Happy February Tide Tennis Fans,

How quickly the season goes. A short while ago we picked up our new players at Birmingham Shuttlesworth to start the New Year and now we’ve jumped into our second month of 2018. Things happen quick and before you know it we will be outdoors playing under the sun as opposed to inside the friendly confines of the Roberta Alison Baumgardner Indoor Tennis Facility (aka “The RAB”). Last weekend was a blast as we hosted “Power 5” teams Virginia Tech and Penn State. We welcomed close to 100 faculty/staff and their families from the Culverhouse College of Commerce for an outing on Friday night and also witnessed one of our National Championship football heroes, Tua Tagovailoa, kick off the festive weekend with an honorary first serve to Senior Associate Dean Jonathon Halbesleben, instead of tossing a 40+ yard strike for a TD. Our good friends, Professor Peter Magnusson and TTA President Kathryn Hornsby, served as honorary coaches and ended their evening undefeated as Bama ended a three-year Hokie winning streak against the Tide. Saturday was a lite practice day for the team but not for Coach Avery Johnson’s men’s basketball squad as many of us watched them take down heralded freshman point guard Trae Young and the Oklahoma Sooners in a thrilling game at Coleman Coliseum. And finally, on Sunday, Bama Tennis returned to the RAB for a triple header as the boys faced the Nittany Lions in between a pair of women’s matches vs. Belmont and UAB respectively. Overall a lot took place on campus and certainly on the tennis courts. Great crowds, an electric atmosphere, new fans introduced to Tide Tennis, returning passionate fans cheered their hearts out, a football QB and Senior Associate Dean hit balls together, rain poured outside, perfect conditions existed inside and definitely a lot to be happy about.

Let’s start with Virginia Tech as Coach Jim Thompson (who had served as Alabama women’s assistant coach in 1988-1990) had his crew ready to go despite only two dual matches coming into the evening. Doubles started out very good for the home squad as the freshman/sophomore combo of Riccardo Roberto and Zhe Zhou tallied a quick win at #3 doubles. While things were going back and forth at #2, sophomore Edson Ortiz and junior Mazen Osama collected a quick and equally impressive victory over #14-ranked duo of Mitch Harper and Henrik Korsgaard Doubles Point Bama! Singles started out well on all courts though we couldn’t give an inch to the Hokies as their discipline and fight continued throughout the match. Freshman Patrick Kaukovalta debuted in singles and it was rather impressive to say the least. Our flying Finn was locked in from the start against fellow freshman Carlo Donato and jumped out to a 6-0, 3-0 lead. Not a bad effort considering it was Patrick’s first match since August 14, 2017. As the saying goes “you never forget how to ride a bike” and Patrick jumped on his Schwinn and recorded another point for Bama. Sophomore Alexey Nesterov was relentless against his Hokie and served big, ripped forehands and attacked the net. Bama 3, Va Tech 0. Following a tight match and tough defeat for Zhe on court #3, Edson clinched the match with an intensely fought 3-set win on court 5 that sealed the victory for the Tide. Fist pumps galore. Match Bama!

The Penn State Pride marched into the RAB on Sunday after a close loss to Virginia Tech on Saturday. We knew they didn’t want to leave Tuscaloosa winless so we had to be prepared for a battle. The Nittany Lions came out roaring and clawed their way into the match. We started off slow at #1 going down 1-4, but seemed to have good control on courts #2 and #3. Roommates, teammates and great friends, Thibault Cancel and Alexey Nesterov, broke early and scored a solid win. Riccardo and Zhe broke twice but their opponents hung in there and returned the favor, sending the match to a deciding tiebreaker which they won to bring all the focus to court #1. Edson and Mazen were in quite a fight with the crowd, team and Coach Robbie doing all they could to get Bama a “W.” The new duo turned up the intensity and saved a pair of match points at different parts of the set. They faced adversity and overcame it with an overhead smash on the final point winning 10-8 and gave Bama the all-important 1-0 lead. They turned and faced the crowd, dropped their rackets, yelled in exaltation, hugged each other and shook hands with their opponents. Point Bama!

Onward and upward to singles which was not a slam dunk. Penn State had a late afternoon flight out of Birmingham but were more than happy to miss it in order to secure a comeback victory. Throughout the week the coaches spoke about the great rivalry between Alabama and Penn State which dated back to their first football game against one another in 1959. The Nittany Lions won that inaugural slugfest but Bama had won 10 of the next 14 meetings including the 1979 Sugar Bowl which gave Bear Bryant his 5th national championship. Over the years there was plenty of respect afforded each program, but in the end, football is football, and these schools’ fans were not fans of each other. While we may be privy to the same following or fanfare on the tennis courts, it was important to share and recognize such a storied history between two great college athletic programs.

Onward to the match…bottom line, the competition was intense with several tug-of-wars were staged on court. Sometimes there are victories on court without finishing matches and this was the case in a few key contests. Mazen and Thibault closed out their first sets on court 1 & 2, while Edson came back from a 2-6 first set tiebreaker with six straight points to kill any momentum Penn State might have. Alexey sunk his teeth into the Lions first with a powerful display of aggression and roars of his own to give the Tide a 2-0 lead. Patrick was on court next to Edson and once again was quick out of the gates. His opponent, however, retaliated and sent the first set to a tiebreaker. Our Finnish freshman accepted the challenge and lost just one point in that TB. Then he settled in for the second set and pulled away for another Bama point. Just a few moments later, Zhe took control of his match and reversed the outcome from Friday night to seal the deal for the home team. Match Bama!

Overall a huge weekend and as coach Avery said after his team won on Saturday agains the Sooners, “it was magical.” Two matches that tested our guys patience, persistence and positivity and built their confidence in and support of one another. Whether on the court, in the stands or on the sidelines, it was an all hands on deck effort. The fans were also very important as they created an atmosphere that we want to be a part of all the time. The noise, adrenalin and thrill of victory was so sweet especially when shared with so many.

I must introduce and give thanks to Benn Marler, our stringing technician. The Aussie/Floridian certainly earned his stripes in what seemed to be a never-ending pile of work he attended to all weekend with rackets from six teams. Benn logged many hours, as per usual, in the back corner of the “green room”. Even when called to court for an emergency string job, he raced back to his machine and delivered finished rackets in record time. #ThatsBama Benn! Also many thanks to our coaching and support staff, marketing and facilities crew, new/returning Crimson Racket Club members and the officials who got their fair share of points to watch and call over the weekend. And finally, to the better halves of the coaches, Kristina (Husack), Linda (Weiss) and Marci (Canty). The real coaches behind the coaches. Without you I know my life, Robbie’s and Glen’s, would not be the same. It’s not often you get the credit you deserve for the team’s success nor for your encouragement and support. Roll Tide ladies!

This weekend we have just one match scheduled and it’s on the road. Another challenge for our young, improving squad and the test will be given on Sunday on the campus of Tulsa University. Led by Vince Westbrook, a legendary coach with more than 400 wins under his college tennis belt, the Golden Hurricane have a lot of new faces to go along with a history of tennis success, conference championships and NCAA tournament appearances. They love playing at home and indoors winning more than 78% of the time. The match will be streamed online at http://streamingtennis.com/tulsa/. We will have our hands full but I’m excited for what our team brings to the table as well. I love this team and the vibe we have. May it roll into Tulsa and do what it needs to do because #ThatsBama.

We shall return next weekend for another home smorgasbord starting with Pepperdine and Bama Salute Night on Friday at 6pm (FREE Taco Mama for all fans). Sunday we host my alma mater, San Diego State, at 1pm, followed by Lipscomb at 6pm. Our fathead and player buttons include Patrick Kaukovalta (Friday) and Sam Fischer/Grant Stuckey (Sunday). Have a super weekend and see you next week.

Roll Tide!

George