I’m checking to see if it’s April 1. This post can’t be real.
TCU Men's Tennis - 2020-2021
- Thread starter Jared7
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Longfrog
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Jared7
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The COVID situation in the U.S. has gotten to the level where the ITF is once again having tourneys here and the next one starts this week in Naples, Florida. Alex Rybakov is on the acceptance list for the main draw so he is apparently finally leaving Antalya after spending about a month there. Reese Stalder is one of the highest ranked alternates so he might slip in to the qualies as well. Illinois' Aleks Kovacevic actually left the Indoor Nationals early to play there as well.
But what Rybo has been paying attention to is TCU's W over USC yesterday, tweeting multiple times about his former roommates and teammates - check out his twitter feed to see how happy he was at yesterday's results. Cracked Racquets labeled Gray's lob as the shot of the tournament; especially given the stakes and what was on the line.
No, long, I had never heard of Ca$h Hanzlik, but TJC is indeed up next at home on Friday (time TBD). We've actually played them 8 times and our all-time record is 8-0 (the last such match in 1984). And then, we're going to host his next school - Arizona State - on Sunday. I'm inclined not to be too hard on the kid for the 1-year suspension; which was apparently shortened to 6 months after reflection. Many kids go through a phase of not ever accepting losses at early ages; McEnroe never really got over his "phase" and his multiple daughters give him endless grief about it. I do wonder what he actually did though...(He's from Portland, Oregon and they have been known to act weird there).
But what Rybo has been paying attention to is TCU's W over USC yesterday, tweeting multiple times about his former roommates and teammates - check out his twitter feed to see how happy he was at yesterday's results. Cracked Racquets labeled Gray's lob as the shot of the tournament; especially given the stakes and what was on the line.
No, long, I had never heard of Ca$h Hanzlik, but TJC is indeed up next at home on Friday (time TBD). We've actually played them 8 times and our all-time record is 8-0 (the last such match in 1984). And then, we're going to host his next school - Arizona State - on Sunday. I'm inclined not to be too hard on the kid for the 1-year suspension; which was apparently shortened to 6 months after reflection. Many kids go through a phase of not ever accepting losses at early ages; McEnroe never really got over his "phase" and his multiple daughters give him endless grief about it. I do wonder what he actually did though...(He's from Portland, Oregon and they have been known to act weird there).
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Longfrog
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Same here. When your parents name you "Ca$h" you've already got an uphill battle. He said the suspension was deserved, so that shows some honest self-reflection. But yeah, in a junior tennis world awash with mouthy, arrogant punks who never face any consequences for their behavior, it must have gotten pretty bad to get such a severe sentence.
Jared7
Active Member
Ah yes, juniors tennis.
For a sport known as a gentlemen's game, it sure doesn't start out that way for many. Even Borg was known for throwing racquets. And Shopavalov had that incident where he nearly took out a Davis Cup ump's eye with an errant frustrated anger shot.
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Jared7
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Kypson's ranked ATP #682 after a CH of 449 in 2019. He got a wild card and will be in Naples along w/Rybo. The very worst example of a former juniors player is Eric Menendez.
Longfrog
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Speaking of juniors, I mentioned that TCU had one recruit who was decent but probably not ready to be a major contributor right away. I'm backing off that assessment. His name is Lui Maxted, so he's already got the benefit of working with a pretty awesome name. He's another Brit... last time we went that route worked out pretty well. Maybe we can convince Alistair to stick around another year to take the kid under his wing? Can always hope.
Here's a couple vids. The first one is the only one I saw before today, and it's basically a highlight reel for his opponent. The other guy seems like he's not very accomplished... currently a freshman at Mount St Mary's. So he's a bit older than Maxted, but in the vid he absolutely overpowers Lui. But I just watched the pro-Lui version of the same match, which is the second one below, and it naturally looks a lot better. Maxted's got a gorgeous backhand.
Bad Lui:
Good Lui:
More importantly, he's had some very encouraging results lately. In December he played in his final junior tournament, the Orange Bowl. So it's an accomplishment just to get in that draw. In the 1st round he easily beat this year's #2 U.S. recruit, J.C. Roddick. Yes, he's the nephew of Andy and Andy's old coach & former OU coach, John. He committed to UCF, where John now coaches. After that Maxted lost badly, but it was to the #1 seed in the tournament.
Just recently he's played the men's tournament in Sharm El Sheikh. I know that will be familiar to Jared, because it's the same weekly tournament that Alistair played five times in the fall. Gray got close but never got out of the qualifying rounds, racking up a 7-5 record in his five tries. Maxted just lost today to run his record to 2-2. It's hard for me to interpret results, especially at the junior level. But seeing Maxted have nearly as much success as Gray at the same competition in an admittedly small sample has me optimistic.
https://www.itftennis.com/en/players/lui-maxted-/800491690/gbr/mt/s/activity/
Here's a couple vids. The first one is the only one I saw before today, and it's basically a highlight reel for his opponent. The other guy seems like he's not very accomplished... currently a freshman at Mount St Mary's. So he's a bit older than Maxted, but in the vid he absolutely overpowers Lui. But I just watched the pro-Lui version of the same match, which is the second one below, and it naturally looks a lot better. Maxted's got a gorgeous backhand.
Bad Lui:
Good Lui:
More importantly, he's had some very encouraging results lately. In December he played in his final junior tournament, the Orange Bowl. So it's an accomplishment just to get in that draw. In the 1st round he easily beat this year's #2 U.S. recruit, J.C. Roddick. Yes, he's the nephew of Andy and Andy's old coach & former OU coach, John. He committed to UCF, where John now coaches. After that Maxted lost badly, but it was to the #1 seed in the tournament.
Just recently he's played the men's tournament in Sharm El Sheikh. I know that will be familiar to Jared, because it's the same weekly tournament that Alistair played five times in the fall. Gray got close but never got out of the qualifying rounds, racking up a 7-5 record in his five tries. Maxted just lost today to run his record to 2-2. It's hard for me to interpret results, especially at the junior level. But seeing Maxted have nearly as much success as Gray at the same competition in an admittedly small sample has me optimistic.
https://www.itftennis.com/en/players/lui-maxted-/800491690/gbr/mt/s/activity/
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Longfrog
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He play with Lyle in the California Penal League?
Longfrog
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Weren't they seen courtside at a Laker game *after* the murders? At least they would be cool under pressure. "Ice water in the veins" and all that.
Longfrog
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I got going down the Tyler Junior College rabbit hole. Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat played there for a year before going to Marquette... had no idea. That led me to this article when he was a draft prospect. Man, he's got a wild story.
https://www.espn.com/nba/draft2011/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=Butler-110618
https://www.espn.com/nba/draft2011/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=Butler-110618
Longfrog
Active Member
Listened to the Cracked Racquets podcasts of the Day 1 & 2 recaps. Think they said Day 3 comes out tomorrow. They confirmed that Kruger was hurt. I guess I figured if he was playing doubles and had been playing singles right up until the tournament, that he was healthy enough. But there's really no way you put Kurzban in vs Tennessee if Kruger is fit.
They also said that Paroulek hurt his hand right before the tournament began. He convinced Roditi he was close enough to 100%, but that clearly wasn't the case. Fact that Kruger was hurt too makes more sense. Roditi probably would have sat him from the get go if he had a fully fit Kruger as an option.
They also said that Paroulek hurt his hand right before the tournament began. He convinced Roditi he was close enough to 100%, but that clearly wasn't the case. Fact that Kruger was hurt too makes more sense. Roditi probably would have sat him from the get go if he had a fully fit Kruger as an option.
Jared7
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He's had (and apparently continues to have) an assortment of nagging injuries. Like Coach P, Roditi likes to keep all that under his hat, and with COVID and few spectators, he's able to accomplish that easier.
Widow did make it into the qualies at Naples but he lost 3 and 4 to Alejandro Gomez yesterday. Rybo (now ATP#461 - close to his CH) is into the main draw and he'll play #7 seed Christian Harrison in the first round. Harrison was at Delray Beach (where Cam played) most recently where he made it through the qualies but then lost (and lost all his earned money by being fined ($3,000) for refusing to wear a mask during an interview). In doubles, Alex will team with Justin Butsch and they'll play Martin Damm and Govind Nanda (who's a good friend of Ca$h Hanzlik).
Jerry Lopez (o Gerardo Lopez Villasenor si prefiere espanol) was also at Antalya the past few weeks but he lost in the early rounds - he's currently at ATP#557. Nick Chappell hasn't played since December at Santa Domingo - he's currently ATP#411.
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Jared7
Active Member
The new ITA rankings came out this morning - there's been a shift, the Frogs are 5th. Here's the new rankings:
1. North Carolina
2. Baylor (W)
3. Tennessee (L)
4. Virginia (L)
5. the Fighting Frogs of lil ole TCU
6. Illinois
7. Texas (on our schedule)
8. USC (W)
9. Ohio State
10. A&M (on our schedule)
11. Florida (on our schedule)
12. Georgia
13. Wake Forest
14. Oklahoma State (on our schedule)
15. Michigan
16. Kentucky
17. NC State
18. UCLA
19. UCF
20. South Carolina
21. Arizona
22. Arizona State (on Sunday)
23. Alabama
24. Mississippi State (W)
25. Northwestern
ARV: Memphis, Oklahoma (W); Mississippi (W); Tulane
Remember, our long-term strategic goal, given the newish baseball-like format in the NCAA's, is to get to and remain in the Top 8 so that we will both host a regional but also have the chance to host a super-regional if we get through our regional. We're on target with that goal, even though we slipped. Also, the rankings switch shortly to the stat-based system, our W's over Baylor and USC will help tremendously (all season) when that happens. As will the W's over Mississippi State, OU and Mississippi.
1. North Carolina
2. Baylor (W)
3. Tennessee (L)
4. Virginia (L)
5. the Fighting Frogs of lil ole TCU
6. Illinois
7. Texas (on our schedule)
8. USC (W)
9. Ohio State
10. A&M (on our schedule)
11. Florida (on our schedule)
12. Georgia
13. Wake Forest
14. Oklahoma State (on our schedule)
15. Michigan
16. Kentucky
17. NC State
18. UCLA
19. UCF
20. South Carolina
21. Arizona
22. Arizona State (on Sunday)
23. Alabama
24. Mississippi State (W)
25. Northwestern
ARV: Memphis, Oklahoma (W); Mississippi (W); Tulane
Remember, our long-term strategic goal, given the newish baseball-like format in the NCAA's, is to get to and remain in the Top 8 so that we will both host a regional but also have the chance to host a super-regional if we get through our regional. We're on target with that goal, even though we slipped. Also, the rankings switch shortly to the stat-based system, our W's over Baylor and USC will help tremendously (all season) when that happens. As will the W's over Mississippi State, OU and Mississippi.
Longfrog
Active Member
The day 3 recap podcast is out from Cracked Racquets. Understandably, they don't give too much time to the 7/8 matchup played on the day that the title was decided. But it is a pretty fun listen, starting at minute 29. Lotsa love for the Gray lob. They also had TCU at #5, praised our top 4, and noted our injuries at the bottom of the lineup. I think they had Gray ranked 5 or 6 in singles, and 2 of the 3 had Fomba/Gray in their top 5 doubles teams.
https://www.crackedracquets.com/great-shot-podcast-210217/
https://www.crackedracquets.com/great-shot-podcast-210217/
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Jared7
Active Member
There hasn't been any announcement or anything, but both the Arizona State site and gofrogs are now showing the ASU match on Sunday as being canceled. So, our next match will be against the same team as our last match - USC - on Friday, 2/26. So, it'll be Cukierman, Dostanic, Smith, Frye et. al. yet again. The #7 Trojans are now 7-3 and no longer #1 and their only intervening match will be against Oklahoma State tomorrow, in L.A. This will be the start of our California swing, where we will play USC and Pepperdine, but the Stanford match has also apparently been canceled as it no longer appears on our schedule. So, not only did ERCOT cause us to lose 2 matches, it's also messing around with our schedule...
