2021 NET NEWS, Volume Three
1/29/2021 10:35:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Happy End of January Tide Tennis Fans,
Back from North Carolina after a long journey on the interstate and bringing some homework back to Tuscaloosa. The ITA Kickoff Weekend was much anticipated as was the opportunity to play Top-10 host N.C. State in the first round. The surroundings were a bit different with four indoor courts colored red & grey and a 10 a.m. CST start on Friday, but the game was the same, with lines, balls, nets and points. Doubles was fast and the Wolfpack came out serving well which gave them the opening point. As we moved into singles we were locked in a tight battle on all four of the courts, splitting the contests across the Andy Andrews indoor facility with the final two matches going on court. Graduate students Edson Ortiz and Zhe Zhou were resilient and victorious in their respective 3-setters. We inched up a set in one of the final pair but didn't prevail in the other. Net result was a 4-2 defeat. While the Pack was ahead on the scoreboard I felt we were too generous with our errors and didn't have great resolve. Onto the next one.
Ole Miss had a close match with Tennessee in the other half of the draw but ended up facing us in the next round. We've had a long run of close contests with the Rebels over the years. A narrow 4-3 defeat and even narrower 4-3 victory both in my first season in 2013 seemed to set the tone for years to come. We know our pals from Oxford just about as well as anyone. So, we returned to the courts Saturday morning and the tug-of-war ensued. We seemed on our way to capturing the doubles point but a late push from the "Landsharks" (new Ole Miss mascot name) and costly errors by us resulted in a 1-0 deficit going into singles. Once again, more tennis to play and points to capture. Patrick Kaukovalta won an impressive 3-set match over perennial All-American and nationally ranked singles player Tim Sandkaulen which gave the Tide a point in the right direction. The remaining matches were tightly contested as expected but Ole Miss was able to get more points on the board than us. A disappointing loss ended our Kickoff experience and we returned to campus.Â
Now onto Phase 2 of our Spring schedule with four non-conference matches slated over the next 8 days – Tulane & UT Chattanooga on Friday, January 29, Memphis on Friday, February 5 and Louisville on Saturday, February 6. All the teams will be descending upon the Roberta Alison Baumgardner Indoor Tennis Facility in full armor prepared to capture the flag with the crimson A on it.Â
Growing up in Northern California I would frequent Marriott's Great America theme park and ride the Tidal Wave – a breathtaking, one-loop rollercoaster that made one's belly tickle as well as send high pitched screams throughout the park . My next experience with waves came while attempting to learn how to boogie board in the chilly Pacific Ocean and beaches of Half Moon Bay. Then there were the fan waves I participated in at large stadiums during sporting events such as football or baseball. As I entered college coaching, the Santa Clara Broncos (my first school) competed against the Pepperdine Waves who were known not only for their beautiful campus in Malibu but also for yelling "Go Waves!" hundreds of times during a dual match. Now onto Alabama and I've been introduced to the Green Wave of Tulane. What exactly is a Green Wave? On Nov. 19, 1920, a report of the Tulane-Mississippi A&M football game in the Tulane Hullabaloo (school newspaper) referred to the team as the Green Wave. By the end of the season, the Hullabaloo was using the term Green Wave to refer to all Tulane athletic teams, as were many daily papers. Well, we have a history with this squad from New Orleans as we last locked horns, or should I say currents (Tide & Wave), back in May 2018 at the NCAA Regional Championships in Tallahassee, Florida. Our victory over the Green Wave in the first round was instrumental to our Sweet 16 run and we haven't faced each other since…until this week. They have several players still on the roster that played in that Regional so they come to Tuscaloosa with plenty of purpose. We have to be sharp and fully committed on each individual court or we could be toweling off the large splash at the end of the day.
The Mocs of UT Chattanooga will complete the rare Friday doubleheader, and they too will bring plenty of grit to our match. We've faced Chuck Merzbacher's squad the last several years and they don't back down from anything. So, it's exactly what you want to see in terms of a challenge and an opportunity this early in the season. While fans won't be allowed indoors, you can follow us online with live stats and video stream. We have three more scheduled indoor matches and will return outdoors on Friday, February 26. So, get ready because the live tennis action is awaiting … and we are looking forward to seeing you in the stands soon.
In other news, we landed the No. 2 rated recruiting class for Fall 2021 as voted on by TennisRecruiting.net. There are some huge shoes to fill as our plethora of upper classmen that have been here from the start have pushed our program to many new levels on and off the court. They have pushed their teammates and coaches to be better on a daily basis. The standard has been raised and their legacy will be left for the returners and our August newcomers Enzo Aguiard (Australia), Zachery Foster (Texas), Filip Planinsek (Slovenia) and German Samofalov (Ukraine) to carry forward. Special kudos to assistant coach Dimitar Kutrovsky for his tireless work on the recruiting front in this unusual year that put more emphasis on video chats & zoom calls, relationship building, information sharing, and ultimately, commitments. Until then, let's get back to the present and this week's matches.
Roll Tide,
George
Head Coach George Husack
Head Men's Tennis Coach
The University of Alabama
