The Magnificent 7-0

Our coaching “triumvirate” of Ramsey Smith, Josh Goffi, and KJ Hippensteel made their dual match debut this evening under the roof of Sheffield indoor tennis center. Everything they wore matched. The crisp jacket, the windpants, the shoes, the socks… their GQ-like attention to detail must have put fear into the sweatpants-clad Elon staff.  They looked, in a word, professional.

And so did the players (figuratively speaking, of course, — my 1998 Volvo was bought with my own money). We did such a “professional” job it was almost a little dull. On one end, you saw the Good German Torsten Wietoska slowly dismantle Phil Nemec’s Canadian net-rushing. On the other end, in a match that was just dying to be played on red clay, Alain Michel’s “Brasileiro” style slowly dragged down and strangled Alberto Rojas’s legendary grinding. And in the middle, Reid Carleton and his background chorus of soccer player fans made Damon Gooch’s evening a nightmare — sweet revenge from last weekend. Pinsky, Kiril, and Dylan all dominated. As Lil' Wayne’s voice blasted through the speakers announcing our triumph, everyone but our guests from across the state left the building satisfied.

There were still some moments of drama. They may not have known it, but Dylan and Alain were playing match-clinching points at the same time. Dylan won his match approximately 2 seconds before Al, giving him the honor of first clinch of the year.

In the locker room afterwards, one didn’t really know what to criticize. Doubles were fiery and the breaks came early and often. Outside of a couple tough first sets, singles went pretty smoothly. At least this time (and hopefully the first of many), we went out and accomplished close to what we set out to do. It was a job well done from all aspects of the program.

I guess good things happen when a certain member of your team is reading “The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists.” It keeps our priorities straight.

However, tomorrow is a new day and Saturday night brings a new opponent, the highly ranked VCU Rams. We have quite a rivalry with these guys, especially after last year’s painful (particularly for me, as I lost the decider) 4-3 loss. It will be one of the most exciting home matches of the year. Saturday night indoor matches always have a great atmosphere and huge crowd and this should be no exception. There will be an absolute battle on the courts. Basketball tickets will be given away, and pizza will be eaten… at no charge. If you’re not there, you’re missing out on what is probably the best night of college tennis in North Carolina all year.

Thanks to everyone who came out and supported us tonight, and to everyone keeping up with the blog, 

Aaron