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