CACC Spring All-Academic Team

The CACC has announced its spring All-Academic team (click here for full press release). This year Clipper Andrey Boldarev is one of eight tennis athletes in the conference to be honored. An athlete is recognized if he/she achieves a GPA of 3.5 or higher for the academic year and has attended the member institution for at least two years. According to conference figures, Andrey qualified with a 3.6 for the year. Congratulations to Andrey who excels both on the court and in the classroom.

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All-America Teams Announced...

The 2010 All-America teams have been announced highlighted by the ITA/NCAA II Senior Player of the Year Alex Grubin (click here for the press release).

Congratulations to those named.

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Enjoy the ride (press the play button)...

Nothing to do with tennis...

What a shame...

I don't know if you recall my 11/9/09 post titled "It's official" concerning the poor officiating that seems to be so omnipresent in the world of sports these days or if you watched last night's Cleveland vs. Detroit baseball game. Sadly, last night I witnessed a tremendous injustice where an umpire simply stole a once in a lifetime moment from a professional athlete. Something must be done!

So sorry Armando.

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Final Rankings...

The Final NCAA II National Rankings (June 2, 2010) have been released and your Concordia Clippers are included in the top 10 (click here for complete rankings). In my heart of hearts, I believe that we are better than several teams ranked ahead of us but it is what it is. Next year we will have more competition against the nation's elite and will have a solid chance to be ranked higher.

Alex Grubin finishes the year at #4 in singles and Andrey Boldarev at #29. Alex and Andrey also finished the 2010 campaign at #4 in the doubles. These are no small accomplishments for these fine young men and both should be congratulated.

In addition, Alex is named as All-American in singles and doubles whereas Andrey is named All-American in doubles.

What a great year. I hope we have some more and new names in the rankings next season.

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Update...

Just a little update for you folks...

Our pal Craig Schwartz came up on the short end of the scoreboard today. He and his partner lost to the #1 seeds in a close third set match tiebreaker (click here for draw sheet). As you may know, a match tiebreaker is played in lieu of a third set in doubles on the tour.

Keep going Craig. We hope you have better luck in your next event.

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News and notes...

Just a few odds and ends for you crazy Clipper fans:

Wednesday marks the beginning of the Westchester Open being played at Lake Isle Country Club. Andrey Boldarev is entered. Results will be posted when available.


Queens College (NY) coach Craig Schwartz is out in California participating in the Ojai Challenger. Craig is entered in the Qualifying Draw of the doubles with partner Michael Rubin. They will be taking on the #1 seeded partnership of Conor Pollock and Michael Venus tomorrow June 1st. Check back for results.

I am heavily hitting the recruiting these days. It is not going to be easy replacing Alex Grubin who essentially is irreplaceable...or is he? Stay tuned for signing announcements and to find out who your newest Clippers will be this fall.

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Horrendous...

Yes folks "horrendous" that is the word that comes to mind at this particular junction. Why Coach Dano you ask??? Well Coach Dano just humbly spent a couple of hours on the tennis court and the word horrendous just about sums it up.

Tennis is truly a great sport. Moreover, it is a lifelong sport. Anyone can enjoy tennis at any level correct? Wrong! Not me. Honestly, I have been away from the practice court for far too long and to close to the buffet table far too often. Also, Ben & Jerry's / Mr. Softee...yummy. I remember when I was practicing with the team at least three days per week as my hospital schedule allowed. I remember practicing in the early morning with Roddy Teixeira before work in preparation for old man USTA 35 and over tournaments, wining several. I remember throwing severe beatings to Borrelli when he was playing #1 singles at Concordia. My how things have changed.

I am pleased to report that current Clipper Andrey Boldarev is excited about his tennis and is preparing to play some competitive local tournaments as well as some ITF futures this summer. I, today, enjoyed putting him through some hitting drills and getting in some hitting myself. But good God man, my tennis game has gone to the WC (that stands for water closet for those playing along at home), in other words the toilet. Secondly, here is a free tip for you all, you can't hit the ball if you can't get to it. I mean, what the holy heck. I move like a dead cow, molasses, a turtle with a snail on his back, the college services department at Concordia. Ok, you get the idea. SLOWLY!


One of the hardest things to do is to play and enjoy a game that you can't play the same way anymore. Frustrating. Of course, I realize that, despite my serve and volley style, I was never going to be confused with Stefan Edberg, but still my game has deteriorated to a level that is difficult to enjoy. Yes, yes, I know, I must learn to accept this fact and find a way to still enjoy the opportunity to play at whatever level that may be. Perhaps heavy drinking may help, who knows. Well, one good thing comes to mind that didn't hit me until just now: Nothing hurts at this very moment. Now there is a "win".


Decision time! Three choices...

1. Simply devote more time to practice and play, in addition to losing 20lbs, to get back to a suitable level that I can be happy with.

2. Learn to accept this current state of horrendousness and enjoy the opportunity to play and enjoy the fellowship with others on the court and everything else that goes with the game of tennis.

3. Quit!

Maybe I will even create poll on the side of the blog. Feel free to cast your vote or leave a comment. Something has to be done.

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Oh my brother...

Watched a good portion of the Monfils vs. Fognini match today at the French Open and was quite interested. I gotta say, it is quite amusing that these announcers badgered Fognini throughout the entire first three sets suggesting that he had no character and was just the type of player to lay down and give away a match when things were not going his way. They could not have been more wrong could they?

I mean Fognini, playing not only Monfils, but also the French crowd all pulling for the Frenchman, could easily have bowed out in straight sets and hit the showers, collected his check and hit the cafe for an overpriced croissant. This would have made the idiot announcers look pretty smart. But no! Fognini, showing great character, tremendous toughness and flashing great tennis fought back and leveled the match in the fifth and final set when the match was called due to darkness past 10pm local time.

Honestly, I am getting tired of watching tennis with the sound on. I find these guys and gals (announcers) as annoying as American Idol's William Hung singing. For some reason, every tennis announcer no longer refers to a player by his or her name. Now it is only where they are from. The Frenchman, the American, the Serb. Also, it's the American backhand, the Argentine serve, or the Indian volley. Simply ANNOYING!!! Lastly, what is the deal with Justin Gimmelslob? That cheesy permanent fake smile. I just can't take it. I love to watch tennis. I love the game. Funny though, I almost prefer to watch my college team play or Coach Neil's USTA squad. This way I can provide the commentary and you know I like the sound of my own voice :)

What do you think?

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Rankings...

Well it looks like another farce. Yes that's right, once again we are in the process of compiling the NCAA II National Tennis Rankings as per the ITA. I hate to sound so negative but this process is somewhat of a joke and it seems likely that the Final Rankings will once again be fairly inaccurate...in my opinion of course.

We certainly try very hard to get our East Regional rankings correct, as it is important for the kids who work so hard and that deserve the due recognition. I am not so sure that National committee feels the same obligation.

Well time will tell. I hope that some fair and accurate rankings are produced this week.

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Academic Achievement...

Hello again Clipper fans,

It has been a great season with many success stories on the court. Many great achievements and subsequent memories created. However, one area that is not often highlighted is that of the academic success.

This year the team compiled a collective Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.11 on a 4.0 scale. This is essentially a B to B+ average. I would say that this is a strong accomplishment and indicates that we strive for excellence both on the court and in the classroom. This coach believes strongly in the "student athlete" and emphasizes such achievement. Unfortunately, we fell just short of our goal of reaching Academic All-American status as a team as a 3.2 GPA is needed.

In some great news, Raphael and Andrey have qualified for Academic All-American status as individuals and have thus achieved a GPA of 3.5 or higher for the entire scholastic year. Congratulations boys and keep up the good work.

If you should happen to bump into any of the players, feel-free to congratulate them on a wonderful athletic and scholastic season. These are young men to be proud of and also student athletes to be encouraged for further success. The time goes by quickly my friends, enjoy the ride to the fullest.

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Not too shabby...

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What a long strange trip its been...

The Magic Bus came to a screeching halt in the Final Four as we lost to Barry 5-0. Our opponent was just a little too tough for us as we seemed to get off to a slow start everywhere. Of course, when you get to this level in the tournament, and compete versus the highest level of competition, you simply cannot afford to be sluggish. It was really all about which team was able to rise to the moment and Barry was that team. I wish them good luck in the final versus Valdosta.

I apologize for the delay in this post but this was a tough loss. So many things were going through my head and I just could not bring myself to start typing...not sure I would have made it through without the typing of some curse words.

I really wanted a trophy of another kind for the players, administrators and our Clipper community. We have had a great season and I have really enjoyed myself. I think we did many things right. I hope that the players had fun as well and have learned from the experience. Perhaps they have collected many fond memories to be stored away for a long time.

A special thank you to Alex who will be leaving our team after four seasons of participation. A coach once told me that the best thing about seniors is that they do not come back next year. I could not disagree with him more. I always miss my seniors and am grateful for their contributions. Alex joins the group of "former Clippers" but will always be a part of our Concordia Tennis Family. Best of luck in your future endeavors. I have no doubt that you will set school records in cross country, I am just not sure which records.

Now the challenge goes out to the returning players. They will need to get better if they expect to continue the success. There will only be one Magic Bus as next year they must start another journey. Be diligent over the summer and strive for excellence.

Now for the tough part. This is not easy to write. This has been a great year but also a tough year for me. So many things going on in life. So many things. When I started this coaching journey I was interested in strength and conditioning for the players, tennis specific. Shortly thereafter I was back on the court both playing and coaching. I developed a hunger to become #1 in the region and to advance to the National Sweet 16. Once I got here six years ago, I got the urge to win a National Championship, a passion really. I have always tried my best. I have not always made the right decisions at times but the effort was there I promise you. Well, no Championship, but some results that I am proud of. Results not limited to actions on the tennis court alone but also in the classroom and in the community.

Friends, this is my stop. It is time for me to hop off the bus. It has been such a great ride for me and I love you all for what you have done. Receiving the Assistant Coach of the Year award on the National level is something very special to me and please know that I have this as a result of your contributions, love and support. My most sincere thanks to my tennis family.

May God bless you. It has been nice playing with you!

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