General
Women’s Tennis Set to Take on No.23 Texas
Mar 30th
March 30, 2011
Preview of No. 23 Texas
LUBBOCK, Texas – The Texas Tech women’s tennis team with its 13-4 overall record and 3-1 Big 12 record is primed for a matchup with No. 23 Texas set for Fri., April 1, at the McLeod Tennis Complex.
No. 23 Texas comes in with a six-match winning streak and is 10-4 overall and 5-0 in the Big 12. Texas has the No. 21 ranked singles player in Aeriel Ellis and the No. 48 doubles squad with Amanda Craddock and Cierra Gaytan-Leach.
Tech comes into the match at No. 45, a jump of four spots from last week. The Lady Raiders went 1-1 over the weekend beating Oklahoma State on the road and falling to then No. 18 Oklahoma.
Samantha Adams is currently 4-0 in Big 12 singles play and is currently on an eight-match winning streak. In doubles play her and partner Kelsy Garland at the No. 1 are 9-3 on the season and 3-1 in Big 12 play.
The No. 2 and No. 3 doubles teams are both playing extremely well. The No. 2 team of Caroline Stark and Nikki Sanders are 11-2 overall and have won nine of the last 10. Not to be outdone, Haley Fournier and Elizabeth Ullathorne are 11-3 but also have won nine of their last 10.
Fans that come to the match will have the opportunity for free pizza and numerous raffles and giveaways throughout the match. The match will begin at 12 p.m. and live stats can be found at www.texastech.com.
From www.texastech.com
Tennis Players warm up for African Junior Championships
Mar 30th
Zimbabwean tennis players are taking part in the warm-up tournament at the African Junior Tennis championships at the Notwane Tennis Centre in Gaborone, Botswana.
The warm-up tournament, which will run until tomorrow gives an opportunity to the players to adapt to the local conditions in preparation for the all-important African Junior Championships which serve off on Saturday at the same venue.
Coach Freeman Nyamunokor told NewsDay Sport in a telephone interview from Botswana that though it is very hot in Gaborone, the players were acclimatising well.
“It is very hot at the moment and some of the players were complaining of dehydration but the warm-up tournament has been very helpful. I am sure by the time the main tournament gets underway on Saturday the youngsters would have got used to the conditions,” he said.
“Other players like Benjamin Lock and Tendai Tapfuma are used to playing in different conditions and have progressed to the quarter-finals while some lost in the second and third rounds,” Nyamunokora added.
The South Africa-based duo of Lock and Tapfuma marched to the quarter-finals of the warm up tournament after winning their matches Wednesday.
Lock won his third round tie against Stout Isaacs of Great Britain 6-1, 6-3 in straight sets to book his place in the quarter-finals, while Tapfuma dispatched Samuel Omoile of Nigeria 6-4, 6-3.
Another Under-18 player Innocent Mhere lost to the first seed and number one player in Africa in that age group, Karim Hossan 6-1, 6-2.
Zimbabwe’s two representatives in the girls’ Under-18s, Vimbai Ugaro and Pauline Chawafambira, both lost in the second round.
The country’s Under-14 players — Tadiwa Chinamo and Ngoni Chiwetete, also lost their second round matches to Nigerian opponents on the second day of the warm-up tournament.
Chinamo was involved in a tight contest with Nigerian Kingsley Imeh who came from a set down to eventually pip the promising Zimbabwean in a tie breaker of the third set 1-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Chiwetete fell to Immanuel Idoko 6-3, 6-4 in straight sets in the first round of the tournament. The main tournament which starts on Saturday is an International Tennis Federation (ITF) Grade 2-18-and-under event giving players the opportunity of raking valuable ITF ranking points.
From www.newsday.co.zw
Davis Cup returns to Hawera
Mar 30th
Davis Cup returns to Hawera GLENN MCLEAN
The Davis Cup is returning to Hawera. The South Taranaki town has beaten off two other bidders to host July’s Asia-Oceania group one tie between New Zealand and the Philippines.
Tennis New Zealand chief executive Steve Johns, of Auckland, said there were two key reasons for the TSB Hub being chosen to host its second tie within a year.
“First and foremost is the fact that it was a winning venue for us last year and secondly, it was an outstanding venue that was well supported by the people of Taranaki.”
New Zealand came from behind to beat Pakistan 3-2 in July in front of crowds that averaged about 500 over the three days of action.
“From start to finish it was just a very successful tie. We were very happy and we’re really looking forward to going back there,” Johns said.
While mindful of criticism Tennis NZ received for taking the tie to Hawera instead of keeping it in a major centre, Johns was making no apologies about returning.
“One message I would say to the critics is you only have to look at past ties that have been in some of our bigger cities around the country and the attendances have been very, very poor,” he said.
“If you look at Hawera, there were hundreds of people there everyday.
“At the end of the day our guys want to play in front of vocal crowds.
“It would be nice to host it in the middle of Auckland but our guys would like to play in front of several hundred people rather than a few dozen.”
The Philippines are ranked 36th in the world, four places ahead of New Zealand. The two sides last met in 2009 when the Philippines triumphed 4-1.
Both sides are coming off last round losses – New Zealand going down 2-3 to Uzbekistan, while the Philippines lost 1-3 to Japan.
Johns said there were no plans at this stage for the tie to be televised.
“We’d love to get it on TV but the costs associated with that just don’t make it possible.”
Taranaki Tennis board chairman Andrew Baylis was confident the tie could attract bigger crowds than last year because organisers would have more time to promote it.
“We’re ecstatic to get it in Hawera again,” he said.
“We didn’t have a lot of time from when we were awarded it to when it was played last time and that’s a big advantage for us.”
Baylis said the TSB Hub would have a capacity to seat more than 900 for each day of the tie.
The teams for the tie will be announced in June.
– Taranaki Daily News
From www.stuff.co.nz
BOYS TENNIS: Salpointe wins a close one over I-Ridge 5-4
Mar 30th
Matt Dunn
Ironwood Ridge had one loss to their record, a 6-3 defeat to the Salpointe Lancers in early March. Likewise, Salpointe came into their match with the Nighthawks Wednesday afternoon with one loss also.
That loss came to Catalina Foothills – probably the most dominant team in Southern Arizona and, most likely, the best in the state. (Robb Salant has coached every state championship since 2005).
The three schools play in different conferences so their regular season matches come by chance rather than by design. That will change a bit next year as Ironwood Ridge (7-2) and Catalina Foothills (10-0) will both be playing each other in the new divisional format in Division-II.
Salpointe (11-1) will remain in D-I but the AIA computers have already scheduled them to play Foothills next year.
The Lancers lost Mitch McDaniels to the University of New Mexico. McDaniels was the top seed in the state playoffs last year and finished in 2nd place. They also lost 3rd place doubles partners Tyler Comstock and Fahd Qabazard to graduation.
Matt Dunn has been promoted and is now the top singles player for coach John Condes. Matt Dunn took 3rd place last year. Brandon Gerber and Andrew Dunn return and they were the 4th place finishers in the doubles competition, losing to Comstock and Qabazard.
As a team, Salpointe took 3rd place last year but they had a string of five straight titles from 2004 to 2008 under Condes and look to get back to the title match. As of right now, only Brophy stands in their way and the two teams will play each other on April 6 at the Tucson Racquet Club.
The Nighthawks are playing without their 3rd place doubles team Timothy Holten and Dillon Kennedy but return their 4th place singles player Conor Spiegel.
Ryan Bais led his team to state championships in 2008 and 2009 and they concluded last year with a 2nd place finish. Like Salpointe, Bais has a set of brothers playing fro him – Alec and Cody Petford.
THE MATCH
MORE PHOTOS: http://www.flickr.com/photos/andymorales/sets/72157626260094765/
Ironwood Ridge was on a roll. Matches 4, 5 and 6 came in and gave them an early 3-0 lead.
Alex Bose defeated Alvaro Leon in the 6th spot 6-2, 6-2 and then Spiegel defeated Tyler Linscott 6-1, 6-4 in the 4th spot. The 5th court went to a tie-breaker with Dylan Vo coming out on top over Martin Dufwenberg 1-6, 7-5, (11-9).
The 3rd singles also came down to a tie breaker with Salpointe scoring their first point after Andrew Dunn defeated Josh Taylor 2-6, 6-4, (10-7). Matt Dunn won the top singles match over Alec Petford 7-5, 6-2 to set up a dramatic finish on the 2nd court with Ironwood Ridge up 3-2.
Brandon Gerber outlasted Cody Petford 6-3, 4-6, (12-10) to tie it 3-3 heading into the doubles competition.
Vo and Adam Knox defeated Dufwenberg and Leon 8-5 to put Ironwood Ridge up 4-3 but then Gerber and Linscott tied it back up with their 8-4 victory over Taylor and Spiegel.
It all came down to the main doubles match where Matt Dunn and Andrew Dunn defeated Alec Petford and Cody Petford 8-6 for the win.
This match will serve as a much-needed tune up for Salpointe as they head into their final stretch that includes their match against Brophy. Bais used terms such as “confidence” and “competition” when describing what this close match did for his team as they get ready for 5A-II powerhouses Chaparral and Desert Mountain.
Both coaches are concerned with the new 128 man bracket that was introduced for the new state playoff format. It will be an interesting test of the new system.
http://tucsoncitizen.com/highschoolsports/2011/03/26/tennis-process-for-state-announced/
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From tucsoncitizen.com
Wildcat tennis gears up for No. 41Cornhuskers
Mar 30th
Anthony Drath
Petra Chuda, senior in fi nance, returned the ball during the match against Tulsa on Feb. 20 at the Body First Tennis and Fitness Center in Manhattan.
The No. 31 Wildcat women’s tennis team will continue the Big 12 portion of its schedule this weekend. They begin by hosting the No. 41 Nebraska Cornhuskers on Friday and conclude the weekend by traveling to face the Iowa State Cyclones on Sunday.
The team is in the middle what head coach Steve Bietau said is a long, difficult process of competing against conference teams.
K-State comes off an upset win against then No. 25 Texas A&M (now No. 32) on March 26. The 5-2 win was the first Wildcat victory over the Aggies in 17 attempts. The win came after Friday’s 5-2 loss to then No. 26 Texas Tech (now No. 45).
Bietau said the Wildcats are improving, and they are enjoying the successes of their 11-3 season.
“It would be very easy to get quite excited with what’s been happening with our team,” Bietau said. “There’s certainly a reason to feel good about things and enjoy the ride.”
The Wildcats last reached the 11-win mark in the 2006 season when they finished 11-10.
Bietau said K-State’s doubles play has improved over the past month. Last weekend, the team lost the doubles point to Texas Tech, but captured it against Texas A&M. The Wildcats record is 9-0 in matches where they have won the doubles competition.
“I don’t think anything speaks as loudly as that statistic,” Bietau said.
Bietau also said many people argue that doubles matches only account for one out of seven points in a tennis meet, but he feels it is an important part because of the momentum.
Against the Aggies, freshman Petra Niedermayerova and junior Nina Sertic won their first doubles match at the number one position. Together, they are 5-3 since teaming up in February.
Bietau said there are plenty of areas where the doubles teams can improve, but he said he is comfortable with the current combinations and will leave them in place for this weekend’s matches. The match against the Aggies was the best doubles performance of the season he said.
He attributed the loss to Texas Tech to a combination of issues surrounding the match. The team was coming off a highly emotional win over then No. 10 Baylor (now No. 9), was fatigued and had to travel, which led to the team underperforming Bietau said.
Still, there was a lesson to be learned from the loss to Texas Tech: the players must be ready to perform their best in any match, especially against Big 12 teams.
“There isn’t a team in the Big 12 that can’t beat you if you don’t play well,” Bietau said. “Everyone in the Big 12 is good.”
Bietau said Nebraska is one such team that is still capable of winning even when their opponent is playing reasonably well.
“I’m expecting it to be a very tough match,” he said.
Last year, Bietau said the Cornhuskers took the team apart in Lincoln, winning 7-0 in that match.
Niedermayerova has defeated three top-20 ranked opponents within the past 80 days.
The team is beginning to show strong performances across the board, Bietau said, from singles to doubles play.
K-State hosts Nebraska at 1 p.m. on Friday. The location of the match will be determined on Friday morning after considering any possible weather conditions. An indoor match would be played at the Body First Tennis and Fitness Complex and an outdoor match would be played at the Wamego Recreation Complex.
From www.kstatecollegian.com
Late doubles win gives COS women’s tennis Big 8 victory
Mar 30th
Tied 4-4 going into the final match of their Big 8 Conference contest against visiting Cosumnes River, the College of the Sequoias women’s tennis team needed Stephanie Garcia and Lorissa Clem to come through.
The team’s No. 3 doubles found themselves in trouble early, as they lost the first set to Katie Seifert and Katy Piazza 0-6.
But the two rallied to get the 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory to help COS improve to 5-4 in the Big 8 and to 6-9 overall as they beat Cosumnes River 5-4.
Lexi Rico, Serena Yang and Clem each picked up wins in singles for the Giants, while Shiloe Gibson and Yang teamed to pick up the team’s other doubles victory.
The Giants wrap up regular season conference play at 1 p.m. Friday at Fresno City before playing in the conference tournament in Modesto beginning April 7.
Baseball
Porterville 8, Tulare Western 1: The Mustangs couldn’t manage any offense in an East Yosemite League loss to the Panthers.
Freshman Anthony Avila went 2-for-2 and Jared Schott had a double for Tulare Western (4-11, 3-2).
The Mustangs have a bye Thursday and will be at Cesar Chavez on Tuesday.
Dinuba 11, Coalinga 1: The Emperors used four pitchers and held the Horned Toads to one hit in winning the Central Sequoia League game.
Anthony Montalvo went 2-for-5, Andrew Lopez was 1-for-2 with two RBIs and David Rico had a double for Dinuba (7-5, 1-1).
The Emperors get right back to action as they play at Central Valley Christian today.
Lindsay 12, Orosi 0: Lindsay remained undefeated in the East Sequoia League with their shutout win over Orosi.
Adam Gamboa and Tyler Arroyo combined on a two-hitter for Lindsay (4-4, 2-0).
Also, for Lindsay, Joel Mosqueda was 3-for-5 with three runs scored, Mike Hernandez went 2-for-3 with four RBIs, Misael Villarreal went 4-for-4 with three runs scored and Arroyo was 1-for-3 with two RBIs.
Lindsay’s will next play a nonleague game at Farmersville on Thursday.
Strathmore 8, Woodlake 4: The Tigers were defeated by the Spartans in an East Sequoia League game.
Gabriel Rodriguez went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, and Guy Berry went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the losing effort for Woodlake.
From www.visaliatimesdelta.com
Foothill League boys tennis: West Ranch blanks Hart
Mar 30th
The West Ranch boys tennis team returns a wealth of experience this season.
The Hart boys tennis team is rebuilding with young players.
When the two teams met on Tuesday, experience won out.
The Wildcats defeated Hart 18-0 at West Ranch High School, with the singles players turning in strong performances and the doubles teams continuing their undefeated season in dual-match play.
West Ranch head coach Eric Spiecker knew his team had a decisive experience advantage, and he was glad his team took care of business.
“I really respect (Hart head coach Chris Mansfield) a ton,” Spiecker said. “He knows how to maximize his team. But all the coaches in the valley are competitive and we wanted to bring our ‘A’ game.”
West Ranch (6-1, 3-0) did just that, and not just the doubles teams.
In a loss on games to Camarillo earlier this season, West Ranch’s singles players lost all nine of their sets.
For players like junior Baron Von Kessler, Tuesday was a form of vindication for that performance.
“It’s great, because against Camarillo we got swept 0-9 on singles,” he said.
Von Kessler won his three sets 6-0, 6-2, 6-2, while freshman Harrison Collins swept 6-2, 6-0, 6-0 in the No. 2 singles spot.
Collins noted that Hart (4-5, 1-2) competed for every point despite being overmatched.
“They didn’t seem to be fooling around,” he said. “They were a respectable team to play.”
In doubles, the No. 1 team of Wayne Moses and Brandon Lee swept 6-2, 6-1, 6-2, and the No. 3 team of Ali El-Arabi and Ryan Yoon swept 6-0, 6-2, 6-1.
Despite the loss, Mansfield said he was pleased by the effort of some of his players, like No. 2 singles player Elliot Miller, who pushed Von Kessler in the final set of the afternoon.
Overall, however, Mansfield said his team needed to work on its mental approach to matches.
“We have to have a better mental attitude,” he said. “But we’ll bounce back.”
The Indians get a chance to do so when they host Canyon on Thursday.
West Ranch, meanwhile, will travel to face Saugus in a matchup of two teams right in the mix for the automatic playoff berths out of the Foothill League.
From www.the-signal.com
RHS boys tennis bounces REV, 15-3
Mar 30th
The Redlands High School boys tennis team host Redlands East Valley Tuesday, March 29, 2011. (Eric Tom)
By MATT MCLEOD Staff Writer
REDLANDS – The table was set and the guest got served.
The Redlands boys’ tennis team proved once again that its Citrus Belt League regular season schedule is shaping up to be a mere appetizer to an upcoming main playoff course, as it made yet another meal of visiting Redlands East Valley, 15-3, at home Tuesday.
The Terriers (7-1, 6-0 CBL) appeared hungry to meet the overmatched Wildcats (7-5, 4-2 CBL), who don’t look like they’ll be defending their 2010 CBL title after dropping their first two matches to undefeated RHS.
Behind dominant performances from juniors Sam Frye and Andrew Greenfield, the Terriers bullied the Wildcats around in a 13-5 win back on March 9 and things were no different Tuesday.
Again, the trouble started at the top.
REV knew it was in hot water when No. 1 singles player Colten Douglass came out flat against Frye, as the Wildcats senior dropped the first five games of his set. Using a handful of powerful baseline forehands, Douglass rallied to take the next two games, but sailed four frustrating unforced errors to give Frye the set, 6-2.
Next up for Douglass was Greenfield, who reeled off the first three games behind rock-solid groundstrokes en route to an easy 6-1 victory. Douglas rebounded with a 6-1 win over sophomore Patrick Stetco.
The only other two points the Wildcats snagged came from senior Curtis Reed’s thrilling 7-6 (7-5) tie break barnburner over Stetco and a doubles win from seniors Quentin Bubb and Cody Shulz.
RHS coach Sean Comadena, whose club finished second to REV last year, said he feels confident about his team’s chances this time around.
“We’re sitting great right now,” Comadena said. “Of course, we don’t want to act like it’s over but we have two wins over REV and if we go and win Thursday against Yucaipa, we’ll go a long way towards taking this thing.”
For Whitmer, it’s a different story.
“Look, we know we don’t have the depth to hang with these guys, and that’s fine,” Whitmer said. “But we have got to come out and play like we have some spark. Right now we aren’t.”
Next up for RHS is today home’s matchup with John W. North at 3 p.m., while REV heads to Eisenhower at 3 p.m. Thursday.
From www.redlandsdailyfacts.com
Tennis struggles continue
Mar 30th
As the Florida Gulf Coast University men’s tennis team plays out the string in a third straight losing season, coach J. Webb Horton looks forward to the end of the Division 1 transition.
Horton already has begun the recruiting process for next year, when the Eagles (3-16, 1-7 A-Sun) will be eligible for post-season play.
“We have two great kids coming in next year and a lot of veteran players coming back,” Horton said. “Our seniors really helped the program establish a strong work ethic.”
Injuries have no doubt played a part in the struggles; however, FGCU has lost a lot of lopsided dual matches this season, with scores such as 0-7, 1-6 and 2-5.
No matter the numbers, Horton paints an optimistic picture.
“We play some pretty good teams and we compete well with them,” Horton said. “The numbers of our record are not who we are. This is the season to have an off season because we aren’t eligible for the post-season, so we’re just going to move forward with things.”
With two matches left in the season, FGCU intends to keep battling.
The Eagles fell to Brown University (13-2) 6-1 Sunday afternoon on senior day.
Seniors Mitchell Lvovsky, Carlo Checchia and Frank Acierno were honored before the match.
Lvovsky got the only victory on the day for the Eagles in singles play, winning in an intense tiebreaker 3-6, 6-3, 10-6.
“It was my last match at FGCU (home) and I just wanted to leave everything out there,” Lvovsky said. “When I was down 5-2 in the second set I told my opponent that we’ll be playing a third set and I ended up outplaying him for that hour and a half.”
Lvovsky has been through the struggles of the program and leaves with inspirational words for next year’s returning players.
“Keep your heads up and keep fighting,” Lvovsky said. “Learn from your mistakes and every time you go onto the court, give yourself an opportunity to learn something new.”
The Eagles are going to end their season on the road, first at Jacksonville University (4-12; 2-5 A-Sun) this Friday and then at University of North Florida (11-6; 6-1 A-Sun) this Saturday.
“We beat Jacksonville 4-3 last season, which was one of our better wins, and it’s also the team that my brother plays for, so it should be fun,” Lvovsky said. “As for UNF, they’re probably going to win the conference this year, but we’re ready to make it a good match.”
Coach Horton is also ready for these next two games, and will devote his full attention to igniting a struggling program after the season.
“We’re going to see if we can knock off a Jacksonville team and UNF team this weekend,” Horton said. “After that, it’s time to prepare for next season.”
From www.eaglenews.org
Sailor Girls Tennis Invitational @ South Christian – Girls Tennis
Mar 30th
Hudsonville’s Leah Dancz hits a shot Tuesday during the South Christian Invitational. – (Darren Breen | The Grand Rapids Press)
CALEDONIA — After finishing tied for ninth at last year’s Division 1 state finals, the Hudsonville girls tennis team returned seven of its top eight players.
That experience and depth were obvious Tuesday when it claimed seven of the eight flight championships at the four-team South Christian Invitational.
Hudsonville finished with 23 out of a possible 24 points, while South Christian, the reigning Division 4 state champions, finished second with 13. Calvin Christian was third with 11 points, and Byron Center earned one point.
“I think it will be fun this year,” Hudsonville coach Paul Bentley said. “The team’s goals are to win the OK Red and the regional championships, so we are hoping to give those a run again, but there are a lot of good teams in the Red and in our regional.
“We lost some depth this year, but we replaced it with young talent, but with young talent there is a learning curve. If our younger girls are as competitive as they can be, I think it is going to be a good year for the Eagles.”
Seniors Leah Dancz, Carli Capestany and Hope Roelofs and freshman Morgan Brodien swept the tournament’s singles championships, while seniors Irena Nujic and Jory Burgess and Taylor Shamery and Lindsay Harmsen won at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, respectively. Sophomore Katie Szostak and junior Kelly Dykema also captured the No. 4 doubles crown.
South Christian junior Allie Groelsema and Lindsay Elenbaas prevented a Hudsonville sweep by winning the No. 3 doubles title.
“We lost five players from last year’s team, four to graduation and one to injury,” South Christian coach Keith Stulp said.
Senior Kayla Den Hartigh injured her wrist in an automobile accident and currently is not able to play.
“Our second doubles team (Val VanRyn and Caroline Honeycutt) are seniors, but the rest are freshmen, sophomores and juniors,” Stulp said. “We are talented, but we’re young this year. We don’t have tons of experience and we’ve had to revamp the singles lineup, but it’s good to play a good team like Hudsonville. You always want to play good teams to give yourself a benchmark.”
The play of junior Jeanne DeKorte at No. 2 singles and freshman Taylor Applehof at No. 4 singles were highlights for Calvin Christian.
“We only graduated two players, but they were out top two singles players,” Calvin Christian coach Larry Klein said. “Our singles players surprised me today. I was worried about how we would fill those two spots but they played well today.”
Junior Liz DeGraaf played No. 1 singles for Calvin Christian and junior Lauren VanderLaan played No. 3.
Senior Megan Wood earned a point for Byron Center after she held on to win a three-set match at No. 3 singles.
“We had a rebuilding year last year, and several girls we were hoping would come back didn’t come back,” Byron Center coach Jared Crandall said. “We have three or four girls who really haven’t played before, so against teams like Hudsonville and South Christian we’ll struggle, but we are hoping to be one of the most improved teams by the end of the season.”
From highschoolsports.mlive.com
