Net News, Volume 8
2/4/2022 6:21:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Happy February From The Tide
Just like that, January is in the books and the shorter 28-day February is upon us. Curious about why it's so short? The history dates back to the second king of Rome, Numa Pompilius. Before he became king, Rome's lunar calendar was just 10 months long. It began in March and ended in December. At the time, Romulus, the first king of Rome, and his people found the time between December and March to be unimportant because it had nothing to do with the Harvest. When Numa Pompilius took reign, he decided to make the calendar more accurate by lining it up with the year's 12 lunar cycles. The new 355-day year needed two additional months to make up for the lost time. So he added January and February to the end of the calendar. Because Romans believed even numbers to be unlucky, each month had an odd number of days, which alternated between 29 and 31. But, in order to reach 355 days, one month had to be an even number. February was chosen to be the unlucky month with 28 days.Â
Now that you got your history factoid of the week, let's move onto tennis that happened last weekend. We were in Starkville, Miss., for the ITA Kickoff Weekend. We competed against Kentucky on Saturday and Arkansas on Sunday. The goal was to compete hard and give our team the best chance to qualify for the National Team Indoor Championships. The Wildcats were more than ready for us in the first contest and raced out quickly to a 1-0 lead after doubles. It was clear they had the same goal and were determined not to give away any cheap points, games, sets or matches. We definitely had our hands full as the Cats clawed their way to victory rather easily. Filip Planinsek pushed Liam Draxl, the 2021 No. 1 singles player in the country, to a third set; however, the match went unfinished as it was halted once the blue and white tallied four team points. We had some other good performances on court – Joao Ferreira and Zach Foster – however it was not enough. Kentucky didn't quite send us to the mat, but we did experience a 'standing 8 count' which gave us time to recover, regroup and prepare for the Razorbacks a day later.
Arkansas came out swinging just like Kentucky on Sunday morning, but this time we were prepared and fought back. Doubles was tight and came down to a pair of tiebreakers. Filip and German Samofalov were impressive with their win in the top spot, while Joao and Enzo Aguiard roared back from an early 0-4 deficit and served for the match at 5-4. The Hogs did their part and broke service which ultimately led to a tiebreaker. They got on another hot streak and took advantage of our inconsistent serving and returns. So things were knotted at one doubles match each and the attention shifted to court three with Zach Foster and Juan Martin (who returned after back spasms kept him out on Saturday). There were several ebbs and flows in this match with serves and returns being the main ingredients to victory. Like on court two, we pushed the match into a tiebreaker but unfortunately had the same misfortune with our play. Hogs got hot and snatched the point from us.
Singles was tight all the way down the line with not much separating the two teams. When one person would break serve, another would break back. I was impressed with Arkansas' continued offensive attack which demanded our focus and resilience. Zach and Juan captured first sets while narrow tiebreakers were dropped on a couple of other courts. While we were prepared to go the distance, Arkansas stopped us in our tracks and snagged three singles victories to give them the team victory. So heads hung a little low for our squad as the introduction to the SEC, which began at Ole Miss a weekend before, continued in Starkville. We were tough enough to face the challenge but just didn't maintain it long enough. A good lesson to learn for all players and coaches as the season is not over. In fact, it is just beginning and we now have the opportunity to accept the reality and respond at practice the following week. No excuses as those never win matches. Better to know what you're dealing with, and from this point on, look for answers while we build our endurance, discipline and ability to problem solve in tough conditions.
So how does a double header sound? Perfect! We welcome Memphis at 1 p.m. and UAB at 6 p.m. on Saturday for a pair of chances to keep building and improving. The Tigers participated in our Four-In-The-Fall last September and have always competed extremely well against us (including a 4-3 victory in Tuscaloosa last Spring). They are led by a solid group of veterans in their lineup and will no doubt provide us with plenty of adverse moments. UAB has a new head coach in Justin DeSanto after longtime Blazer leader, Derek Tarr, stepped down last May. They are always a tough match and will be ready to spit their fire throughout the nighttime affair.
We welcome faculty, staff and students from Alabama's Capstone International Center for the 1 p.m. match and will provide FREE Moe's burrito boxes to the first 100 fans. Both matches will be played in the R.A.B. (Roberta Alison Baumgardner Tennis Facility) so no worries on the chilly temps that have reappeared this week. This weekend will serve as our final scheduled indoor matches at home as we won't host another match in Tuscaloosa until Friday, March 11 against Ole Miss. For those of you that can't make the match, live stats and video stream will be available at RollTide.com. We look forward to seeing you inside the R.A.B. and hearing your cheers as there's no place like home.
Roll Tide!
George
Players Mentioned
