Slugs vs. Stags, Round 1 Stags

Slug Tennis Family,

This past Sunday the Slugs, currently ranked #10 nationally, fell to #1 CMS of Claremont. This is a rivalry that has been going on since I was a player, every year one of these two teams moving on to the final 8 in the NCAA’s, in hopes of a National Title.  I would be lying if I were to say that it wasn’t a tough and painful loss, working so hard and coming up short is never easy, but I wouldn’t want to experience this with any other group of young men. This team is very special, and the bottom line still remains, regionals are three weeks away, and we’re not done by a long shot…

Sunday late morning the Slugs cam out to a great start. While we were down a break early at #1 doubles, we were up a break at both #2 and #3. As the momentum swayed back and forth the Slugs kept fighting. With an 8-4 loss from Chris Goetz/Erich Koenig at #1 and an 8-5 loss from Bryce Bettwy/Max Littlejohn at #2, the Slugs were down to Sam Rodgers and Andre Halabi at #3. It was an amazing match, even having at match point at 8-7, but Dre and Sam came up a hair short, losing 9-8 in a tiebreaker.

The momentum on their side the Stags came out strong. We ended up losing five of the six matches in straight sets. Erich Koenig had a very strong second set at #1 singles but came up a few points short losing 6-3, 7-5. Andre, Bryce, Max, and Eli, had stretches of good play but never quite got their rhythm/momentum going. Our one victory came from Sam Rodgers who beat a very talented Alex Lane at #4 in a super-tiebreaker. It was a pretty amazing checkmark for Sam on how far he as come since starting here at Santa Cruz four years ago.

Pushing past the sting, hurt, and pain, the Slugs put together another great practice today. I am extremely impressed once again on how this team handles adversity, no time to hang our heads, there is work to be done. We leave this Thursday for the annual Ojai tournament. Here is the link to the doubles and singles draws: http://tennislink.usta.com/Tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=131585

I will keep you posted on the results.

Sincerely,

Coach Parmelly