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