Net News - March 16
3/16/2018 12:47:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Happy Spring Break from Bama Tennis,
Campus has been fairly empty this week as students, faculty and staff have traveled to a variety of destinations including the beach, the slopes, the city or maybe the couch for a relaxing break from school life. So it has appeared to be a little "Quiet On The Western Front", or in this case, the "Southern Front".  The team, however, has spent our break training and preparing for a pair of battles this upcoming weekend.  No vacation-filled Spring Break for the guys but a week free of studying and filled with a little more sleep which is invaluable to any college student-athlete…or coach.  The book that I mentioned above was written and published in 1928.  It described the German soldiers' extreme physical and mental stress during the WW1, and the detachment from civilian life felt by many of these soldiers upon returning home from the front.  There isn't really a direct comparison with fighting in war to competing in intercollegiate athletics, but things were a bit more "quiet" after we returned from Baton Rouge last Saturday following a narrow 4-3 defeat to LSU.
Like the soldiers, our players do endure physical, mental and emotional challenges from week to week.  It's not a matter of life and death, but rather a thrilling experience that we appreciate and welcome with each point, game, set and match played.  Our team has shown courage, trust and growth throughout the season and the competition has ramped up a bit as we have started the SEC schedule.  Our conference can beat you up if you allow it, especially if the mindset drifts away from progressing in the process and focuses in on results, rankings or ratings.  It's fun to see where our team stacks up against others, but in the end, we are responsible for what we do as competitors each day and accountable for our results.  We are rewarded for what we put into our preparation.  The SEC presents opportunities week after week to compete agains the best teams in the nation and to discover, how we, as a team, can grow stronger and trusting of one another through each battle. Stay together, work together and compete together is the key.
Last Friday at the Battle in the Bayou, we were ready for the opportunity in front of us.  We prepared well and came out with good energy and enthusiasm for doubles.  This point, however, was not rewarded for simply showing up on court.  We had to establish a high first serve percentage, make returns and be active at net with our volleys.  Following a split of matches at the #1 and #2 positions, the Tigers forced a tiebreaker at #3 and snatched the doubles point after being a little more consistent with the aforementioned skills than we were.  We had now been in this position three straight times and would need to respond well in singles. "El Toro" Edson Ortiz got us started on court #4 with a resounding win over his opponent while LSU responded with wins at #1 and #3.  The Tide answered with a couple of additional victories by Riccardo Roberto and Alexey Nesterov but the match was won by the Tigers on court #2 as they prevailed with a 7–5 in the third victory to clinch the match.  We then met as a team in the locker room after the contest and had a long discussion about what had just occurred and where we were headed.  It was an important and necessary meeting which was followed up with another discussion early in the week to prepare for the road ahead.  Thoughts, suggestions and goals were part of our conversation which resulted in clarity and continued motivation.  These meetings catapulted a great week of practice where we trained under the lights each day to prepare for Friday evening affair.  The guys also came in for individual workout sessions and had player led hit-arounds which reaffirmed their commitment to each other and strengthened our unity. Â
So where are we headed?  Well for starters nothing has changed with our goal of improving each week and making sure that we all provide the energy and enthusiasm throughout in practice.  This will allow us to showcase all the work we put into our training and transfer it to the main event…our matches.  We have an exciting weekend ahead with two very familiar foes. Our neighbors to the west, Mississippi State, cruise over on Highway 82 for a 6pm Friday Night Lights feature.  We welcome back former Alabama player and two-time Tenacity Award winner Andrew Goodwin as he now represents the Dogs as an assistant coach.  On Sunday, in-state rival Auburn, grace our courts for a 1pm first serve.  I don't think we need to explain the passionate history of the Iron Bowl to build up this match even if it's not on the gridiron.  It promises to be a fun one.
And speaking of fun, how fun would it be for all of you returning from your Spring Break travels or those who decided on a 'stay-cation' to come join us Friday and/or Sunday? Â We're ready to have some fun and make sure this "quiet Southern front" gets a little loud and rowdy, for if a man starts to weaken that's a shame for Bama's pluck and grit have writ her name in Crimson flame! Â See you this weekend as we hit our stride, your Dixie's tennis pride, Crimson Tide, Roll Tide, Roll Tide.
#ThatsBama,
George
