Net News - February 4
2/4/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Hello Again From Tuscaloosa,
A new week and upcoming full weekend of matches is upon us after a tough trip to Tallahassee where the Seminoles kind of chopped us up last Friday night. Going into the match I felt the one thing that impressed me most about our squad was how we had competed through our first six matches of the season. We had not been rattled by any elements or distractions but rather kept our focus which led to solid results and contributions from up and down the lineup. Florida State had a nice home crowd with cameras rolling as well as ESPN3 was on hand to televise the match. They came out with fire and determination while we looked a little unsure of ourselves. Doubles was close in a couple of positions but the home team marched ahead with a 1-0 lead. The singles portion of the match was split with Alabama and FSU out in front on three courts a piece. Down the stretch, however, only Becker O'Shaughnessey was victorious tallying his 7th straight victory. He didn't have his "A" game but he did have an "A" mind which proved pivotal as he fended off two match points en route to a big win. We had a good discussion following the match led by our senior captain and game ball recipient (O'Shaughnessey). We immediately began preparing for this weekend while Matt Rossouw received the weekly black shirt honor.
It has been a little different week of practice as coaches Ryler DeHeart, Andrew Goodwin and Stuart Kenyon have led the team while I've been out of town. My family and I were blessed to have the opportunity to see my father before he passed away on Sunday. He courageously fought pancreatic cancer the last two years and ultimately found a more peaceful setting in the heavens above. I have received messages from so many people and am extremely grateful for their support. My father loved college tennis and especially developing relationships with the players I coached. It was a bit harder for him to do that from California but he was a tremendous ambassador from afar and could be seen walking around town in clothing from the different universities I represented (plenty of Roll Tides flowing in the town in which he lived). He pushed the players to dream big, fight hard in practice and competition and to never give up. I'd say those are the same characteristics we try to instill in our players today. So, in response to a Facebook question that appeared following our Florida State loss - "When will we be competitive in these matches?" - I would say that we already are competitive, and the harder we work and more determined we are to improve, the results we are shooting for will come.
This weekend we have a trio of matches to tackle beginning with 2015 National Runner-Up Oklahoma on Friday at 5 p.m. On Super Bowl Sunday we have a challenging doubleheader as the Crimson Tide face Troy at 1 p.m. and Lipscomb at 5 p.m. We hope to see you at the Roberta Alison Baumgardner Indoor Tennis Facility and thank you for your continued support of Alabama Tennis.
Roll Tide, George
Players Mentioned
