I wanted to take the time to congratulate Aman Manji for winning the prestigious Sonny Carter Scholarship. This is a very special award that is given every year to one student at Emory. The Sonny Carter Scholarship memorializes an Emory alumnus who was a
soccer player, physician, test pilot, and astronaut: Manley Lanier
"Sonny" Carter Jr., '69C, '73M. An applicant must have an outstanding academic record, demonstrated
involvement and leadership in the community, moral qualities supporting
the common good, and evidence that physical activity is a regular part
of the applicant’s life.
Aman is a role model for his teammates and coaching staff
because he places character and integrity above winning. Aman has become an
incredible ambassador for Emory University because he plays the game the right
way. Aman competes hard but never sacrifices his integrity in the heat of
competition. As a result, Aman has garnered much respect from his opponents and
opposing coaches across Division III.
We are all very proud of Aman! This is the third Emory tennis player to have won this award. Dylan Bird and Ian Wagner also were selected for this Sonny Carter Scholarship!
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Monday, March 28, 2016
SPRING BREAK 2016 - Part 3 - STAG HEN TOURNAMENT
The Pomona-Pitzer match was definitely a 2 day mental grind, but it's those types of experiences you can draw upon at the end of season. I was very interested to see how we would compete in the finals given the short turn around and playing Claremont on their home courts.
Zach Surmacz came down with his family to help support the team. His support and the guys that were not involved in doubles were really big for our doubles teams. They were very loud and gave our boys some momentum. Doubles started out great. Scotty and Spaulding at 1 doubles were locked in and got off to early break along with Rafe and Jonathan at 2 doubles. All three doubles teams looked fresh and up to the challenge. Unfortunately, we got down 1-4 at 3 doubles, but, they found their rhythm and started to make a comeback.
Scotty and Spaulding played their best doubles of the match winning 8-3 at 1. Rafe and Jonathan, closed out their match at 2 dubs, 8-4. Omsky and Harrington fought back from 1-4 at 3 doubles to capture of our 3rd point with an 8-6 win. We were able to go up 3-0 after doubles which was very important against Claremont, but we knew they were a talented team.
Rafe and Jonathan got off to very fast starts. Jonathan, found his game at 2 singles and looked like an entirely new player. Aman, at 3 singles, picked up where he left off and took the 1st set. Adrien, at 4 singles, saved his best tennis for the finals. Adrien closed out the first set against a solid Claremont player. Joshua dropped the first set at 5 singles, while Harrington took the first set at 6 singles.
We closed the match out with wins at 1, 2, 3, 4 singles. Joshua made a great comeback but fell short in a 3rd set breaker. Andrew, also lost in the 3rd set breaker at 6.
It was a great week in LA. Everyone at some point during the week stepped up and had important wins for the team.
Back to ATL!
Zach Surmacz came down with his family to help support the team. His support and the guys that were not involved in doubles were really big for our doubles teams. They were very loud and gave our boys some momentum. Doubles started out great. Scotty and Spaulding at 1 doubles were locked in and got off to early break along with Rafe and Jonathan at 2 doubles. All three doubles teams looked fresh and up to the challenge. Unfortunately, we got down 1-4 at 3 doubles, but, they found their rhythm and started to make a comeback.
Scotty and Spaulding played their best doubles of the match winning 8-3 at 1. Rafe and Jonathan, closed out their match at 2 dubs, 8-4. Omsky and Harrington fought back from 1-4 at 3 doubles to capture of our 3rd point with an 8-6 win. We were able to go up 3-0 after doubles which was very important against Claremont, but we knew they were a talented team.
Rafe and Jonathan got off to very fast starts. Jonathan, found his game at 2 singles and looked like an entirely new player. Aman, at 3 singles, picked up where he left off and took the 1st set. Adrien, at 4 singles, saved his best tennis for the finals. Adrien closed out the first set against a solid Claremont player. Joshua dropped the first set at 5 singles, while Harrington took the first set at 6 singles.
We closed the match out with wins at 1, 2, 3, 4 singles. Joshua made a great comeback but fell short in a 3rd set breaker. Andrew, also lost in the 3rd set breaker at 6.
It was a great week in LA. Everyone at some point during the week stepped up and had important wins for the team.
Back to ATL!
Monday, March 21, 2016
SPRING BREAK 2016 - Part 2 - STAG HEN TOURNAMENT
The Stag-Hen tournament is one of the best tournaments of the year. We have played it a few times, and if memory serves me correct, we have only won it one time in it's 9 year history. We entered the tournament as the number 3 seed, behind Claremont and Pomona-Pitzer. The Stag Hen always fields a very strong contingent of teams which makes the tournament very challenging, but, it also tests your mental and physical stamina. The Stag-Hen is a 2 day tournament which means that teams will have to play 2 very difficult matches in one day with the finals being played on Day 2. This can be a very taunting task because there is relatively no recovery time. Teams that win this event are obviously talented, but more importantly, they usually are the teams that are in the best physical and mental condition.
Our first match was against a very scrappy team from Case Western that had a very strong showing at the ITA national indoors, capturing 3rd place. They have proven this season to be very strong in doubles and I knew going into this match that we would need to come out strong in doubles so that Case would not get any momentum going into singles. Fortunately, our guys were much more focused than our doubles start against APU. Scotty and James at number 1 doubles faced off against the number 3 nationally ranked doubles team. They came out really strong and ended up getting us a big point winning 8-4. Omsky and Harrington got off to a slow start but made a big comeback only to fall short in the tiebreaker. Rafe and Jonathan at the 2 dubs played well and got us the very important 2nd point.
When you go up 2-1 after doubles it takes so much pressure off the guys heading into singles. Rafe had mentioned to me the day before that his singles record at the Stag Hen over the past 3 years was not good. This did not seem to bother him going into the singles against the number 3 ranked player from last year. Rafe was on point the entire match notching a straight set win. Aman, at 3 singles, began to find his form and notched us our 4 point. Harrington and Goodman also played well earning our 5th and 6th points. It was a good match for us, but now we had a 2 hour turn around before our afternoon match against Pomona.
Pomona-Pitzer played at ITA Indoor Nationals in February. They did not have the best tournament, but, when you factor in the travel from the west coast and also the fact they never play inside, you can understand their results. Pomona-Pitzer is a dangerous team, especially on their home courts, so I knew we were in for tough match. Our doubles got off to slow start. We found ourselves down and early break at 1 and 3 doubles. At 2 doubles, Rafe and Jonathan, were on point securing an early break. As the doubles matches progressed it looked like we were going to go down 2-1. We were down at 1-4 at 1 and 3 doubles, and up 5-3 at 2 doubles. And then, the heavens opened up and dumped a heavy dose of rain. LA is in a severe drought so it was an amazing occurrence for this to happen. Fortunately, it couldn't happened at a better time. That night during our team meeting we talked about how the rain stymied PP momentum and that we could regain our footing the next morning.
Our match resumed the next morning. 1 dubs started out strong and began to stage a comeback. 2 doubles got off to a slow start, and at one point, found themselves down 6-5. At the 3 doubles, you could feel the momentum starting to shift in our favor, even though they were down 5-2. Our level at 1 doubles was much better than the day before, but they ended up losing 8-5. Rafe and Jonathan, regained their footing after losing 3 straight games. They clinched our first point winning 8-6. David and Andrew made a dramatic comeback and secured an important point by winning in a tiebreaker.
A 2-1 lead on a solid opponents home court is huge. As the singles matches started we won the first sets at 1, 3, 4, and 6 singles. Adrien, at 4 singles, was playing much better and he was able to secure us our 3rd point. Rafe, followed with a strong performance at 1 singles giving us 4-1 lead. That old cliche "it's never over till it's over" was very applicable for this match because PP began their comeback. Jonathan was definitely not sharp but he was also playing a very good player. PP won at 2 singles and closed out a great match at 5 singles against Josh Goodman. The momentum at this point had definitely shifted to PP favor. They won the 2nd sets at 6 and 3 singles.
Aman Manji was playing a very talented player at 3 singles and it didn't help that the crowd was sensing a comeback. Aman did a wonderful job of staying focused and not allowing the crowd to get into the third set. Aman won a decisive 3rd set securing us our 5th point.
I was very proud of our team battling back from a rain delay, a doubles deficit, and a home court advantage for our opponents. We had 2 hour rest before the playing the finals at CMS.
Our first match was against a very scrappy team from Case Western that had a very strong showing at the ITA national indoors, capturing 3rd place. They have proven this season to be very strong in doubles and I knew going into this match that we would need to come out strong in doubles so that Case would not get any momentum going into singles. Fortunately, our guys were much more focused than our doubles start against APU. Scotty and James at number 1 doubles faced off against the number 3 nationally ranked doubles team. They came out really strong and ended up getting us a big point winning 8-4. Omsky and Harrington got off to a slow start but made a big comeback only to fall short in the tiebreaker. Rafe and Jonathan at the 2 dubs played well and got us the very important 2nd point.
When you go up 2-1 after doubles it takes so much pressure off the guys heading into singles. Rafe had mentioned to me the day before that his singles record at the Stag Hen over the past 3 years was not good. This did not seem to bother him going into the singles against the number 3 ranked player from last year. Rafe was on point the entire match notching a straight set win. Aman, at 3 singles, began to find his form and notched us our 4 point. Harrington and Goodman also played well earning our 5th and 6th points. It was a good match for us, but now we had a 2 hour turn around before our afternoon match against Pomona.
Pomona-Pitzer played at ITA Indoor Nationals in February. They did not have the best tournament, but, when you factor in the travel from the west coast and also the fact they never play inside, you can understand their results. Pomona-Pitzer is a dangerous team, especially on their home courts, so I knew we were in for tough match. Our doubles got off to slow start. We found ourselves down and early break at 1 and 3 doubles. At 2 doubles, Rafe and Jonathan, were on point securing an early break. As the doubles matches progressed it looked like we were going to go down 2-1. We were down at 1-4 at 1 and 3 doubles, and up 5-3 at 2 doubles. And then, the heavens opened up and dumped a heavy dose of rain. LA is in a severe drought so it was an amazing occurrence for this to happen. Fortunately, it couldn't happened at a better time. That night during our team meeting we talked about how the rain stymied PP momentum and that we could regain our footing the next morning.
Our match resumed the next morning. 1 dubs started out strong and began to stage a comeback. 2 doubles got off to a slow start, and at one point, found themselves down 6-5. At the 3 doubles, you could feel the momentum starting to shift in our favor, even though they were down 5-2. Our level at 1 doubles was much better than the day before, but they ended up losing 8-5. Rafe and Jonathan, regained their footing after losing 3 straight games. They clinched our first point winning 8-6. David and Andrew made a dramatic comeback and secured an important point by winning in a tiebreaker.
A 2-1 lead on a solid opponents home court is huge. As the singles matches started we won the first sets at 1, 3, 4, and 6 singles. Adrien, at 4 singles, was playing much better and he was able to secure us our 3rd point. Rafe, followed with a strong performance at 1 singles giving us 4-1 lead. That old cliche "it's never over till it's over" was very applicable for this match because PP began their comeback. Jonathan was definitely not sharp but he was also playing a very good player. PP won at 2 singles and closed out a great match at 5 singles against Josh Goodman. The momentum at this point had definitely shifted to PP favor. They won the 2nd sets at 6 and 3 singles.
Aman Manji was playing a very talented player at 3 singles and it didn't help that the crowd was sensing a comeback. Aman did a wonderful job of staying focused and not allowing the crowd to get into the third set. Aman won a decisive 3rd set securing us our 5th point.
I was very proud of our team battling back from a rain delay, a doubles deficit, and a home court advantage for our opponents. We had 2 hour rest before the playing the finals at CMS.
Friday, March 18, 2016
SPRING BREAK 2016 Part 1
We left warm Atlanta on Monday, March 7th, and traveled to cold and rainy LA. When we landed, I started thinking that this might be an omen of things to come, and then, we had to stand in line at the rent-a-car agency for 2 hours. Not a good start to the week. Fortunately, our traditional lunch at In and Out made me start to feel better.
Our spring break trip was very important because we wanted to keep the momentum going, and, as a coach, your always worried about chemistry, especially when you are spending an entire week with each other. Thankfully, we have a great group that genuinely enjoy spending time with each other.
We have played Azusa-Pacific University many times on our trips out to LA. APU is always loaded with talent and we have only beaten them once in 2006, when former number 1 player, Michael Goodwin, clinched the final point with a 3rd set tiebreak win. I had no idea how we would fare against APU with this team. As the doubles started we definitely looked flat. I had no idea if we were a little jet lagged or didn't believe we could beat them. We also had a new 3 doubles team, because David Omsky, had suffered a concussion against Sewanee so he we was sitting out. Alec Josepher, a very talented transfer from SMU, took his place.
We got off to a very slow start at 1 doubles. Scotty and James were playing a very strong team and really never found their footing. Rafe and Jonathan were in a battle at 2 doubles and Harrington and Josepher were playing together for the first time. On top of the slow start, the APU crowd was all over us. It was by far the most aggressive crowd this team had faced all season. We ended losing at 1 doubles and 3 doubles. Thankfully, 2 doubles clinched a very important point.
We got off to a slow start in singles dropping the first sets at 1,2,3,4,5. Harrington was locked in and took the first set at 6 singles. At this point, it looked pretty dim, but the boys started to rally. Rafe was playing one of the best players in NCAA D-2 and ended up losing. We found ourselves down 3-1, but we took the 2nd sets at 2 singles and 5 singles. Harrington was able to close his match out and you could feel the tide starting to turn. Jonathan was playing a very good player at 2 singles, but, I could see that his opponent was starting to get tired. Josh Goodman, at 5 singles, had a very slow start, but he was beginning to find his rhythm. Aman, was battling even though he was not sharp, and unfortunately, he lost which gave APU it's 4th point. We needed to sweep the remaining 3 matches at 2,4, and 5 singles. We looked in control at 2 and 5 singles, but Adrien Bouchet at 4 singles, found himself down a set and multiple match points. Adrien, is a very good competitor and found a way to come back and win the 2nd set. Jonathan pulled out the biggest win of his season at 2 singles. Josh's mental toughness enabled him to survive a slow start and eventually pull out a big win. Our match was tied at 4-4 with Adrien entering his 3rd set. Adrien had worn down his opponent by the 3rd set and you could tell that his opponent was out of gas. Adrien clinched the match enabling us to secure our first win against APU since 2006. The match was definitely not our best performance, but it proved to our guys that you can never give in, and when all the odds are stacked against you, keep fighting, which they did. It was also important for the team to see that they could handle having a crowd in there faces for an entire match.
On our day off, we ventured off to the BNP to watch the best players in the world play. The best part of the BNP was getting a chance to watch the pro's practice on the side courts.
Our spring break trip was very important because we wanted to keep the momentum going, and, as a coach, your always worried about chemistry, especially when you are spending an entire week with each other. Thankfully, we have a great group that genuinely enjoy spending time with each other.
We have played Azusa-Pacific University many times on our trips out to LA. APU is always loaded with talent and we have only beaten them once in 2006, when former number 1 player, Michael Goodwin, clinched the final point with a 3rd set tiebreak win. I had no idea how we would fare against APU with this team. As the doubles started we definitely looked flat. I had no idea if we were a little jet lagged or didn't believe we could beat them. We also had a new 3 doubles team, because David Omsky, had suffered a concussion against Sewanee so he we was sitting out. Alec Josepher, a very talented transfer from SMU, took his place.
We got off to a very slow start at 1 doubles. Scotty and James were playing a very strong team and really never found their footing. Rafe and Jonathan were in a battle at 2 doubles and Harrington and Josepher were playing together for the first time. On top of the slow start, the APU crowd was all over us. It was by far the most aggressive crowd this team had faced all season. We ended losing at 1 doubles and 3 doubles. Thankfully, 2 doubles clinched a very important point.
We got off to a slow start in singles dropping the first sets at 1,2,3,4,5. Harrington was locked in and took the first set at 6 singles. At this point, it looked pretty dim, but the boys started to rally. Rafe was playing one of the best players in NCAA D-2 and ended up losing. We found ourselves down 3-1, but we took the 2nd sets at 2 singles and 5 singles. Harrington was able to close his match out and you could feel the tide starting to turn. Jonathan was playing a very good player at 2 singles, but, I could see that his opponent was starting to get tired. Josh Goodman, at 5 singles, had a very slow start, but he was beginning to find his rhythm. Aman, was battling even though he was not sharp, and unfortunately, he lost which gave APU it's 4th point. We needed to sweep the remaining 3 matches at 2,4, and 5 singles. We looked in control at 2 and 5 singles, but Adrien Bouchet at 4 singles, found himself down a set and multiple match points. Adrien, is a very good competitor and found a way to come back and win the 2nd set. Jonathan pulled out the biggest win of his season at 2 singles. Josh's mental toughness enabled him to survive a slow start and eventually pull out a big win. Our match was tied at 4-4 with Adrien entering his 3rd set. Adrien had worn down his opponent by the 3rd set and you could tell that his opponent was out of gas. Adrien clinched the match enabling us to secure our first win against APU since 2006. The match was definitely not our best performance, but it proved to our guys that you can never give in, and when all the odds are stacked against you, keep fighting, which they did. It was also important for the team to see that they could handle having a crowd in there faces for an entire match.
On our day off, we ventured off to the BNP to watch the best players in the world play. The best part of the BNP was getting a chance to watch the pro's practice on the side courts.
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
THE FIRST STEP...
I have had many people come up to me before the start of the season and ask me if we have a good team. It's a difficult question to answer because we are a very young team that graduated 3 major contributors last season. We graduated our number 1, 2, and 4 players that were the last remnants of our 2012 NCAA championship team. We had a good showing the past weekend against some very difficult opponents, but, playing the top D-3 teams at a major event is a totally different animal.
I had no idea how we would perform, but, what I did know was that we have a great group of players who bought into a common purpose. Our guys worked really hard prior to the start of the event and were prepared for the tournament. One of the biggest cliche's in sports is all the talk about chemistry, a term that's very difficult to define. I have come to realize that over the years, even though it's a cliche, chemistry matters. Chemistry to me is a group of individuals who put the team before there own needs. Some years, players buy into this concept, and others years, not so much. This quote sums up what chemistry is all about, " A great team will be beat a team with great players." Roberto Bazzarella, a sophomore, came on the trip knowing that he would not play, but, decided to come so that he could support his teammates. His unselfishness and support helped us throughout the tournament.
I am going to give a broad overview of the tournament, rather than rehash each individual match. I have said many times that winning championships is all between the ears. Yes, talent matters, but handling adversity is much more important. For a young team, our guys played with the maturity like they were seasoned veterans. They faced many difficult situations throughout the tournament and with each tough moment, they refocused, and didn't panic. I give a lot of credit to their captain, Rafe Mosetick. Rafe has grown a great deal during his four years at Emory, and, his positive leadership helped everyone on the team.
Teams that win NCAA's get contributions from all spots in the lineup during the course of a tournament. If one player loses at 3 singles in the quarter-finals, he may pick us up with a win in the semi-finals. This was definitely the case this weekend. Everyone on the team contributed to winning the Indoor Title.
Rafe: was able to notch 2 big wins at 1 singles against quality opponents. Rafe and Jonathan also won a big match at 2 doubles against Chicago.
Jonathan: showed Division III tennis why he is one of the best players in the country winning all 3 of his singles matches and going to 2 for 3 in doubles with Rafe. Jonathan's match clinched the title.
Aman: was one of the unsung hero's of the tournament. He went 3-0 in the tournament beating some very good players.
Adrien: was also an unsung hero, going 3-0 at the number 4 singles spot. Adrien was the first singles point against Chicago, beating a very good player.
Josh: "the closer" went 2 for 3 over the weekend at 5 singles. The Carnegie match was very difficult and Josh like he did against Dalton State, clinched the match for us.
Andrew: had the hardest job, he had to wait each match for 2.5 hours before he went on court. His doubles play over the weekend, going 3-0 with Omsky was very critical in our success.
David: went 3-0 in doubles with Andrew and his leadership on court was much amazing. His win against Carnegie after being down 5-2 helped us from going down 0-3 in doubles.
Scotty: had the difficult task of playing number 1 doubles. He was a leader on the court and handled some very difficult situations. He and his partner, James Spaulding, went 2-1 over the weekend.
James: like Scotty, had a great weekend, beating the number 3 ranked Chicago team on the last day. Most importantly, he got some very good experience.
As good we played this weekend, we need to get a whole lot better. The worst thing we can do now is to be content, this has happened to us in the past, and we cannot let this happen again. It's only the first step.
I have been to many Indoor National Championships and Case Western did an amazing job hosting the event. They made it a real special deal for all of the athletes. Many thanks to all who put this tournament together!!!
I had no idea how we would perform, but, what I did know was that we have a great group of players who bought into a common purpose. Our guys worked really hard prior to the start of the event and were prepared for the tournament. One of the biggest cliche's in sports is all the talk about chemistry, a term that's very difficult to define. I have come to realize that over the years, even though it's a cliche, chemistry matters. Chemistry to me is a group of individuals who put the team before there own needs. Some years, players buy into this concept, and others years, not so much. This quote sums up what chemistry is all about, " A great team will be beat a team with great players." Roberto Bazzarella, a sophomore, came on the trip knowing that he would not play, but, decided to come so that he could support his teammates. His unselfishness and support helped us throughout the tournament.
I am going to give a broad overview of the tournament, rather than rehash each individual match. I have said many times that winning championships is all between the ears. Yes, talent matters, but handling adversity is much more important. For a young team, our guys played with the maturity like they were seasoned veterans. They faced many difficult situations throughout the tournament and with each tough moment, they refocused, and didn't panic. I give a lot of credit to their captain, Rafe Mosetick. Rafe has grown a great deal during his four years at Emory, and, his positive leadership helped everyone on the team.
Teams that win NCAA's get contributions from all spots in the lineup during the course of a tournament. If one player loses at 3 singles in the quarter-finals, he may pick us up with a win in the semi-finals. This was definitely the case this weekend. Everyone on the team contributed to winning the Indoor Title.
Rafe: was able to notch 2 big wins at 1 singles against quality opponents. Rafe and Jonathan also won a big match at 2 doubles against Chicago.
Jonathan: showed Division III tennis why he is one of the best players in the country winning all 3 of his singles matches and going to 2 for 3 in doubles with Rafe. Jonathan's match clinched the title.
Aman: was one of the unsung hero's of the tournament. He went 3-0 in the tournament beating some very good players.
Adrien: was also an unsung hero, going 3-0 at the number 4 singles spot. Adrien was the first singles point against Chicago, beating a very good player.
Josh: "the closer" went 2 for 3 over the weekend at 5 singles. The Carnegie match was very difficult and Josh like he did against Dalton State, clinched the match for us.
Andrew: had the hardest job, he had to wait each match for 2.5 hours before he went on court. His doubles play over the weekend, going 3-0 with Omsky was very critical in our success.
David: went 3-0 in doubles with Andrew and his leadership on court was much amazing. His win against Carnegie after being down 5-2 helped us from going down 0-3 in doubles.
Scotty: had the difficult task of playing number 1 doubles. He was a leader on the court and handled some very difficult situations. He and his partner, James Spaulding, went 2-1 over the weekend.
James: like Scotty, had a great weekend, beating the number 3 ranked Chicago team on the last day. Most importantly, he got some very good experience.
As good we played this weekend, we need to get a whole lot better. The worst thing we can do now is to be content, this has happened to us in the past, and we cannot let this happen again. It's only the first step.
I have been to many Indoor National Championships and Case Western did an amazing job hosting the event. They made it a real special deal for all of the athletes. Many thanks to all who put this tournament together!!!
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
THE 2016 JOURNEY BEGINS
The start of the season always feels like it's light years away. There is so much hard work and preparation that goes into getting ready for the first match. Everyone remembers the brutal 7am morning workouts, the countless number of balls that are hit during the fall and off-season, and lastly, the stressful challenge matches. The first match of the season is payoff of all the hard work.
This past weekend I scheduled three very talented teams. I was excited but definitely a little apprehensive scheduling this type of competition at the start of the season. After the weekend, I was happy with our boys effort, and despite the scores, it showed me that if were are mentally focused, we can compete with any team.
Our first match was against Dalton State, an NAIA team that had recently knocked off number 2 Auburn Montgomery. We have never played Dalton State so I had no idea what to expect from them. I was very curious to see how we would compete in doubles. Our number 1 doubles team of sophomore Scott Rubinstein and freshman James Spaulding got off to a quick start securing an early break and eventually getting us a point. At number 2 doubles the team of Senior Captain, Rafe Mosetick, and freshman Jonathan Jemison came out with energy and dominated there opponents for point number 2. At three doubles, the team of junior Aman Manji and sophomore David Omsky, got off to a slow start but staged a great comeback. Unfortunately, they could not hold off DSU and ended up losing. We went into singles with a 2-1 lead.
We got off to a good start in singles securing a point at 1 and 3 singles. With point left on the board to obtain, DSU staged a comeback. They earned at points at 4 and 5 singles. At 2 singles, Jonathan, was in a very difficult match with a player that number 4 ranked player in NAIA. There was no guarantee that Jonathan would be able to secure the last point. Junior Josh Goodman, at 6 singles had the burden of securing the last point. The pressure was definitely building, but, Josh locked in and dominated his opponent to give us the 5th point. Meanwhile at 2 singles, Jonathan, found himself in a 3rd set tiebreak. The match was 3 sets of physical tennis and by the tiebreaker, both players were beat up. Jonathan, mentally, stayed focused and ended up grinding out an 11-9, 3rd set tiebreak win. It was nice to start with a 6-3 win.
We turned around the next day to face to 2 very good opponents. The morning match I rested some of the starters against Georgia Gwinett College which has won the NAIA national championship the past two seasons. There team is one of the most talented teams we have ever played and could be a very competitive Division I team if given the opportunity. We lost all 3 doubles matches but had some good performances at 1 and 3 doubles. We definitely had an uphill battle in singles, but our guys competed and did not back down from the level of competition. Sophomore transfer, Andrew Harrington, was able to secure a point a 6 singles.
We turned around after a 3 hour rest to play Division 1 Georgia State. We got down an early break at 1 dubs and 2 dubs. At 3 dubs, we put a new team of Omsky and Harrington together. They had never played together but came and with great energy and secured and early break. 1 dubs broke back and played a very good match but ended up losing the point. 2 dubs could not find the energy they had the first day and ended up losing. 3 dubs battled the entire match and secured us a very important point.
We end up losing 7-2 but the match was much closer than the score. At 1 singles, Rafe, played an opponent who had just beat Alabama's number 1 player. He was a very disciplined player and ended up beating Rafe in straight sets, but, Rafe had opportunities in the first and proved that he can play at this level. At 3 singles, Aman Manji, played a strong match losing in 3 sets. Andrew Harrington lost in 3 sets at six singles. Our singles point came from freshman Jonathan Jemison at 2 singles.
The Georgia State match proved to me that we can hang with good teams as long as we keep working hard and focus on getting better.
Off to Indoors!!!
This past weekend I scheduled three very talented teams. I was excited but definitely a little apprehensive scheduling this type of competition at the start of the season. After the weekend, I was happy with our boys effort, and despite the scores, it showed me that if were are mentally focused, we can compete with any team.
Our first match was against Dalton State, an NAIA team that had recently knocked off number 2 Auburn Montgomery. We have never played Dalton State so I had no idea what to expect from them. I was very curious to see how we would compete in doubles. Our number 1 doubles team of sophomore Scott Rubinstein and freshman James Spaulding got off to a quick start securing an early break and eventually getting us a point. At number 2 doubles the team of Senior Captain, Rafe Mosetick, and freshman Jonathan Jemison came out with energy and dominated there opponents for point number 2. At three doubles, the team of junior Aman Manji and sophomore David Omsky, got off to a slow start but staged a great comeback. Unfortunately, they could not hold off DSU and ended up losing. We went into singles with a 2-1 lead.
We got off to a good start in singles securing a point at 1 and 3 singles. With point left on the board to obtain, DSU staged a comeback. They earned at points at 4 and 5 singles. At 2 singles, Jonathan, was in a very difficult match with a player that number 4 ranked player in NAIA. There was no guarantee that Jonathan would be able to secure the last point. Junior Josh Goodman, at 6 singles had the burden of securing the last point. The pressure was definitely building, but, Josh locked in and dominated his opponent to give us the 5th point. Meanwhile at 2 singles, Jonathan, found himself in a 3rd set tiebreak. The match was 3 sets of physical tennis and by the tiebreaker, both players were beat up. Jonathan, mentally, stayed focused and ended up grinding out an 11-9, 3rd set tiebreak win. It was nice to start with a 6-3 win.
We turned around the next day to face to 2 very good opponents. The morning match I rested some of the starters against Georgia Gwinett College which has won the NAIA national championship the past two seasons. There team is one of the most talented teams we have ever played and could be a very competitive Division I team if given the opportunity. We lost all 3 doubles matches but had some good performances at 1 and 3 doubles. We definitely had an uphill battle in singles, but our guys competed and did not back down from the level of competition. Sophomore transfer, Andrew Harrington, was able to secure a point a 6 singles.
We turned around after a 3 hour rest to play Division 1 Georgia State. We got down an early break at 1 dubs and 2 dubs. At 3 dubs, we put a new team of Omsky and Harrington together. They had never played together but came and with great energy and secured and early break. 1 dubs broke back and played a very good match but ended up losing the point. 2 dubs could not find the energy they had the first day and ended up losing. 3 dubs battled the entire match and secured us a very important point.
We end up losing 7-2 but the match was much closer than the score. At 1 singles, Rafe, played an opponent who had just beat Alabama's number 1 player. He was a very disciplined player and ended up beating Rafe in straight sets, but, Rafe had opportunities in the first and proved that he can play at this level. At 3 singles, Aman Manji, played a strong match losing in 3 sets. Andrew Harrington lost in 3 sets at six singles. Our singles point came from freshman Jonathan Jemison at 2 singles.
The Georgia State match proved to me that we can hang with good teams as long as we keep working hard and focus on getting better.
Off to Indoors!!!
Monday, January 11, 2016
YOJI MASUOKA IS GETTING MARRIED!!!
Yoji Masuoka graduated from Emory in 2006. Yoji was a vital member of the our 2006 NCAA Championship team. Yoji was absolutely dominant on our run for a 2nd title. Our team lost the doubles point and momentum heading into singles. Yoji's match turned everything around. Yoji got off to a fast start which helped our team recapture the momentum. Yoji got the first point of our match which fueled his teammates.Yoji, also earned NCAA All-American honors.
Yoji is currently working in Tokyo, Japan. I received an email last week from Yoji announcing his marriage to Reina O. We are all so very happy to hear the wonderful news. Yoji will be married on April 10, 2016.
Yoji garnered many honors during his tenure at Emory, but what I will remember was his dedication and commitment to his teammates. Yoji would do anything for his teammates. Tyson Ramsay was married in Palm Springs a few years ago, and Yoji flew all the way from Tokyo to be at his side!!!
CONGRATS YOJI AND REINA!!!
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