Here Come the Slugs...

Slug Tennis Family,

The biggest home weekend for the Slugs came to conclusion this past Monday; the results were phenomenal. It was a grueling streak of matches that tested us in so many ways, in ways we absolutely needed to be tested. What I was most proud of in regard to this three-day effort was the consistency of our toughness as we competed throughout the weekend. This team is becoming tough as nails as they set the standard in "bringing it" to every match they play. The areas we have worked so hard to improve are improving, the toughness we need to show under pressure is becoming habit, and the necessary components on what it takes to become a National Championship Team are starting to take shape. It was an amazingly special weekend and one as a coach that I will always cherish. If you would like to view specific match scores please visit our home webpage at http://www.goslugs.com/sports/mten/index. Here are the match recaps:

Saturday-Day 1
#11 UCSC vs #16 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges
8-1 Slugs

This match was one we had been anticipating for quite some time. Pomona-Pitzer has been an extremely tough team these past years, we knew we were in for a battle. As the match began teams of Erich and Erik and Andre and Chris came out hot. Chris and Andre won convincingly at #3 doubles 8-3, while Erich and Erik took down an extremely tough and seasoned #1 team from PP 8-5. Last on was Bryce and Max who were down at one point 2-5 in their #2 doubles match. With their energy staying high the boys fought back to 7-7 before running away with the match 9-7! With that the Slugs were up 3-0 going into the singles. Doubles has been a huge area of work for us these past months and to see it come together in our first doubles sweep of the season was major.

With the momentum on our racquets the Slugs stayed strong as we started the singles. With straight set victories from our 2-5 singles (Dre, Bryce, Sam, and Eli), the Slugs were walking away with a Victory. Bryce and Eli dominated the competition while Dre and Sam came up with the goods as the 2nd sets became close. With a close 3-set loss from Riza at #6, and a 3rd set super-breaker victory from Black Bear #1, the Slugs were walking away with an 8-1 victory. It was an amazing start to the weekend, setting the tone for the rest of our competitions.

Sunday-Day 2
UCSC vs #20 U. of Texas-Tyler
6-3 Slugs

This was no doubt the toughest team we faced over the weekend. With some extremely tough new additions to the team, UTT came at us as hard as we came at them. The doubles effort had been so amazing the day before, it was our intention to do it again knowing the strength of this Texas singles lineup. You may be starting to notice a trend and yes Andre and Chris won again at #3 doubles, on this day 8-2. These two have worked extremely hard at their doubles over the months, all of the components are clicking. Andre getting balls down while Chris taking over, it is a fantastic daily effort to say the least from these two. At #2 Doubles Bryce and Max gave an even better effort taking down their opponents 8-4. It is so fun to see these two clicking again as they are playing at a level we all knew possible. Erik and Erich lost at #1 8-2 to a very tough team from UTT. A combination of playing a very strong team along with not playing their best stuff and the match was decided. As we gathered in our team circle as we do after every doubles effort we were going into the singles up 2-1. Going into the singles with a lead is exactly what we needed, the boys had had fire in their eyes as we went out to chip away at the huge singles effort we were about to undertake.

Erik Rosner started us off with a 6-3, 6-3, victory giving the Slugs a 3-1 lead. It was an awesome effort by Riza to keep the momentum going in our favor. With tough losses at #1 and #2 singles (Black Bear and Dre), the score was 3-3 as the match was hanging on a thread. Eli at #5 was down a set and a break while Bryce was just starting his third set against tenacious #3 from Brazil. Sam had won the first set but was down a break to a very impressive #4 from UTT. This was the point of the match where heart and toughness was needed the most. Without hesitation the Slugs stepped up. Bryce was first off with a 6-3 third set victory over back-court Brazilian to give us a 4-3 lead. Next off was Eli with a 6-4 third set victory clinching the match for the Slugs! The comeback Eli displayed that match was one of the highlights of the weekend. Last up was Sam Rodgers who came away with yet another victory by the thinnest of margins. 7-6, 7-6, Sam went for his shots when the pressure was the highest, absolutely fearless. Two days, two wins, the third day was against the highest ranked team of the three.

Monday-Day 3
UCSC vs. #13 Whitman College
8-1 Slugs

This was the last match of the weekend, could we finish with the same effort we had shown the first two days? Whitman was one of our toughest losses of last season up at their place, this was a match I knew many guys were getting up for. As we sat in our conference room before going out to play that Monday afternoon the overall vibe was mixed. Some guys looked ready and some looked tired. It was going to be a true test for us and to be honest I had no idea how we would handle it. For the third day in a row our doubles put forth a brilliant effort. Andre and Chris won again, this time 8-1, playing hands-down the best doubles I have seen from them. Erich and Erik won 9-7 at #1 with just one break of serve, Riza hitting some huge shots when needed most. Bryce and Max went undefeated on the weekend serving out a 8-6 win for the Slugs. As we went into the circle up after doubles once again, I think we all agreed that we were forming a habit we could all get used to.

As we went out we stayed strong winning four of the six singles matches in straight sets. Erich Koenig at #1 took down the #3 ranked player in the nation 6-1, 7-5! Erich is clearly proving himself as one of the top and toughest players in the country. He has been a leader on this team since the day he stepped foot on these courts as a freshman and is finding his stride as he leads our team at the #1 position in both singles and doubles. At #2 and #3 both Dre and Bryce took down their opponents with another stingy and amazing effort. These two have made habit in not giving their opposition an inch if un-earned. Bryce lost only one set in singles play over the weekend-absolutely ruthless. With Eli losing a tough match against a very tough player at #5, and Riza winning a huge 6-0 third set match at #6, the Slugs were up 7-1 with one match to go.....none other than....Sam Rodgers. I've decided that Sam just really likes to put on a show for the fans as we went into the 10 pt. super-tiebreaker for the match. At 0-5 Sam must have decided it was time to turn it on because in true Sammy style he came roaring back, one point at a time. With a 10-7 victory the Slugs had won 8-1 and gone 3-0 over a very strenuous weekend. I was so proud of Sam's effort yet again. Not because he won, but because he fought every point to the very end. He dug in deeper and deeper as the matches got closer, with grit and fight, a true warriors effort.

As we look ahead taking confidence and information to work from, the Slugs prepare for a challenging Spring break. The first half of our trip will be in LA followed by a close of the break down in San Diego. We will be facing some of the top teams in the country, a true test for where we are in the heavy mix of division three opponents. Next up is battle with my best friend and mentor Bob Hansen and the Middlebury Panthers on Sunday March 24th at 3pm down in LA. It is a privilege and honor to play this match, as I know we will both be going at each other with everything we have. Thanks once again for all the continued support of Slug Tennis from so many of you. Whether it is a donation or showing up at matches to cheer, I so appreciate keeping this unit we all know as the "Slugs Tennis Family" thriving. As always our quest to become a National Championship team continues. With the NCAA's in approximately two months we will continue to take this season one day at a time. It is what has gotten us to where we are today, it is what will get us where we want to be come may.

Sincerely,

Coach Parmelly