Slugs Finish 3rd at ITA National Indoors with win over Carnegie Mellon

The Slugs finished strong by beating Carnegie Mellon 5-4 to bring home the third place hardware. By winning the doubles point at one and three singles the Slugs found themselves in the familiar position of needing a split in the singles. Wins by Brian Pybas and Parker Larsen at one doubles and Erik Rosner and Ian Stanley at three set the table going into singles. Senior leader Brian Pybas led a set and a break before cooling off and losing in three tight sets. Next off was Parker Larsen who played well at times but came up short in three close sets. Down 3-2 in the team match and down 3-5 in the third at four singles, the pressure was really on! Andre Halabi responded in winning the final 4 games of this grueling match to even the match score at 3-3. In doing so he showed his vast improvement over last year when he lost to the same player in straight sets. A quick and decisive victory at two singles by Erich Koenig put us one match away from decision. Sam Rodgers provided the decisive point in a straight sets win at five singles to ice the match. It was a great team match effort where everyone contributed and it was a fine way to end a wonderful trip. We learned a great deal about where we are as a team and the direction we are headed. With further work and continued growth we will be in contention in the weeks and months ahead. Thanks for your help and support and Go Slugs! Coach Hansen and Coach Seeberger

Slugs drop close decion to Wash U in ITA National Indoor Semi finals

In a rematch of last years ITA National Indoor final the Slugs lost a very close 4-5 match to Washington University that came down to the final set. We had a rough start at one and two doubles as we dropped both matches by 8-3 scores. Wash U out closed us and in general played more aggressive doubles which accounted for the final score. We continued to get a great effort from Erik Rosner and Ian Stanley at three doubles as they weathered some ups and downs prevailing 8-6 and getting us on the board. Playing on three courts in singles Brian Pybas bounced back to even the match at 2-2 with a 6-2,7-5 win over Isaac Stein at one singles playing some brilliant tennis. Brian's physical strength and movement were on display in the wonderful match. Down 2-5 two breaks at two singles, Erich Koening lifted his spirits and game to come back for a 7-6,7-6 win over Max Woods. I was very happy to see Erich refocus and regain his composure which translated into some great tennis. This knoted the match at 3-3 after Parker Larsen dropped a close 6-4,7-5 match at three singles. After Frosh Bryce Bettwy lost at six singles Sam Rodgers played an outstanding match at five singles to even the match at 4-4. During his best stretches Sam was taking the ball early and really controlling the match. After losing the first set in a breaker Andre Halabi won the second set to make is a one set match. With new balls against am more aggressive opponent he lost his grip on the match and ended up losing 7-6,2-6,6-1. I am proud of our effort and we took away many valuable lessons we will apply going forward. I look forward to seeing how we bounce back in our third place match against Carnege Mellow tomorrow morning. As usual these trip provide a wonderful oppotunity for our team to learn and grow and I feel strongly that this experience will make us much stonger going as the season progresses. Thanks for your support and Go Slugs! Sincerely, Coach Hansen and Coach Seeberger

Slugs Advance to ITA National Indoors Semi with win over Trinity U

With a strong team effort in our first Div lll match of the season, the Slugs advanced to the semi finals of the ITA National Indoor Team Championships with a 6-3 win over Trinity University. As always doubles were key as Brian Pybas and Parker Larsen defeated Bobby Coccounougher and Cory Kowel 9-8. Coccounougher and Kowel won the Fall ITA National Championship to go with reaching the NCAA doubles final last year and were the top ranked team in the country coming into the match. We also got an outstanding effort from Erik Rosner and Ian Stanley who won in dominating fashion at three doubles by a score of 8-2.

In singles Brian Pybas got us on the board first with a 6-4,6-3 win. Brian's leadership and fine play in singles and doubles paved the way in this match. Our next point came when freshmen Bryce Bettwy came back for two breaks down in the third to win 6-3,2-6,7-6 at six to give us a firm grip on the match. Parker Larsen continued his great play of late with the clinching match at three singles by scores of 6-2,2-6,6-3. Playing the match on three courts and matches going on at different times meant our six point came moments later as Andre Halabi won in straight sets 6-3,6-3 at four singles. Erich Koenig played a great match but was edged 7-5 in the third in the final match on. Sam Rodgers lost a close match at five singles going down 7-6,6-4.

Next up is Washington University of St Louis who we beat in last years final. They played extremely well today beating a strong NC Weslyan team 8-1. Should be a great match and hope you will follow our progress on the Men's Tennis page at the host school Mary Washington's web site. Thanks for all your great support and best wishes, Coach Hansen and Seeberger

Slugs Tigers to battle it out in ITA Indoors 1st Round

Slugs and Tigers got some ink on the Div lll Blog Spot with a wonderful article featuring the great 1st round match. To see the experts opinion go to:
http://d3tennis.blogspot.com/ Very interesting. Go Slugs!

Slugs move indoors at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships

Sweatpants and suntans. That's what champions look like. At least our brand of Champions. Since the inception of the ITA National Indoor in 2000, the Slugs have reached the finals a record 7 times, and won the title in 2000, 2007, and 2010. This photo was taken in 2010 after we won our third ITA indoor championship title.

It's very early in the season and these matches will be our first against Div lll opponents. We expect a severe test in the first round as we face an NCAA final eight team from 2010 in Trinity University of Texas led by the defending fall ITA National Doubles Champions, a team who we defeated in the NCAA Doubles National Championship match in 2010.

For more information and to follow the matches you can visit the ITA National Team Indoor web page at http://www.itatennis.com/Events/ITANationalChampionships/DIIIMensTeamIndoors.htm

Best wishes, Coach Hansen, Coach Seeberger and the Men of Slug Tennis

Sap Open

Slug Coaches join Sammy Slug, team parent and booster extraordinaire Gary Pybas, tournament director Bill Rapp and top seed Fenando Verdasco.

The third annual Slug Alum Night at the SAP Open brought together UCSC alums, family and friends of Slug Tennis in a wonderful and entertaining evening. I am most appreciative of all the support with special thanks going to Allison Garcia and her staff for their help in making this a most successful evening. US professional Sam Querry and tournament director Bill Rapp entertained the gathering at the banquet while top seeds Fernando Verdasco and Gael Monfils provided great tennis in the evening matches.

Thanks again to all those joining us in the wonderful event. Many thanks, Coach Hansen