SCAD Tennis has moved

I've moved! Keep reading at scadtennis.wordpress.com. It'll be fun, I promise.

Under Construction

The season may be over but the SCAD Tennis blog is still up and running. I may take a different direction until our season starts up again in the fall, but keep checking back for player updates and whatever else I feel like posting about. Maybe some French open coverage? A little Wimbledon for good measure? Stay tuned!

PS: Congratulations to the Stanford women's tennis team on a job well done at this years NCAA Division I Championships. The Cardinals clinched a dramatic 4-3 victory against the University of Florida earlier this week in Athens, Ga.

Player Spotlight: Dean Loock

This week's player spotlight is on Dean Loock, a first year Industrial Design major. I ran into him twice yesterday and I'm taking that as a sign that he wants to be featured on my blog. (He'll thank me later)


Dean hails from Grahamstown, South Africa, and actually knew Nisha (also from South Africa) before coming to SCAD. He also has a funny accent.

Dean's first season as a SCAD Bee saw him playing the number 1 position for 10 of his 12 matches--remarkable for an incoming freshman. Out of those 10 matches, Dean was able to clinch 5 of them making him one of the most valuable players on his team. With victories against both Oklahoma Baptist and Georgetown University, Dean proved that he has what it takes to hold the top position.


His doubles record is just as impressive. Partnering with second-year Caan Yaylali, the two tallied wins against Warner University, Northwood University, and Georgetown University.

Dean also does a fantastic Michael Jackson impersonation--



If you ask him nicely, he might just do the moonwalk for you.

Shame on You, Venus Williams

This is a very non-SCAD related post, but I just had to post this picture. Venus, what were you thinking??

It's not just me, right? That has got to be all sorts of inappropriate.


There it is in yellow...


I mean, I get it. Sex sells. I can't argue that. But since when did female athletes get the OK to go commando?

This is what Venus had to say about her "outfit" to a tennisfanhouse.com reporter:

"...it's obviously lace and kind of having that illusion of wearing lace and not having anything take away under it, the nude fabric. So these days, I just have a lot of fun with my designs and my designing and doing different things.''

Whatever you say Venus, Williams...

Exhibition Doubles

I completely forgot that I had told my assistant coach I would play an exhibition match with her this weekend. This is not surprising. I forget everything.

But the show must go on and so I arrived at the Southbridge Tennis Center this morning ready to take on the entire Savannah Senior League-- me and my doubles partner that is. Yusuke (you should remember him from an earlier blog post) and I were scheduled to face off against Coach Fina and the head Southbridge tennis pro in a friendly doubles match. Club members get to sit in the shade, laugh and chat amongst themselves, root for their favorite team, and eat a nice lunch courtesy of the facility. It was a lot of fun-- except that Yusuke and I got our butts kicked.

Ok, it wasn't that bad, but you get the idea. I can't complain, really. I got a free lunch, some really cool people to talk to, and a decent workout. See? I'm not a sore loser after all.

Sorry for the lack of actual photos from the event. I'll be sure to post them once I get in touch with the photographer and find a picture of myself where I'm not red-faced, sweating profusely, and begging for mercy.

Vanguard Lions defeat SCAD Bees 5-0

So we lost yesterday and consequently, our dreams of a national title have ended. The Vanguard Lions move into the third round where they will face off against the #4 seeded Concordia University. We wish them the best of luck in what should turn out to be a really interesting match.



Hmm, not exactly the image that comes to mind when you think "tennis player", but they kicked our butts-- more power to them for looking good doing it.

Bees Defeat Tennessee Wesleyan 8-1

The SCAD Bees have advanced to the second round at the NAIA National Championships with a first round win over the Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs. With a convincing final score of 8-1, the SCAD women's tennis team will face the number 5 seed, Vanguard University, tomorrow morning at 9 am.

Here are the final match statistics:

Singles:

1. Karolina Pierko (TWC) def. Romina Mrochen (SCAD) 1-6, 6-4, 10-8

2. Courtney Collins (SCAD) def. Kayla Foster (TWC) 6-1, 6-4

3. Nisha Michau (SCAD) def. Meghan Whaley (TWC) 6-4, 6-0

4. Charlotte Debrey (SCAD) def. Allie Smith (TWC) 6-0, 6-0

5. Stephanie Gula (SCAD) def. Marissa Morris (TWC) 6-0, 6-2

6. Annie Chastain (SCAD) def. Spencer Creekmore (TWC) 6-1, 6-0

Doubles:

1. Romina Mrochen/Courtney Collins (SCAD) def. Karolina Pierko/Meghan Whaley (TWC) 8-4

2. Nisha Michau/Charlotte Debrey (SCAD) def. Kayla Foster/Allie Smith (TWC) 8-2

3. Stephanie Gula/Annie Chastain (SCAD) def. Marissa Morris/Spencer Creekmore (TWC) 8-0

SCAD's only loss came at the number 1 spot in which Romina fought hard against Karolina Pierko but suffered a tough three set loss. She hasn't been sleeping a lot lately because, check this out, she was chosen to show her work in the SCAD Fashion Show!


We are all so proud of her and will miss her immensely when she graduates later this year.