Net News, Volume 3
10/15/2021 9:24:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Back in Action
Hello Again From Bama Tennis,
We're back in action this weekend at our third event of the fall semester – the ITA Regional Championships – hosted by our friends on 'The Plains' (Auburn). After a year off from this annual event (due to Covid), all of the men's tennis programs in the states of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana converge on the grounds of the Yarbrough Tennis Center in Auburn. Our SEC rival Tigers (Auburn & LSU), Rebels (Ole Miss) and Bulldogs (Mississippi State) will be on hand, including non-conference foes Alabama State, Alcorn State, Jacksonville State, Louisiana, Samford, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Troy, Tulane and UAB. The five-day event includes qualifying singles on Thursday and Friday along with main draw doubles (Friday) and singles (Saturday). The finalists and winners of both the singles and doubles draws will automatically qualify for the ITA National Fall Championships held at the Barnes Center in beautiful San Diego, California, November 4-7. This will mark our first true 'individual' event as we will have six players competing in the singles portion and three teams in doubles. May the best competitors earn their tickets to the west coast.
We've spent the past couple of weeks training after the conclusion of the Bulldog Invitational, where we locked horns with Michigan, Tulane and host, Mississippi State. The consistent, rhythmic and loud chants of "Go Blue" and "We Are…Michigan" were plentiful on day one of the event against the Wolverines, as our young Crimson Tide stayed focused throughout day. It certainly brought a new element to their college match day experience as the maize and blue competed with relentless fighting spirit. Head coach Adam Steinberg has done a tremendous job over the years at several schools instilling the confidence in his players to perform but to also do this as a team. I don't know any other program that does it better and it's very easy to get wrapped up in the cheers and lose focus with your plan of attack. We were tested as expected and this was one of the important challenges of the trip. When you have six of eight newbies to college tennis, you want to make sure your players are exposed to as much as possible to what could occur in the spring. Michigan was the perfect first-day opponent and it was nice to see how our youthful bunch responded. Filip Planinsek kept his powerful game flowing in fine fashion and defeated 2021 ITA Summer National Champion, Jacob Bickersteth, in a pair of grueling straight sets. Rudi Christiansen and Juan Martin made quick work of their shouting opponents, playing aggressively and finished many points at the net. Senior Patrick Kaukovalta was kept at bay, deep in the court to figure out ways to gain his opportunities. He stayed patient and determined throughout as he found enough space inside the baseline prevailed with consistent execution.
Day two brought a Green Wave to Starkville and more of a low Tide response. Tulane had several new players but a few that were on the losing end of a 4-3 defeat to us last February. Prior to that dual match, we had scored an upset victory over the green and sky blue at the 2018 NCAA Regional Championships. So while the action on the second day of the Bulldog Invitational wasn't going to bring about a team result, Coach Mark Booras had his squad prepared to make it a tough "hidden" dual. Only one Alabama player, Patrick Kaukovalta, was part of the last pair of Tide-Wave battles so our new crew did their research on the opponent online by reviewing their roster, results, rankings and ratings. As the saying goes, "you can't judge a book by its cover" and stats usually don't tell the whole story. Our New Orleans opponents were prepared to send a message to us despite having only been in official practice for five days due to the impact of Hurricane Ida on the Tulane campus. They had been moved to Birmingham in the aftermath of the tropical storm and were pretty pumped to be competing again. We captured a few wins but overall it was a below average showing in terms of competing. I'd say we played and wanted to win but were not willing enough to suffer, figure out solutions and succeed. We got what we put into the day and that resulted in some dejected faces afterwards…which was a good thing as lessons are learned in situations like these.Â
After a fun team dinner at a local hibachi grill - a first time experience for many on the squad - we were set for the final day of action against the home host Dogs. This matchup was the main reason for the trip - to make sure our guys got a sense for what it would be like to compete against Mississippi State on their courts, in front of their fans and amidst their dog barking and passionate play (minus the cow bell ringing). Similar to the scene at Umi Japanese Steakhouse where talented cooks clanged their tools and tossed vegetables, rice and meats around like a street performer, the Bulldogs had their traditions such as mini soccer, a new, customized cadence while jogging and their loud call to one another before the start of doubles modeling the 2007 movie 300, "Spartans (or in this case Bulldogs)! What is your profession? Ah-ooh! Ah-ooh! Ah-ooh!" We had faced them twice last spring with the Crimson and White defeating the maroon and white on Senior Night in Tuscaloosa and the Hail Staters besting the Roll Tiders at the SEC Championships in Fayetteville. This upcoming spring, we have two trips to the "662" and it was so important for our next wave of Bama Tennis to get their feet wet within the friendly confines of the Pitts Tennis Centre.Â
Doubles was focused and purposeful with the Dogs, displaying quite the powerful bite on court 1 and showing our freshmen tandem of Enzo Aguiard and Filip Planinsek what it's like to compete against a top-10 team in Florian Broska and Gregor Ramskogler. We responded with sound victories in the other two matches and headed into singles with a little chip on our shoulder. While this contest wouldn't produce a team score it was an opportunity for each team to send a clear message. There were tight games and sets up and down the row with jabs, uppercuts and put away punches being thrown in the form of point building, capitalizing ground strokes and finishing volleys and overheads. Juan Martin and Joao Ferreira were victorious over their ranked opponents while our other four competed very well and left the courts with a few bite marks. The performance was a sound response from the "low Tide" a day before and gave plenty to bring back to our facility to prepare for another opportunity to surface in the Spring.Â
So now we're off to 'The Plains' for the Regional Championships with opportunities in front of us to create and take. If our opponents won't allow us to do either then we must stay patient and resilient throughout the time we spend in between the baselines. As this event serves as a qualifier for the National Fall Championships, this semester is a time for us to develop and prepare for the dual match season in the Spring. What each player does individually through practice will have an effect on his ability to execute in competition. While a carrot is being offered to the winner and finalist of this event, keeping the eyes on the prize will have a debilitating impact and the ability to execute will not be routine but rather a divergence from the standard. After all, we want to keep the Tide rising and pushing this next wave of Bama Tennis forward in the right direction. So join us in person at Auburn or up to date with social media posts throughout the weekend as we collectively suffer, solve and celebrate progress being made.Â
Roll Tide,
George Â
Players Mentioned
