it.  Losing too much sleep actually.  It's just not easy to replace so many players all at once.  However, not to worry my friends of the Clipper ship, we will be just fine when school starts this fall.  Final roster additions are expected and I hope that everything is completed in a few short weeks.  I look forward to sharing the final rosters with you as soon as possible.  I really think you will all be very proud of your new Clippers and will have quite a bit to be excited about going forward.

Nuff said...

Arrivals...

It's always an exciting time.  With the advent of the spring semester just days away, new additions to both teams will be arriving on campus tomorrow.  It's really the culmination of the recruitment process.  After much effort, paperwork, email, phone calls and so forth and so on, new players, who hopefully will be contributing to Concordia tennis, both immediately and for years to come, will finally begin their journey in Clipper blue.

This is the first time we have welcomed so many players in January...four in total.  Both men's and women's team will welcome two new players tomorrow.  Ordinarily, I do not like to add so much for the spring semester as I prefer to recruit student athletes for the fall.  It just seems to work better in total.  However, this time it worked out like this for some reason.  We had the opportunity to bring in a quality of player that was simply too high to pass up. 

We have always had a strong international flavor on both teams and these four new additions are no different.  Specifically, we will add players from Sweden, Slovakia, Brazil and Israel.  This is the first time for Clipper tennis to welcome players from said Slovakia and Israel and I will certainly enjoy learning about their heritage and culture while they are here in NY.  While playing, I spent some time in the Holy Land but never made it to Bratislava.  I suppose that the only time I think much about Bratislava is while watching the movie Eurotrip when the group of characters were mistakenly taken to the Slovakian city in error while hitchhiking.

I look forward to finally meeting the players tomorrow and also sharing more about them with you shortly.  I know that you will be thrilled with their tennis and what they will contribute to our success.  Stay tuned for the official announcements forthcoming with player profiles and video footage.

Nuff said...

Summer Greetings...

I hope that all of you are enjoying your "summer break". I certainly have been enjoying a bit of the small ball as I have been privileged to get out on the golf course several times with former Clippers Rohan Malhotra, Neel Roy, and Doug O'Connell. Unfortunately, my game has not rounded into form just yet but it is nice to have the opportunity to enjoy the out of doors and catch up with members of the Clipper nation.


In other news, Tomasz Olfans has joined us in Bronxville and has attended summer orientation. Tomasz is really going to be a factor in NCAA II and he is ready to contribute immediately.

Also, Coach Neil continues his recovery and has now been removed from his cast and placed into a less restrictive brace that allows for more movement and the introduction of physical therapy. The somewhat apprehensive patient will be sure to progress quickly and hopefully be weight bearing fully in the near future.

In other good news, all tennis coaches have taken and passed the NCAA Recruiting Exam for the 2011-2012 season. This is good to get this accomplished on the first trial.

With any luck the players are looking to improve on their season ending NCAA II National Ranking of #4. For this to happen there needs to be plenty of hard work including summer fitness and on court improvement. If the players have been and continue to do so, good things will happen for the team. If not, well...not good for anybody.

Share the good! Feel free to report any good things that are going on with you. Share your comments in the comment section of any blog posts, send me an email at danabolics@aol.com, send me a tweet on twitter, or send me a facebook message.

Have a great August and be well.

Nuff said...

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...

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...

Player Arrival...

I am happy to report that our four new players have all arrived in Bronxville safely and have started to settle in at the college through the orientation process. Certainly, this is quite an adjustment for these young men as they travel far away from their homes, friends and families to Concordia, NY. As a coach, I am mindful of this adjustment period and know how it can affect the student athlete. We are glad to have them and hope that they all have a tremendous and meaningful experience while here. Of course, I know that they will enjoy the US Open which begins Monday at the nearby USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, NY.

I look forward to coaching these new fellas as well as welcoming back the returning players. It is always exciting to see the fruits of the recruiting process on the court. The energy is pretty positive as I think we have improved and should continue our strong quest for the NCAA Championship.

In other news, I was able to meet up with former Clipper and current spiritual advisor to the ATP players, Pastor Bob Kraft, last night for an insightful conversation over a cup of coffee. It was nice to welcome Pastor Bob back to Concordia and also to learn about what he does for the young men and women traveling on the tour. You can catch up with Pastor Bob by clicking here (Tennis Ministry). Pastor Bob has been able to combine his love for tennis and his life dedicated to Christ into a valuable service for the touring players. You can find him at most events as he travels from tournament to tournament worldwide. I pray for Pastor Bob and his family in Hong Kong and hope he is able to continue his service going forward.

I must admit that I am excited for the upcoming fall non-championship season. It will be great to see what level we are at and to get a glimpse of what is to come next spring. Our first fall event will be the ITA Small College East Regional Sept. 18-20. This is an event with all of the regional schools participating in an individual singles and doubles draw. The winners advance to Mobile, Alabama for the National event and a chance to be crowned National Champion. Last fall, Andrey Boldarev and Alex Grubin indeed captured the doubles #1 ranking and Alex Grubin is a former National Champion of the singles. I always enjoy my trips to Alabama, well at least the tennis...
Practice begins next week and I will post on this soon.

Be well and as always,

Nuff said...