Slugs vs Kingsmen: A Demonstration to Remember

On April 22^nd the UCSC Men’s tennis team took on #6 Nationally ranked Cal Lutheran Kingsmen. After a season of huge wins and tough losses the Slugs knew that this, our last home match this late in the season, was as important as it gets. The west region is packed with tough teams this year, and as we get closer to NCAA play come May, matches like this hold a huge amount of weight. At 9:45 we met…

Slugs vs Kingsmen:

The match started in our team meeting annex with a room full of familiar faces. The current Slugs, alumni Kellen Ali-Christie and Mark Vartabedian, and sports psychologist Dr. Jerry Lynch, all gathered and voiced appreciations going into this day of battle. It was a great start setting the tone, appreciation for what an opportunity we had in front of us that morning.

The Kingsmen struck first with an 8-3 victory at #1 doubles. Hats off to the top regionally ranked team of Nick Ballou and Ray Worley. They played too tough against Slugs Parker Larsen and Erich Koenig. The Slugs didn’t hesitate in coming right back with commanding wins at #2 and #3 doubles 8-4 and 8-3. Ian Stanley and Erik Rosner played big and clean, with their connection and support visibly apparent from start to finish. I am extremely impressed with how far Ian and Riza have come on many levels. Devin and Eli played one of the best matches I’ve seen all year at #3 doubles. Both these teams have always had the potential to play a high level of doubles, what made them so tough that day was that they simply didn’t miss balls on top of big play.

Going into the singles the Slugs were confident but knew the battle was far from over. The Slugs came out swinging winning the first sets at five of the six singles matches. First off was a loss by Parker Larsen to a very tough Ray Worley. Having a tough day Parker didn’t hesitate to cheer and support his teammates immediately after, the score was 2-2. First off was a win by Erich Koenig (with AC Matt Seeberger on court) at #2 singles to put the Slugs up 3-2. Erich played an almost perfect first set. Fighting an injury throughout the second set, Erich’s determination and composure showed as he served out the match. Next off was Erick Rosner with a 6-3, 7-6 victory at #5 singles. Erik, going through many ups and downs this season, came out and competed like a champ on this day. Watching many members of this team bounce back in the face of adversity is something I have been so proud of this season.

To clinch the match Bryce Bettwy (with AC Brian Pybas on court) took down his match with a 7-6, 6-2 victory. Bryce has been one of our most solid spots all season, and kept it going as he took the match home for the slugs. Next up was a huge win by Devin Nerenberg at #1 singles against on of the top players in the country Nick Ballou. The match was bloody; Devin’s persistency and determination took him past the finish line. Last off was a win by Andre Halabi at #4 singles. Andre refused to back down for a second and showed what determination and being stubborn, in a good way, really means. By the time every other match had finished Andre was just starting the second set. His message was clear, “ I will stay out here all day if I have to...” It was too much for his opponent that morning/afternoon/early evening.

With a 7-2 victory over a very tough opponent, the Slugs are picking up steam heading into the final stretch for this 2012 season. I am extremely proud of how this team continues to come together; we will bring everything we have till the last ball is hit. Special thanks to Brian and Matt for continuing to do an amazing job of coaching these your men. Also to all the current slugs not currently in our starting lineup a special thanks. Everyone is contributing to how this season is coming together; it is and always will be a team effort.

Today the Slugs leave for the Annual Ojai Tournament with the best teams in the region. Match play will begin tomorrow with finals being played on Sunday. To Stay updated with results please go the tournament homepage at: http://ojaitourney.org/ Thanks again for all the continued support,

Sincerely,

Coach Parmelly

Back to the Cruz after a Spring break down south

Dear Slug family and friends,

The Slugs returned to Santa Cruz this past Saturday with a long week of tennis under their belts. Our trip started in San Diego where we were fortunate enough to stay with some of our players amazing families, and ended with five days of tennis in the LA area before returning home. It was a week full of fun, family, wins, loses, heartbreak, cheers, lessons, and all that comes with eight days on the road together. We ended the trip with a 2-3 record showing both ends in terms of what we are capable of on the court. All detailed results of each match can be found at: http://www.goslugs.com/teams/tennis/men/mtensch.html

Here are the match recaps:

UC San Diego- Win 6-3

The slugs came out firing in our first match of the break and played amazing stuff from start to finish beating a very tough UCSD team 6-3. With a doubles sweep to start the match (Ian Stanley/Erik Rosner, Parker Larsen/Erich Koenig, and Max Littlejohn/Devin Nerenberg) the Slugs never let up playing amazing tennis from top to bottom. With impressive wins by Parker Larsen, in his first match back, Erik Rosner, and Bryce Bettwy, the match was over. It is great to have Parker back as you could see in this match that he was just plain happy to be playing tennis again. Sam Rodgers got in a #7 match and played one of his best matches of the year.

Williams- Loss 2-7

This was a match we had been looking forward to as Williams is currently ranked #3 in the country in our division. With the same doubles lineup the tides unfortunately turned that Tuesday morning, as we were the team swept going into the singles. We had a close match at #3 doubles and lost by one break at #1 doubles; in the end Williams snagged all three. We fought extremely hard in singles and at one point I felt we were about to turn the match. We were up at #1, #3, #5, and #6 and fighting back at the other two spots. In the end we grabbed wins from Parker at #3 and Bryce at #6 singles. Devin and Erik Rosner lost in super tiebreakers and we came up short in both Erich Koenig and Andre Halabi’s matches. It was a great learning experience for us on how crucial doubles is in terms of momentum. Hats off to Williams playing tough that day.

Redlands- Win 6-3

Another huge bright spot for the Slugs this break was our match against one of our rivals the University of Redlands. Playing our usual doubles lineup we had wins at #2 and #3 doubles going into singles (on top of doubles wins at #4, #5, and #6). Our connection, energy, fire, and composure all showed as we came out firing in this match and never ceased. With wins by Devin, Erich Koenig, Andre Halabi, and Bryce Bettwy, we secured 6 points. Tough 3-set losses from Parker and Riza finished the day with a still brilliant effort.

Concordia- Loss 2-7

Another match of getting swept in doubles showed that this is the area we need to improve. Concordia is a tough team and though we were competitive at spots they jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead. At 4^th doubles Eli Scandalis and Bryce Bettwy continued their stretch of great play with a solid victory. Our lone singles wins of the day came from Parker Larsen and Erich Koenig at #2 and #3 singles. Parker gritted out a tough 3-set match and Erich played an extremely composed match to get the win. There were a lot of lessons to be learned but most importantly it was time to get ready to play a very tough regional opponent Pomona-Pitzer that next morning.

Pomona Pitzer- Loss 4-5

The Slugs came out firing at all our doubles that morning but in the end we only grabbed a win at #2 (along with a win by Eli and Bryce at #4 exhibition). Ian and Riza lost a close match by one break of serve at #1 doubles. We fought off 7 match points at #3 doubles as Max and Devin almost found a way to sneak out a victory. We were down 1-2 going into singles but ready to fight to the very end. I was extremely impressed with the boys positive attitudes going into the singles, as I knew our character would be tested. Unfortunately it was not our day as the Sage hens won at #3, #4, and #5 singles to secure the win. With wins by Devin, Erich Koenig, and Bryce, the end of the day score was 4-5.

With everybody on the team having great streaks of play this trip the message upon returning was clear, “we need to get better if we want to go all the way.” Monday I was so impressed to go out early to practice to find more than half of the team playing on their own accord. These same guys stayed after practice for more; true resiliency. When times get tough and the support and effort remain, that is when you know you have a good thing going. These young men are amazing and I am so proud of all that they bring.

Special thanks to Eli’s, Erik Rosner’s, Erich Koenig’s, and Bryce Bettwy’s families who housed and fed the Slugs over the break (Tall order!). It was an amazing trip with a ton of fond memories. The Slugs next big and last home match of the year is against a very tough Cal Lutheran team on Sunday April 22^nd at 10am. We are getting closer to the NCAA’s in May and will charge ahead with everything we have. Hope to see you all there!

Sincerely,

Coach Parmelly