Blog Posts Across Underground Tennis

College Tennis is the Way to Go For Many Players...

Past College Stars at Wimbledon Men's Singles Kevin Anderson, Illinois Benjamin Becker, Baylor James Blake, Harvard John Isner, Georgia Kevin Kim, UCLA Jesse Levine, Florida Bobby Reynolds, Vanderbilt Izak Van der Merwe, Old Dominion Women's Singles Jill Craybas, Florida Julie Ditty, Vanderbilt Tzipora Obziler, Old Dominion Men's Doubles Kevin Anderson, Illinois Simon Aspelin, Pepperdine Mahesh Bhupathi, Mississippi Bob Bryan, Stanford Mike Bryan, Stanford Eric Butorac, Gustavus Adolphus Ame… Continue

Posted by Tennis Aficionado on June 29, 2008 at 2:46pm — No Comments

Dorado Divas Tennis Team

Felicidades a todas las Divas de el equipo de Dorado!!! Sigan jugando como lo han hecho hasta ahora, 4 de 4 encuentros ganos!!!! COME ON!! Continue

Posted by Janet on May 8, 2008 at 11:15am — 2 Comments

Orange Bowl Champion: Michelle Larcher de Brito

She has a good chance of being a top 10 WTA player. Time will tell, but try to watch her live before she blows up.

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Posted by Gypsy Kings on December 9, 2007 at 10:09pm — No Comments

ITA Regional Rankings: December 7

Released on December 7 are the updated ITA Regional Rankings. On the men's side, a funny surprise is Matthias Wellerman of Mississippi edging out Travis Helgeson of Georgia from the Southeast Region. Also, take a look at the Central Region where there is total foreign dominance. I am not surprised however, the Central Region is… Continue

Posted by Gypsy Kings on December 9, 2007 at 9:22pm — No Comments

Brian Battistone: Volleyball Jump Serve

For those who haven't heard of the Battistone Brothers and their tricks, you have to check them out. They are legit tennis players who recently won a Futures event in doubles with 2-handled racquets. If that isn't enough, Brian Battistone executes a serve similar to that of a volleyball server.

The technique makes sense. He starts with the racquet in his non-hitting arm and uses his arms to give him added height off the ground. People might laugh, but the serve gets results. His serve… Continue

Posted by Gypsy Kings on December 9, 2007 at 8:52pm — No Comments

Rafael Nadal at Age 12

Who would have thought Rafa would be beating Carlos Moya in a Monte Carlo Masters Series at the age of 16!

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Posted by Gypsy Kings on December 6, 2007 at 9:06pm — 1 Comment

Ryan (15) and Christian (13) Harrison Sign with IMG

I am not blown away by the contract with IMG after watching the young boys play on numerous occasions. The boys definitely have the junior results and game to back up their justification for signing with IMG. For those who haven't seen either play, both pack a big punch for their size.

Ryan has really turned… Continue

Posted by Gypsy Kings on December 6, 2007 at 9:03pm — 1 Comment

$4,000 Charlottesville, VA Tournament

Some tough names are playing with #1 seed Sanam Singh, #2 seed Treat Huey, #3 Dominic Inglot, and #4 Marcus Fugate.

Draw for $4,000 Charlottesville, Virginia Continue

Posted by West Nott on November 29, 2007 at 9:29pm — 1 Comment

$1200 Winner: Palm Springs Money Tournament

#1 seed is Chris Wettengel and #2 is Jeffrey Das. However, there is a strong list of players who will surprise you:

Levar Harper-Griffith, Joel C. Kielbowicz, KJ Hippensteel, Richard Johnson, etc...

Follow the results here Continue

Posted by West Nott on November 29, 2007 at 9:24pm — 6 Comments

Men's ITA National Team Indoors Field Announced

Men:

Alabama
Baylor
Georgia
Illinois
Mississippi
North Carolina
Notre Dame
Ohio State
Oklahoma State
Penn State
Southern California
Texas
UCLA
Virginia
Washington
(Mountain Region representative TBD in January)

Here is a link to the story. Continue

Posted by West Nott on November 29, 2007 at 9:05pm — No Comments

Carlos Boluda Video

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Posted by West Nott on November 29, 2007 at 8:56pm — 1 Comment

Boys: Past Eddie Herr Champions Rankings Analysis

After perusing the past champions list of the upcoming Eddie Herr International, I decided to cross reference those champions with their highest ATP career ranking. I think Emilio Sanchez said it best in a recent interview:

"Every kid who is playing wants to be a pro. The main problem is that the spots available are very, very few. Because in tennis you only have 100 top pros and these 100 pros don't change every year. So it's not like you have 100 chances every year to be a top 100 p… Continue

Posted by West Nott on November 22, 2007 at 1:00am — 4 Comments

Girls: Past Eddie Herr Champions Rankings Analysis

Girls 18
1993 - #20 Tatiana Panova RUS
1994 - #8 Anna Kournikova RUS
1995 - #91 Eugenia Kulikovskaya RUS
1996 - #370 Andrea Sebova SVK
1997 - Zsofia Gubasci HUN
1998 - #27 Virginie Razzano FRA
1999 - #44 Aniko Kapros HUN
2000 - #71 Edina Gallovits ROM
2001 - #3 Jelena Jankovic SRB
2002 - #4 Ana Ivanovic SRB
2003 - #39 Kateryna Bondarenko UKR
2004 - #167 Monica Niculescu ROM
2005 - #47 Dominika Cibulkova SVK
2006 - #… Continue

Posted by West Nott on November 21, 2007 at 2:00am — 1 Comment

November 20: Federer Sampras Exhibition

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Posted by West Nott on November 20, 2007 at 8:30pm — No Comments

Novak Djokovic Impersonations

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Posted by West Nott on September 9, 2007 at 8:27pm — No Comments

Thien Nguyen: $100K per year

Read the following article on Thien Nguyen, a young 12 year old from Vietnam. I wrote an article six months ago talking about spending an average of $500K in tennis expenses before entering college- these guys are proof that they are willing to double my guestimate to have Thien become a professional player.

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/reports/2007/08/731353/
…
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Posted by West Nott on August 21, 2007 at 12:13am — No Comments

Jan Silva - 5 Years Old

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Posted by West Nott on August 18, 2007 at 5:10pm — 4 Comments

2007 Kalamazoo Video

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Posted by West Nott on August 18, 2007 at 4:25pm — No Comments

Do you have a Brother or Sister that can also play Tennis?

Kiawah Island Golf Resort is hosting a Southern Sibling Tournament September 14-16. Kiawah Island is located 35 minutes from Charleston S.C. There will be a Brother/Brother, Sister/Sister, and Brother/Sister Draw. My brother and I plan on playing and hope that many of you will join us. If there is enough interest this year we are hoping to make this a National Tournament next year! How great would it be to win a GOLD BALL with your brother or sister! Also if you have never been to Kiawah Isla…

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Posted by Brandon Blankenbaker on August 18, 2007 at 2:32pm — No Comments

Funny Tommy Haas Quote on Isner

"I made one poor mistake in the tiebreak and that cost me the match," Haas said. "He served quite well. I think the tour should come up with a system, where if you're over 6-foot-6 you shouldn't be allowed to play." Continue

Posted by Gypsy Kings on August 3, 2007 at 2:58pm — 1 Comment

Amir Hadad Cleans Up

Here's a good little draw featuring Amir Hadad, Alex Slovic, Alex Vlaski, and Oren Motevassel among others.

http://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/Draws/EventDraw.aspx?T=56161&E=6
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Posted by Gypsy Kings on July 30, 2007 at 3:48pm — 1 Comment

Why Federer Lost To Nadal

As you know Roger lost 1:3 to Nadal in the finals of the French Open. Although there are many reasons why he lost, I believe there is one major reason for his defeat.

I wrote a longer article on this topic here:

http://www.tennisthoughts.com/2007/06/11/why-roger-federer-lost-to-nadal/

Feel free to comment here or on the blog.
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Posted by Tomaz Mencinger on June 11, 2007 at 9:17pm — No Comments

Jarkko Nieminen Plays Tennis Inside a Hotel Room

Here are three videos that captured my attention. I don't know who doesn't like tricks, so here you go. The first one is of Jarkko Nieminen in a hotel room (I'm sure we have all done this at some point in our life). The second video is of some youngsters at an academy who have some serious talent bouncing the ball off the frame. And the last video is to compare our tennis tricks to the golf tricks of Tiger Woods. Federer needs his own Nike commercial with a few tricks.
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Posted by West Nott on June 8, 2007 at 5:08pm — No Comments

ITFtennis.com: Jonathan Eysseric Blog on Practicing with Federer

Jonathan Eysseric and Michelle Larcher de Brito are blogging for ITFtennis.com at the French. I am intrigued by Jonathan because not only is he the former #1 ITF junior in the world, but he is the lefty who is Federer's hitting partner.

Jonathan can obviously play some ball taking Olivier Patience t… Continue

Posted by West Nott on June 6, 2007 at 7:28pm — No Comments

Amber Liu Interview: Part 2

5) At the highest levels of the game, girls tend to hit flatter (sometimes harder!) and men tend to hit with much more spin and height over the net- from your strategic perspective, why is that? Is this a byproduct of an inability to move as explosive as men around the court and play consistent defense?

I think girls tend to hit flatter than men because they just aren't as strong. To hit… Continue

Posted by West Nott on June 4, 2007 at 12:19pm — No Comments

Video: 2007 Georgia NCAA Champions

Thanks to Lesley Platek of LIFEfilms, here is a great video for our viewing pleasure. I'll upload all my video when I feel like it, so expect a long time, haha!

… Continue

Posted by West Nott on June 3, 2007 at 5:00pm — No Comments

ATP Fast Serve Speed List: Donald Young at 135 MPH

Who says Donald Young doesn't have enough power? He made this list with 135 mph. All the figures are current to the first week of the French Open.

Andy Roddick...............155,03(249.4kph)............2004 davis cup
Chris Guccione.............155,00.............................2007 davis cup
Taylor Dent..................153,00
Greg Rusedski..............149,00
Oscar Her… Continue

Posted by West Nott on June 1, 2007 at 5:29pm — 3 Comments

Amber Liu Interview: Part 1

1) Most tennis enthusiasts are aware you earned three US Open WCs by winning the 2001 G18 USTA National Hardcourts and the 2003 and 2004 NCAA Individual Singles Title in your freshman and sophomore years respectively. (Bio can be found here: http://gostanford.cstv.com/sports/w-tennis/mtt/liu_amber00.html).

Many wonder, why didn't you turn… Continue

Posted by West Nott on June 1, 2007 at 5:02pm — 1 Comment

Underground Tennis Awards

Since the collegiate tennis season is over, I want to hand out a few Underground Tennis Awards. I hope some of you will disagree with my choices and trust me, I will not take it personally. Let's get started!

Biggest Serve

John Isner definitely has the biggest serve in college tennis, if not one of the biggest serves in the world. When you think of great servers,… Continue

Posted by West Nott on June 1, 2007 at 1:00am — 2 Comments

Future of Underground Tennis in Jeopardy

Hello! After spending two crazy weeks in Athens, I am finally back in Seattle. The first week was far more entertaining than the second week with all the energy from the team event. As I said after the National Indoors earlier this year in Chicago, the emotion is something you can't find anywhere else in the tennis world. Not even in a Grand Slam.

Her… Continue

Posted by West Nott on May 30, 2007 at 4:30pm — 5 Comments

Alex Slovic of Washington downs Jesse Levine of Florida

Wow. I have so much stuff to share, so naturally I do not know where to start. The big news today was Alex Slovic of Washington (pictured below) upsetting Jesse Levine of Florida in three sets in the quarterfinals of the 2007 NCAA Singles Championships.

Although Levine had a phenomenal year on paper, Slovic is not exactly a slouch. If anyone knows any… Continue

Posted by West Nott on May 26, 2007 at 3:18pm — 3 Comments

ITA National Rookie of the Year: Jesse Levine of Florida

Thanks to Kevin Martinez of Illinois Sports Information, here is a press release I recieved...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 24, 2007
For more information, contact Kevin Martinez, 217-265-0170
Anderson Named ITA National Player to Watch
Junior Collects Second Postseason Award

URBANA, Ill. – The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) announced the national award winners for NCAA Division I tennis Tuesday during a ceremony at the University of Georgia's Ran… Continue

Posted by West Nott on May 24, 2007 at 8:19am — No Comments

NCAA Tournament: 12 Plus Hours of Tennis

What a ride the last few days have been. I have watched 12 plus hours of tennis per day with no sleep. I am ready for someone to stick a fork in me. But guess what? I love it!

There is really too much tennis to cover at 2 AM, but I just want to say that massive updates will be coming as the tournament winds down. Already, I have amassed over a 1000 ac… Continue

Posted by West Nott on May 20, 2007 at 11:36pm — 2 Comments

Be Your Own Coach: Michael Chamerski Interview

Below is the link to an article I wrote about being your own coach followed by an interview with a youngster named Michael Chamerski.

http://www.tennisrecruiting.net/article.asp?id=304 Continue

Posted by West Nott on May 19, 2007 at 11:30pm — No Comments

Former Georgia Tech Yellowjacket: Lyndsay Shosho

With the girls tournament kicking off today and the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets in the hunt, I am lucky to have Lyndsay Shosho share a few insights on the NCAA Women's Draw and Georgia Tech (Lyndsay is pictured here with her U of Hawaii team and is in the middle with black shirt/white pants).

Lyndsay Shosho was a former player for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. She played an integral… Continue

Posted by West Nott on May 18, 2007 at 7:30pm — 5 Comments

http://usfmenstennis.blogspot.com

Please visit the University of San Francisco Men's Tennis blog for information, updates, and scores on the team. Go Dons!!! Continue

Posted by Sean Dizon on May 18, 2007 at 6:28pm — No Comments

Interview with Bo Hodge: Part 2

5) Please share a little about important Georgia Tennis people in a few sentences- what happened to their career, what are they like, or anything worth saying. Head Coach Manny Diaz, Assistant Coach Will Glenn, John Roddick, Matias Boeker, Brandon Wagner, and Lesley Joseph.

Well Manny and John were my coaches when we won the Title in 2001 and lost in the finals in 2002. They are both great coaches and helped me a ton. Manny was the one who would look you in the eye and could… Continue

Posted by West Nott on May 17, 2007 at 12:20am — No Comments

Matt Knoll Riding the Wave

At 3:07 in the AM, I am finally getting my head together to write this article. I want to apologize in advance if my thoughts do not seem coherent as you read along.

After a busy day of doing nothing, I am procrastinating for the big trip tomorrow to Atlanta from where I'll embark to Athens the following morning just in time for the 1st round. A larg… Continue

Posted by West Nott on May 16, 2007 at 3:30am — No Comments

Stage is Set for the Big Dance in Athens

I was a little worried about my predictions earlier in the week, but almost everyone came through in the clutch. Over at TennisRecruiting.net, I predicted in a roundtable discussion that Alabama was my sleeper team into the Sweet 16. I really want to thank Alabama Head Coach Billy Pate for making me look smarter than I really am.

The bigger story is #6 North Carolina losing… Continue

Posted by West Nott on May 13, 2007 at 7:23pm — 3 Comments

Interview with Bo Hodge: Part 1

Bo Hodge was a great talent to watch. When everything was clicking on-the-court and in-between the ears, I saw poetry in motion. Balls whizzed off his racquet effortlessly into the corners while his opponents were left scrambling and grimacing after each pressing shot. A lot can be said for style, but more impressively, he consistently got the job done when the chips were down.

Taking… Continue

Posted by West Nott on May 12, 2007 at 2:29am — 1 Comment

Hi Tennis Fans!

Glad to be aboard! ;)

I'll explore this cool site first a little bit and then see if I can post some good tennis tips.
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Posted by Tomaz Mencinger on May 9, 2007 at 8:25pm — 1 Comment

NCAA Tournament Roundtable Discussion

Here is a NCAA Tournament Preview I engaged with TennisRecruiting.net. I shared the roundtable discussion with Harry Cicma of Tennis Live, Marcia Frost of College and Junior Tennis, and Annette Broersma of College Tennis Online.

http://www.tennisrecruiting.net/article.asp?id=317 Continue

Posted by West Nott on May 9, 2007 at 2:30pm — No Comments

College Tennis Everywhere in the Video Archives

I just uploaded a good number of clips of individual college players into the video archive. Also, be sure to check out the complete video archive- a lot of the first videos added are college coaches in the huddle such as Georgia, UCLA, Illinois, Notre Dame, Virginia, etc. As time progresses, I'll upload all the clips I have of players- but this is a very time consuming endeavour. Below- Here is a clip of Illinois in the huddle:
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Posted by West Nott on May 8, 2007 at 4:02pm — No Comments

Federer Strategy

Should Federer use the slice backhand the majority of the time against Nadal on clay...Off pace junk balls might ruin Nadal's timing...Anybody...?

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Posted by Lester J Reeves Jr on May 8, 2007 at 11:34am — 1 Comment

Interview: Kelly McCain

As a short introduction to the interview, Kelly McCain has many things going for her. She has come full circle in her tennis life and is on the verge of doing some great things with her creative passions.

When traveling on the road, I always made a point to watch Kelly play because she was one tough cookie who could somehow find a way to win when I didn't think possible. Don't be fooled… Continue

Posted by West Nott on May 6, 2007 at 12:00am — 1 Comment

ST, ST, ST!!! It's All About the ST My Friends

On my recent slew of trips, I had enough dead time on planes, trains, and automobiles to digest the latest book by Malcolm Gladwell titled Blink. Malcolm Gladwell is the author of the #1 international bestseller Tipping Point and is a staff writer for The New Yorker.

After the first chapter, he lays the groundwork for the rest of the book in talking about the sign… Continue

Posted by West Nott on May 4, 2007 at 9:43pm — 2 Comments

National Championship Prediction!

Georgia goes all the way...takes out the Buckeyes in the Finals (sorry Ty). Tough match-ups for OSU...but I will say this, if OSU can get the doubles pt, then we'll see. Georgia's all star team at #1-3 makes them tough to beat. Coach Tucker's team is stronger at #4 and #5 sings...Would love to see a Big 10 team bring home the trophy. GO BUCKS! Continue

Posted by Nick Carless on May 3, 2007 at 12:41pm — No Comments

Sweet 16 Predictions: Bottom Half

The team who is the best on paper is not neccessarily the best on the court. This is why I love sports so much. Nothing can be taken for granted and why attitude prevails over talent in many cases.

I spent a few hours in the car listening to AM sports radio where they talked about Brandon Roy earning NBA Rookie of the Year. They talked about his humbleness, work ethic, and ab… Continue

Posted by West Nott on May 3, 2007 at 12:45am — No Comments

Sweet 16 Predictions: Top Half

Yesterday I spent a few moments with Glenn Michibata and Matt Lucas who coach the Princeton University Men's Team. I came dressed to impress, sporting a bright orange Princeton Tennis t-shirt. For an outsider looking in, I could have easily been mistaken for a hunter in search of deer in the nearby woods.

Interestingly enough, Bryan Shelton's Georgia Tech Yellowjackets take f… Continue

Posted by West Nott on May 2, 2007 at 12:30am — 5 Comments

The Naked Cowboy: Adventure in the NYC

I am currently visiting my sister who attends graduate school at Princeton University. Over the past weekend, I ventured up to NYC to mingle with an old tennis friend and catch the usual touristy sights. Walking around on Saturday in Times Square (note the nifty jacket and Naked Cowboy in pic below) proved to be a productive ordeal because I bumped into the Tribeca Film Festival information booth.

… Continue

Posted by West Nott on April 30, 2007 at 8:47pm — 5 Comments

Public Information: IRS Form 990

Non-profits across the country are required to file an IRS Form 990. The USTA is a non-profit organization that fits under a 501(c)(6) Business Leagues, etc. Therefore, the USTA must file a Form 990 every year according to the IRS.

According to law, the Form 990 is public information to any individual who wishes to request thi… Continue

Posted by West Nott on April 30, 2007 at 8:42pm — No Comments

USTA High Performance: Over 200 Free Videos

Why pay for video clips from TennisOne.com or TennisPlayer.net when you can get them for free? USTA High Performance came through in the clutch by releasing over 200 clips of the top 40 players in the world free of use.

The video clips are broken down by stroke and can be frozen frame by frame. If th… Continue

Posted by West Nott on April 26, 2007 at 2:30pm — 2 Comments

2007 Easter Bowl: Girls

I spent far more time watching the boys play, but a few girls sparked my interest throughout the week. I am going to be honest and say I did not watch any of the G14. Lauren Herring in the G14 ran through the entire tournament unseeded, so she must be someone worth watching. Also, Lauren Davis seeded 17th managed to fight her way to the finals.

In th… Continue

Posted by West Nott on April 26, 2007 at 9:09am — No Comments

West

West<
You hit it out of the park! Great website.
Manny
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Posted by manny diaz on April 25, 2007 at 7:32pm — No Comments

2007 Easter Bowl: Boys

Finally I have a place to write my thoughts without having to spend an hour formatting a webpage. Expect a ton of updates!

Before I dive into talking about the Boys at the 2007 Easter Bowl (girls will be tomorrow), I want to make sure everyone understands some of the new features. First, everyone has the opportunity to upload their own pics. I personally was at the Ea… Continue

Posted by West Nott on April 25, 2007 at 6:15pm — 2 Comments

Interview: Jesse Levine

1) Great win against #1 NCAA John Isner of Georgia snapping his 46- match dual-match win streak! You lost a close first-set 6-7 (5) and won the second set easily 6-0. Unfortunately, a super tie-break was played in replacement for a full third set where you won 11-9. Can you run us through the match. Explain what he does so well and what gave you success against him?

John is a very tough player… Continue

Posted by West Nott on April 24, 2007 at 7:02pm — 4 Comments

Interview: Harold Solomon and Andy Brandi

1) Recently, I was speaking with a knowledgeable tennis parent who said this to me, "What I tell my kids all the time is that the one thing I truly believe about my own life is that it is mine to live and no one elses, including my parents." What I take from this quote is the kid has to be driving the bus when it comes to their tennis. Is this a source problem in junior development and how… Continue

Posted by West Nott on April 23, 2007 at 7:59pm — No Comments

Brian Vahaly: Interview

Where do I start? US National Junior Team, won the B18 Easter Bowl, QF at Junior Wimbledon, 20-match streak at #1 singles in college, NCAA Singles Finalist (unseeded), ranked #1 NCAA in Doubles, double-majored at the

University of Virginia in Finance and Business Management, People’s Magazine 25 Most Eligible Bachelors in 2003, QF at Indian Wells ATP defeating Gonzalez, Ferrero, and Ro… Continue

Posted by West Nott on March 16, 2007 at 8:57pm — 1 Comment

Bobby Cameron: Florida and South Carolina

By Bobby Cameron

March 9, 2007:

We got to play Florida on Friday, which has been an interesting team this year. I have seen a few results of theirs which they have won at 1,2, and 3 in singles and lost 4,5, and 6. I figured that was a good possibility in our match and that it would come down to the doubles point. I guess that’s not the best mentality for someone who was playing 2 that match.
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Posted by West Nott on March 16, 2007 at 10:30am — 1 Comment

#6 UCLA vs. #9 USC

By Gersh Payzer

When momentous events happen, we must pause and reflect on what we have witnessed. Today, marked the first time USC beat UCLA in over two years. USC has struggled against the Bruins since 1997, winning just four of 22 matches.

Last season was a disaster. USC finished with an 8-14 overall record and 1-6 in the Pac-10.

The attitude in the follow… Continue

Posted by West Nott on March 9, 2007 at 6:30pm — 1 Comment

Video: Justin Kronauge vs. Philipp Gruendler

In the clip below is freshman Justin Kronauge of the Ohio State Buckeyes in action at the National Indoors against senior Philipp Gruendler of UCLA. Justin Kronauge won the match 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 and the point shown is a critical juncture late in the third set.
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Posted by West Nott on March 6, 2007 at 9:00pm — 1 Comment