Big Back-to-Back Wins for the Slugs

Off to the 2013 ITA National Indoor Championships

Slug Tennis Family,

This past Sunday and Monday the men of Slug Tennis put together two amazing team efforts against D2 Sonoma State, and #15 D3 Nationally ranked Bates College of Maine. It was a huge step in the right direction for us, one that has huge impact as we look forward to the rest of the season. The message has always been that if we continue to do the work the results will follow, these two matches were a shining example of what determination can really accomplishment. For specific match scores please go to our home athletic website at www.goslugs.com or http://www.itatennis.com/AwardsAndRankings/Results_Entry/LatestResults.htm. I don’t know if I have already put the link to this website but it is a very thorough website that specifically follows D3 Men’s Tennis: www.division3tennis.com

UCSC vs. Sonoma State: 8-1 Slugs

The Slugs walked away with an 8-1 victory against the Seawolves this past Sunday. The doubles were close but in the end we swept all three. At #3 doubles Chris Goetz and Andre Halabi continued their winning streak after coming back from a 5-1 hole. They never gave up and continued their winning streak with a 9-7 victory. At #2 doubles Bryce Bettwy and Max Littlejohn came away with an 8-5 win, and at #1 doubles we clinched the match in a tiebreaker 7-3. Eli and Erich Koenig may have had some up and down play throughout the match but turned it on when they needed to.

In Singles, the Slugs had straight set victories at #2-#6 singles. Our determination to compete from start to finish every match is starting to show. When we can sit on guys we are doing it, bringing gritty and consistent focus from start to finish. Andre, Dre, or Sniper (the man of many names), Bryce, Sam, Eli, and Max, all walked away with straight set victories. Erich “Black Bear” Koenig lost a close 16-14 super match tiebreaker at the top singles spot in an extremely close match.

UCSC vs. Bates: 6-3 Slugs

This being our first home match against an extremely tough D3 opponent, the Slugs were eager to get after this match with the Bobcats. With All-Americans at 1-3 singles and a very tough #4, we knew this would be a great test for us. The Slugs came out firing in doubles with great energy and focus. At one point we were up breaks at all three doubles before the momentum shifted. The next thing we knew we were down at all three. Bryce and Max lost a close 8-5 match at #2. Shortly after Chris and Sniper won a very close 9-7 match, again coming up with the goods and winning a huge match for the Slugs. At #1 doubles Erich and Eli came back as the other team served for the match at 7-6. We played brilliantly the next two games to go up 8-7, and even had match points to win as Matt Bettles for Bates came up with some huge serves. We lost that tiebreaker 7-4, but didn’t hesitate in our team huddle shortly after to get ready for a war ahead in singles.

As the singles went into the night, under the lights, cold and wet at times, it wasn’t until 7:30pm that the match finally finished. The demonstration we executed in singles yesterday afternoon is the toughest effort we have shown thus far, tough as nails. Erich, Andre, and Bryce all walked away with straight set victories over three very strong players. I was so proud of Erich bouncing back from his loss the previous day, while Andre and Bryce both took it to their opponents without a second of let up. Both Eli and Max won at #5 and #6 singles playing great stretches of tennis. Although it took some time to find their way, these two turned it on when most needed and executed their plays to close down the matches. Max had a very strong 6-0 second set victory to clinch the overall match for the Slugs. The only loss was a brilliant match from Sam Rodgers who lost in a third set tiebreaker 9-7. Being down 5-2 in the third set Sam fought back playing some of the best and most inspiring stretches of tennis I have seen this far. Although he came up a little short in the end, it was a huge jump for Sam on so many levels.

Off to 2013 ITA National Indoors in St. Peter, Minnesota

#4 Seeded UCSC is off to play the ITA National Indoors this upcoming weekend. It is the only other National Team Title played during the season besides the NCAA’s, and is a tournament the Slugs have had great success with in the past. We are scheduled to play #9 Nationally ranked Trinity of Texas in the first round. We have a strong rivalry with this team and it is going to be a great test for us. The website to follow the results, including live scoring, is: http://www.itatennis.com/Events/ITANationalChampionships/DIIIMensTeamIndoors.htm Hope many of you are able to follow us play this amazing tournament.

Facing tough losses early on this season and making jumps so soon after is a great sign for the Slugs. These boys continue to do the work and take ownership of this season. Nothing seems to hold them down as they refuse to let up in our quest for a National Title. I cannot articulate how inspiring it is to work with these young men, and it only gets more exciting from here…

Sincerely,

Coach Parmelly 

Quick Match Update Regarding Bates

I wanted to write a quick update as due to possible rain the Slugs 1st home match of the season has changed.  UCSC Women will be playing Bates at 9am on Monday February18th, UCSC Men will be playing Bates at 2pm later that same day(previously scheduled for Tuesday the 19th). It will be a fantastic test against this very tough division 3 opponent and I  hope to see many of you there. Sincerely,

Coach Parmelly

The Season is Picking up

Slug Tennis Family,

Last Super Bowl Sunday, while two brothers were at war on the football field, the Slugs were doing battle against two very tough teams in San Luis Obispo, CA. It wasn’t until the conclusion of our second match that the boys jumped on their phones to check the status of the game, that day was about us getting better, every guy taking that intention very seriously. Our first match was against a very tough Cal Poly University (#58 Nationally Division 1). It was a special environment for our team, with tons of fans, friends, and family. The atmosphere was both loud and exciting, the type of environment we train for. 

Given lessons learned from our first match against Santa Clara University, one of our main goals this morning was to come out firing from the very start! The boys did just that as we came out with incredible energy going toe-to-toe with the mustangs. At #1 doubles Erich Koenig and Eli Scandalis lost 8-2 in a match that was a lot closer than the score reflected. They played very hard with high quality tennis that morning; the mustangs #1 team was just too tough. At #2 doubles Sam Rodgers and Bryce Bettwy, who fought back from two breaks down to come up one point short of getting their match to a tiebreak, lost 8-6. With a last minute lineup change due to an unfortunate illness with Max Littlejohn, I was very impressed with Bryce and Sam’s effort having never played together. At #3 doubles Chris Goetz and Andre Halabi had another great effort winning their match in a tiebreaker to beat a very good Cal Poly #3 team. These two have been working very hard at their doubles and the results are backing their efforts.

In singles the Slugs fought very hard but came up short in all six singles. Here is the link to the final singles scores that morning (Click on Division3 men to look up the match results): http://www.itatennis.com/AwardsAndRankings/Results_Entry/LatestResults.htm

The progress we showed from our first match to this one was very impressive. Though we didn’t come away with any victories, it is safe to say that the stretches of great play are getting longer and longer. The last match on that morning was Eli Scandalis playing #5 singles. He ended up losing his match in a third set super match tiebreaker; his singles play was one of the many bright spots I saw that day.

After the match concluded we hustled to the van, stuffed our faces at a local sandwich shop, and prepared for round two against a very strong Westmont College of Santa Barbara (NAIA #8 Nationally). It was what I like to call a “character-testing” match given the conditions, and my boys did not disappoint. I will start off with what I was most impressed with concluding this match: the Slugs played HARD from start to finish without waivering. It is a habit I have been hoping for with this squad and is a habit I am starting to see become part of this teams culture.

In doubles we lost at #1 and #2 doubles with an especially high level played by Erich Koenig and Eli Scandalis at #1. At #3 doubles Chris Goetz and Andre Halabi continued their amazing efforts with an 8-4 victory.

In singles we lost at 1-3 singles and won at 4-6. You can click under Division3 Men at this link to get the final scores of the day: http://www.itatennis.com/AwardsAndRankings/Results_Entry/LatestResults.htm Erich Koenig had a very tough match at #1 against a very tough Swedish player, and Bryce Bettwy came up short in the third set 6-2 at his #3 spot. Eli Scandalis won in commanding fashion at five singles 7-5-6-2, and both Sam Rodgers at #4 and Erik Rosner at #6 took away victories in commanding three set victories.

Overall the day was a huge step in the right direction for the Slugs. As the boys make habit of competing like champions in every match they play, it is safe to say the results are soon to follow. This team is showing grit, tenacity, and determination, three things necessary on our quest for a National Championship.

Special thanks to Kim and Dave Rodgers for feeding and housing the clan in such a generous way! It made our trip that much more special. Also a quick thanks to all the families and friends who supported us down south over the weekend.

Here is how our schedule shapes from here. We play Sonoma State on Sunday February 17 in Sonoma at 12noon before coming back for our first home match of the season. Tuesday February 19 we have a huge match at UCSC against a very tough Bates College at 3pm. It is our first real Division3 test before we head to the ITA National Indoor Championships that following Thursday morning. The season is about to pick up and I am so excited to share this championship run with all of you.

Sincerely,

Coach Parmelly