Net News, Volume 9
2/10/2022 6:27:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Happy Valentine’s Weekend
Restaurants should be packed this weekend as Hallmark's annual "sweetheart holiday" is celebrated within our city limits and beyond. While Cupid reminds us to express the love we feel for a spouse, significant other, child or family member with cards, chocolates, jewelry or gifts, the Crimson Tide will take its bow and quiver of arrows on the road to the Sooner state. First stop is Norman, against the soon-to-be-SEC-opponents, Oklahoma, on Friday at 6 p.m. CT, followed by a clash with the Golden Hurricane of Tulsa on Sunday at 12 p.m. CT.
Looking back at last weekend, our team showed a much better overall effort against Memphis and UAB in a lengthy and challenging doubleheader. We welcomed faculty, staff and students from UA's Capstone International Center to the afternoon matinee against the Tigers and also treated fans to a boxed lunch compliments of Moe's Southwest Grill. The competitiveness between each team was at a high level while the margin between winning and losing was quite slim.
Enzo Aguiard and Joao Ferreira were first to the finish line in doubles which set the stage for the other two courts to clinch the opening team point. The Tide duos of Filip Planinsek and German Samofalov and Rudi Christiansen and Juan Martin were holding service games and doing their best to capitalize on break point opportunities. Memphis mirrored our efforts and did not relent. While Rudi and Juan served to stay in the match at 5-6, Filip and German served to win the match at 6-5. Tiebreakers could determine the outcome, like against Arkansas a week prior, however the freshmen from Slovenia (Filip) and Ukraine (Samofalov) were not to be denied. They erased any hope of a Memphis service break much to the delight of the home crowd who celebrated their effort in between crunching down on tortilla chips and salsa. Ole!
The message to the team during the intermission was to expect a roar back from the Tigers. Their program had developed a reputation over the years to always respond well in tough situations. They were led by a trio of veterans at the top of the lineup who led the charge and we quickly fell behind on several courts. I was curious to see how this would impact us as we did not withstand the early hits well enough in Starkville, Miss., at the Kickoff. Memphis jumped out to a big lead in one match and ultimately knotted the score 1-1 while the remaining contests were going the distance…as in three set thrillers. After another point registered for our visitors on court six to give them a 2-1 lead, the "Bull Shark", Enzo Aguiard bested his training partner and mate from Down Under, Jeremy Taylor, on court two that evened the score. Filip Planinsek, who has been rock solid at the top of our lineup, delivered dictating serves and groundstrokes which made it very unpleasant for his opponent and resulted in a point for the home team. Filip's doubles partner, German, battled next to his court and earned a pair of match points that could clinch the match. Juan was even in a third set as well so there was plenty of tense action to keep track of from the fan's point of view. After Juan's opponent clawed his way to victory, German's match points were denied and a final set ensued on his court. Each player held serve until 5-5 when a sudden death deuce resulted in the set's only service break. German did his best to retaliate and push the match to a tiebreaker, his opponent delivered a few big serves which clinched the match for the Tigers. Ouch.Â
The marathon lasted just about four hours which is pretty uncommon given the new college tennis scoring format. It was a physical, mental and emotionally draining battle that unfortunately did not end the way we wanted and we still had another match to go. UAB had arrived early and witnessed the finale. They saw our bumps and bruises and I'm sure they saw an opportunity to execute a similar outcome.
We had just under an hour to recover, compartmentalize what had happened and get back on the competition stage. It was probably best not to have much time to dwell on things and simply move on. The message and expectations were no different than at the start of our first contest – carry out your plan, problem solve, figure things out and compete. We had the same doubles line-up in against the Blazers and they were very impressive to say the least - high first serve and return percentages, movement by the net players and finishing points with conviction. Rudi and Juan were quick out of the gates, jumping ahead quickly and sealing half of the doubles point 6-1. We had similar scores on courts one and two, serving for each match at 5-3. It wasn't necessarily a race to the finish line but the end was near and each team wanted to be the clincher. Filip and German closed out their opponents and  gave themselves a second win on the day. Point Bama (1-0) as we headed into singles play.
When we had a larger roster in past years, there was flexibility to play lots of different guys throughout the day. This season, however, we had eight, and after Patrick's injury at the start of the season, we were now down to seven. So there weren't a lot of options especially since most of the guys endured grueling matches against the Tigers. German stated that if he played singles, he would not make it out of the facility alive. I assured him that this wasn't a life or death situation but rather a lace up the gloves and do the best you can or throw in the towel and stay awake all night wondering why. I was confident in our team's physical conditioning, thanks in large part to our strength coach Josh Lancaster and his guidance this year. I also felt the guys needed to face the reality that the best method to build confidence is to get back on the bike without training wheels. Fortunately for us and unfortunately for UAB, they would be on the receiving end of an outstanding finish by the crimson and white.Â
Filip and Enzo dispatched their opponents with impressive execution and Rudi wasn't far behind. While the scoreboard read 4-0 Alabama, the match was continued and played out. It was important for the guys to complete the day and earn a result for the work they put in. Joao and German wrapped up their matches, while Zach completed the 7-0 sweep with a tightly contested match and triumphant victory. The clock ticked just a few minutes past 8 p.m. and the Tide left the R.A.B. with their heads held high…as did an alive, albeit sore, German.
Two days of rest filled with plenty of recovery with the best athletic trainer ever, Katie Wheeler, and we were back to work on Tuesday to prepare for this weekend. Oklahoma has won the last few times we've faced them and Tulsa is coming off a big win against nationally-ranked Pepperdine. Both matches will be our final indoor contests of the season before we move outdoors for training next week. While there won't be many Bama Tennis fans in Oklahoma, you will be able to catch all the action online at RollTide.com. We look forward to the challenges ahead as well as seeing former Alabama player and coach, Andrew "Goodie" Goodwin, now an assistant coach at Tulsa. Our next home match is scheduled for Friday, March 11 against Ole Miss and before that time we'll also compete in nearby Montgomery at the Blue Gray Championships in late February.
We thank UA Capstone International for their support last Saturday as well as the Tide Tennis faithful who cheered us on throughout the day and night. Our team is maturing and improving each week, and as the saying goes…we never arrive, we are always becoming.
Roll Tide,
George
Players Mentioned
