Posts tagged tennis
Blue Devils tennis team optimistic about this season
Mar 31st
ZANESVILLE — With a full roster and several players with experience, the Zanesville boys tennis team is expecting good things under veteran coach Dave “Cotton” Stephenson.
Senior captain Chris Thompson returns to the No. 1 singles spot. Stephenson has seen improvement in Thompson’s game and was encouraged by his impressive win against Logan’s top player Sean Clay.
Junior Austin Johnson, who played doubles in 2010, will man No. 2 singles and fellow junior Slade Young will play at No. 3 singles.
The No. 1 doubles team features sophomores Brenton Osborne and Derald Madson, who played together in 2010. Their improvement and knowledge of one another was on display in a 6-1, 6-1 win against Logan’s No. 1 doubles of Ken Gabriel and John Shaden.
The No. 2 doubles will be filled by newcomers, junior Andrew Griffin and sophomore Brayden Heath.
The Blue Devils’ goal will be reducing mistakes and following the game plan.
“We have hammered at them that we can’t have a lot of errors,” Stephenson said. “We have to keep the ball in play and be patient.”
Although the Blue Devils might take some lumps, Stephenson is optimistic about this group.
“They are very coachable and cooperative. They listen intently to what I have to say,” he said. “Some players might challenge what you’re teaching, but they are willing to do what I want them to do.
“It’s a fun bunch to be around, and I expect us to have a very fun year.”
From www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com
M. Tennis: Having a Ball
Mar 31st
Jamin Ball loves tennis. He started playing at age 7, and by 11, the sport was already his self-proclaimed “passion.” Seven years later, the Stanford freshman still loves the game that has been one of the main components of his young life.
Tennis is a notoriously brutal sport, especially for young teenagers who are thrust into the throes of competition. Junior tennis is renowned for being a hotbed of intense and overly active parenting, but Ball’s motivation came from within.
“I started getting serious—started playing more and entering more tournaments—not because I was particularly good at tennis at that time, nor because my parents made me or anything, but because I really loved playing,” he said. “At first, it was always only because I just really liked it.”
Raised by two athletic parents, Ball was encouraged to play several different sports—basketball, baseball, tennis and soccer—at a young age, and, even then, he just really “loved to compete.” But tennis was his strongest sport, the one where his natural competitiveness and drive to win was best suited to excel due to the isolated, one-on-one nature of the game.
Ball downplayed the intensity of his early experience in junior tennis, saying, “Once I started playing a lot of tournaments, that’s when it started to get a lot better, because, I mean, it’s fun to practice and everything, but competition is where you can really see where you’re at and everything, see where you stand.”
When asked if he liked the competitive nature of his life at this early age, Ball responded, “It is really intense, like competitively and all, but at the same time, it’s not that intense, because, you know, you’re just a little kid, and at the end of the day you really don’t care too much about a tennis match or a tennis tournament or anything. Really, at that point, my favorite part was the travel [that junior tournaments required]. I loved that.”
Ball told me about these early tennis experiences while the two of us were rallying out in the strong (for March) California sun, something he is used to, having grown up in the area and gone to high school in neighboring Menlo Park. It was a great treat for me, a tennis player but certainly not a tennis player as Ball is. He was being nice to me, keeping the ball in play and only occasionally rifling backhands with ease past me, perhaps set off by an annoying question I asked him.
Watching him play, it’s obvious why he was such a commodity for college programs coming out of high school; he glides around the court, stinging balls and effortlessly repelling the fiercest of my shots. It was there, on those blue tennis courts under the lights at Taube Family Tennis Center, where Ball always wanted to end up.
“It was always a goal of mine, from the time I started playing tennis competitively, to play in college,” Ball said. “Of course, there’s a professional level, but before that, it’s college tennis. Everyone always talks about college tennis and what a great experience it is . . . Growing up right around here, it’s kind of funny, but I’ve always been set on coming to Stanford, like, ever since I was a little kid. I didn’t even take any other official visits anywhere or anything, I just knew that I really wanted to come here, to play here.”
High school tennis at The Menlo School and playing in a team for the first time instead of in the cutthroat individual game of junior tennis helped Ball cement his dream of coming to Stanford and joining the tennis team.
“Playing for the team there was a lot of fun,” he said. “Before that, you know, tennis is all individual: you go out, you play in tournaments, you compete and, a lot of times, it just gets boring. The team was a great time because you’re with your friends on it, there’s an awesome sense of camaraderie, the coach was awesome—it was just great.”
That experience seems to have carried over into college: “The whole team aspect is definitely awesome, especially with a school like Stanford where everyone is playing at such a high level,” he said. “You’re always around guys who are going to push you, while, at the same time, we’re all really close as a team, we all get along great—we kind of need to since we spend so much time together—but, no, it’s really been awesome, being able to be on this team.”
Ball has played an important role on the Stanford men’s tennis team this year, contributing in singles and doubles play for the No. 10 Cardinal. In the next few years, as he keeps improving his game and accruing experience, he hopes to keep helping the team he has dreamed of playing for ever since he was a 7-year-old kid picking up a racket for the first time.
From www.stanforddaily.com
Men’s Tennis: Djokovic Ominously Charges On, Fish Up Next
Mar 31st
Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
A crash of thunder would have appropriately summed up the day on the ATP tour today at the Miami Masters. We witnessed the unrelenting progress of a Serb hounding after, and the rise of a new American.
Well, maybe, not quite so new, Mardy Fish has been on tour a few years now, and has enjoyed his fair share of success. Including, of course, a run to the final at Indian Wells three years ago. Three years later, he is one round away from repeating a similar run at this time of the year. Today he contrived to defeat David Ferrer, that tenacious Spaniard, in straight sets, 7-5, 6-2. He was aided in some part by a strange collapse in resistance in the second set, but no doubt equally so by his booming, first-rate serve. Make no mistake, Fish’s delivery would compare with Federer’s or Roddick’s at its best, and he boosts a fine kicker, too.
It seems American greatness goes together with a fine serve. It did for Pete Sampras, and for Andy Roddick, and now does so for Mardy Fish, who in winning today will surpass the latter as the number one American player. For the first time in a long while, then, Roddick will no longer lead US Tennis alone.
If there is anyone who is leading their country’s fortunes single-handedly, however, it would have to be Novak Djokovic. Along with boasting an unbeaten record this year—now at 22-0—he can boast a sturdy un-sentimentality when he comes to playing countrymen. He fairly thrashed Victor Troicki, again, yesterday, 6-3, 6-2, only to concede just one more game today, in beating Kevin Anderson, 6-4, 6-2. The South African had stunned a weary Djokovic three years ago, but today had little chance to gain parity. If there is anything more fearsome than a big serve, it would be a big return, and Djokovic, by far the best returner on the planet, played big today.
So, Djokovic is on a 22-0 tear for 2011. Not even Federer or Nadal have ever managed so unbeaten a record for the first half of the year. They play tomorrow, in quarterfinal matches that should prove but prologues to what would be a blockbuster semifinal clash. Most likely, it would be one of these two who will face Djokovic in the final on Sunday. Fish is a great player, but one can hardly see him putting off the great Serb from a twenty-third consecutive victory.
From bleacherreport.com
Tennis-Clijsters falls to Azarenka in Miami
Mar 31st
* Azarenka upsets Clijsters to make Miami semis
Belarussian Victoria Azarenka produced some sparkling tennis to defeat world number two Kim Clijsters in the quarter-finals of the Sony Ericsson Open on Wednesday.
Azarenka, whose career breakthrough came with her win here at Key Biscayne in 2009, ran out 6-3 6-3 winner against the 2010 champion Clijsters.
The eighth-ranked Azarenka took full advantage of a below-par display from Clijsters who made 44 unforced errors.
Azarenka will face Russian world number three Vera Zvonareva in the semi-finals on Thursday after she enjoyed a 7-5 6-3 win over Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska.
The Russian took advantage of some mediocre serves from her opponent to go up 6-5 in the first set and although Radwanska rallied in the next game to go up 30-0 against serve, Zvonareva regained her composure to wrap up the first set.
It was easier going in the second and the Russian finished off the ninth-seeded Radwanska with a perfect passing shot down the left.
Russian Maria Sharapova will face emerging German talent Andrea Petkovic in Thursday’s other semi-final.
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From uk.eurosport.yahoo.com
Austen Childs Named BIG EAST Tennis Player of the Week
Mar 30th
March 30, 2011
Louisville senior Austen Childs was named BIG EAST Male Tennis Player of the Week for the period ending March 28.
Childs went 4-0 last week for the No. 33 Cardinals, picking up a pair of wins in No. 1 singles, both against ranked opponents, and a pair of No. 3 doubles wins. The senior helped UofL to a 5-2 victory against No. 43 Maryland March 21 as the 16th-ranked singles player swept No. 75 Maros Horny 6-1, 6-2. He teamed with Adam Donaldson to beat the Terapin duo of Jesse Kiruru and Jan Surovic 8-5. Childs upset No. 13 Wil Spencer 6-3, 6-1 in the Cardinals’ 4-3 loss at No. 11 Georgia March 23. In doubles action, the Louisville pair tamed the No. 47 Bulldog team of Spencer and Drake Bernstein 8-3.
In singles play, Childs improved to 23-10 overall and 14-5 in dual action, moving up to No. 13 in the March 29 ITA singles rankings. He has posted four straight wins over ranked players. Childs holds a 13-4 doubles mark in dual matches and 19-9 overall.
From www.uoflsports.com
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
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
