Hello from Alabama Tennis,
Another wild weekend of tennis awaits to kick off at the Roberta Alison Baumgardner Indoor Facility. On Friday night Alabama faces Virginia Tech for the fourth consecutive year. First serve is set for 6pm, though the “honorary first serve” will be struck a few minutes before by National Championship QB, Tua Tagovailoa. The freshman from Ewa Beach, Hawai’i, will step up and smoke a serve to kick off the weekend’s activities. All football (and Georgia) fans are welcome. Men’s Tennis will also welcome to the match faculty and staff from UA’s Culverhouse College of Commerce as they bring family and friends with them for an evening of fun away from the classroom. Who ever said “all work and no play”? On Saturday, in a rare neutral site contest, the Hokies of Va Tech will play Penn State at 1pm. A tough time considering Bama Men’s Basketball tips off at home against #12 Oklahoma at 1:15pm. All tennis aficionados, however, are welcome to track the hoop game on their phone and check out college tennis live in person. And finally, on Sunday, a Bama Tennis Tripleheader with Women’s Tennis vs. Belmont at 10am, Men’s Tennis vs. Penn State at 1pm (hence the Hokie-Lion match on Saturday) and Women’s Tennis against UAB at 4pm. So there’s really no reason to miss out on all these super match-ups starting with Friday Night Lights at the RAB (Roberta Alison Baumgardner). The Featured Fathead and Player Pin promotions return to men’s tennis matches with Mazen Osama, our elder statesman, being featured against Virginia Tech. Our kickboxing, guitar playing sophomore, Thibault Cancel will be featured on Sunday against the Nittany Lions. Can we get a tweet out to new Bama quarterbacks coach Josh Gattis so that he can wear his crimson and white gear while his former employer is in town? Seems like a good way to get him indoctrinated into Alabama athletics. Roll Tide!
Last week I touched on our incredible support staff, some of which were purposely not included, so I could mention them now and in weeks to follow. I am blessed to have coaches Robbie Weiss and Glen Fanelli. Both have been invaluable assets to our tennis program with many years of experience in junior, college and professional tennis. Each guy has his unique style of coaching, mentoring and leading, all of which has made such a positive impact to the players and me. Whether it’s Robbie’s intensity on court, tireless efforts on the recruiting trail or classic food critiques there’s no doubt he bleeds crimson and white. And Glen, who wears the Alabama A as proudly as anyone I’ve ever known, keeps us light on our toes, laughing at his one-of-a-kind humor, and regardless of the outcome, reminds us that “life is good”. They are quite the combination, a ying and yang of sorts, that has given a lot of their blood, sweat and tears to the university and I’m extremely grateful for their commitment and friendship. As former athletic director Bill Battle would always remind us to “keep the Tide rising,” this pair does just that and their impact goes far beyond the baseline. Thank you Robbie and Glen for all you do. #ThatsBama
A quick review of last weekend where we competed and completed our third of four doubleheaders on the year. Local rival Samford, and former Alabama women’s assistant/now Bulldog head coach Rahim Esmail, cruised south on the Interstate for an afternoon matinee along with Chattanooga who filled the nighttime slot. Both matches provided more opportunities for our young team to face challenges, implement game plans/strategies and improve our patience, persistence and positivity. Samford gave us a run for our money in doubles to open the day. We split matches at #2 (Cancel/Nesterov) and #3 (Kaukovalta/Zhou) while our #1 team (Ortiz/Osama) were down a break 1-4. The energy and intensity definitely heated up as the Bulldogs looked to take the opening point. Edson and Mazen settled in, however, and made serves, first volleys and returns. Their consistency and discipline allowed them to break their opponents’ serve not once but twice en route to a thrilling 6-4 victory and a 1-0 home team lead. Roll Tide! We all took a deep breath during the intermission and then got ready to carry the momentum into singles play. Our players responded with tremendous execution and resolve sweeping Samford up and down our bank of six courts while many fans cheered us on. Thibault was first off, while his doubles partner and roommate, Alexey, quickly followed. Zhe continued his strong, aggressive game style and clinched the match while Mazen got the first win of his junior year. Edson continued to demonstrate great poise, discipline and confidence with his play, while Grant attacked and transitioned forward over and over and over again. Following the match Robbie asked “who was that down there, Patrick Rafter?” A telling statement of the significant progress this freshman has made since his arrival on campus. Match Bama!
Following treatment with our athletic training staff (thanks Mama Katie and company!) and a team lunch the guys prepared for their evening match against Chattanooga. The Mocs, led by first-year head coach Chuck Merzbacher who has over 430 college wins on his resume, came out fearlessly swinging. The goal for the match was to support one another even more than the showdown with Samford. We asked for just 5% more from each member of the team, coaches and players included, as we wanted to finish the day on a high note regardless of the match outcome. Doubles started off well with freshman Patrick Kaukovalta capturing his first Alabama victory with partner Edson Ortiz on court 2. Thibault and Alexey added another strong doubles performance with a clinching win at the top spot, while freshmen Sam Fischer and Grant Stuckey secured their team-leading fourth doubles victory in this young season. During the intermission we checked in on everybody’s effort and reset again, now stressing 5% more in singles. Alexey, Edson and Thibault were quick out of the gates and captured their own “Point Bamas!” for the team, while Grant and Mazen tallied their second wins of the day. Sam battled his way into a 10-point super breaker for the third set (this is played once a match has been clinched) and took hold of this tug-of-war the best he could. His Moc opponent, however, did the same and narrowly defeated our fighting freshman 10-8. A valiant effort which is something Sam gives on a daily basis on court, in the gym and in the classroom. Match Bama!
So now we enter the weekend with six matches under our belt and a new series of opposition in front of us. Fortunately we compete at home in five of our next six matches and the journey continues…there’s no place like home and T-Town tennis fans! We can’t wait to see what Tua brings on the tennis court and how many Culverhouse professors trade in their power points and lectures for a presentation and group project of our own. Join us indoors as admission is free and so too is the tennis action.
Roll Tide,
George