SAGEHEN TOURNEY: SKIDMORE&KENYON

It's tough to play 1 match in a day, let alone 2, against good competition. Skidmore was scheduled for 10am, a team that we had not faced in a very long time. I spoke to the Skidmore coach about Goody. He was not very happy that he was now playing 5 after moving up a spot after the Cal Lu coach. I understood his frustration and he made it clear to me that 5 was their best spot.

We got off to a great start in doubles by building a 3-0 lead. 5 was definitely their best spot, as Goodwin, struggled a bit, but still won in straight sets. The only potential hiccup was at 3 against Wagner. Wagner was locked in a battle against Skidmore's 3. As I watched the match, I was really impressed with Skidmore's 3 guy. He was very good and ended up taking the first set. One of the biggest lessons I have learned coaching is that you have to respect your opponent no matter the ranking of the individual or team. As soon as you lose sight of this fact, you can find yourself in a bad position. Wagner was definitely, frustrated, but battled back to win a 3rd set tiebreaker. I was very proud of him, because as soon as he focused, he allowed his opponent's strong level to raise his own to higher one. It was great tennis at the end, and thankfully, Wag's came out on top. Another bright spot was Kowalski's play at 2. He won in straight sets which validated his hard work and gave him some confidence. We ended up winning 9-0.

We left the courts to get lunch and get ready for our upcoming show down with Kenyon, a very dangerous team. I felt good about going into this match, the mood during warmup was relaxed, and having played a match in the morning, I knew we were ready.

One of the biggest mistakes you can ever make is feeling too relaxed. I definitely felt like we were going to come out firing, but Kenyon also had nothing to lose, and they changed their doubles lineup since the last time we played them at indoors. We won at 1 doubles, and for the first time, we lost at 2. Wagner/Kahler had been carrying us the entire season, so it was very difficult to be upset with them, especially because their 2 team played lights out. The last doubles point was a hard fought match at 3 doubles. Humphrey's and Kowalski got down an early break, but fortunately, they battled back. They ended up losing in a tiebreaker, but I was very proud of their ability to stay focused even when they got down an early break.

We were down 2-1 going into singles. Kenyon definitely had the mo, but fortunately, our guys did not panic. Instead we went out and played extremely well. Pott was in a battle with the number 1 player, but ended up winning in straight sets. Kowalski, after getting a much needed win against Skidmore, played some of his best tennis against a very talented freshman. Kowalski ended up winning a tiebreaker in the 1st set, after being down a set point, and then cruised in the 2nd set. I was extremely proud of Wagner at 2 singles. He never allowed his opponent to get any mo, and stayed focused and positive throughout the match. Wagner is very tough to beat when he stays positive. Goodwin, moved up to 4 and was obviously way too good. At 5, Halpern, again got down big early, and was even down a set point, before finding his rhythm and taking control of the match and winning in straight sets. Ruderman, at 6, had to wait for a court to open up. Ruderman, finally got on court and played a very tricky player. At this point, the match was over and the player was going for broke and converting. Ruderman, is very good at staying poised, even when he finds himself struggling. He lost the 1st set, but battled back in 2nd set to go up a break. Unfortunately, it started raining and the match was cancelled.

We ended up beating Kenyon 6-2. It was a very good day considering we had to play 2 matches. Our win against Kenyon propelled us into the finals against Claremont. Our match was scheduled for Saturday morning, but we had heard early in the week that the LA area was expecting a big storm. I have very little faith in weather forecasts and I didn't want the guys to presume that we were not going to play the next day. Fortunately, I have a lot of faith in our leadership and I knew that they would not let the team slip into a false sense of reality.

I woke up early on Saturday and it was raining. The streets were wet and after about an hour we called off the match. It's too bad because I know the team was looking forward to playing Claremont. The trip was almost over. We were heading out on the red-eye, and I know, that everyone had a great time, but we were also ready to get back to ATL.

A major trip like this takes many people to make it successful. I want to thank Bone and Alex for their tireless work and also the team. My main goal, being a parent, is to get everyone home safely. The team was amazingly responsible and kept a great attitude considering the time changes and sketchy weather.

Thanks to all who made this trip possible!