Heading to Ojai

Tomorrow the slugs travel down south for the 103rd Annual Ojai Tournament. We’re coming in fresh off two strong victories against UC San Diego and Sonoma State, and look to continue our momentum heading into NCAA regionals. Leading the group are Brian Pybas and Marc Vartabedian, both returnees who are in the hunt to make an appearance at Libby Park.


The 2009-2010 season has been a rollercoaster ride for the slugs. Despite fielding a young team we’ve shown huge potential, exemplified by our National Indoor Championship this February. During our spring break trip, we faced some of the best teams in the nation, like Middlebury, Claremont, Cal Lutheran, and Redlands. After losing a string of hard matches, the guys have really come to understand the resolve needed to become one of the top teams. The month of April has been one of hard work for both players and coaches, and everyone is excited to showcase our progress at the Ojai Tournament this weekend.


Some potential highlights:
Pybas/Vartabedian are playing like one of the top teams in the nation, and are the number two seed in the doubles draw; this is Marc Vartabedian’s last apperance at Ojai, and we anticipate a strong finish. Leading the freshman class is Erich Koenig, one of the players seeded at number nine who has the potential to create a major upset. Other Slugs fielding the draw are Silvio Chiva, Aaron Morrill, Andre Halabi, Parker Larson, Shaun Herry. All eight players will compete against the best players in the Division III West region. Also competing in the Independent tournament are Sam Rodgers, Donald James, Ian Stanley, and Erik Rosner.

Follow this link to see the Ojai draws:
http://tennislink.usta.com/Tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=82759