I don't think he's a hater. I just think he doesn't like you, and frankly, I think has acted pretty rude in general. btw, are you coming to Stanford for any of the tournament?
If i decide to do so, it would be an honor to meet such a distinguished Umpire that all players respect and love. and i really mean that.
Thanks.... Btw, I was in the chair for both Klahn vs. Zerbini matches this year. Talk about 2 completely different matches with the same players. lol
what happened to Klahn in that 1st match ? Not sure if he was injured or his confidence was shattered after the beating he took from Gael Monfils ?
He really did not play well, and Zerbini played very well. With the way Pedro played that day, I wouldn't have been surprised if he won no matter how Klahn played.
You maybe the best judge of what happened that day. but even after that match, Klahn had some bad streak and lost to guys that he shouldn't have lost to. Now, he's back to his old form just in time. but it was a bit scary for a while there.... Is that you on the right ??? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdPCVTDYl1E&feature=related
Why don't we just do away with going by rankings or whatever and just enjoy the gamble that goes on when coaches put their lineup out? As a high school tennis coach, I've gotten the better of a team by the lineup I decided on, and I've also been burned by it. Might as well just except it as part of the game and move on. Even if everyone did decide to follow the rules, there's always going to be a school whose lineup is questionable.
I doubt anyone is going to talk about the women, but wanted to comment. My Northwestern Wildcats happily earned a top 16 seed and get to host. But, I still sort of feel they got a little ripped off (just a little) and got the absolute worst possible draw. Northwestern has had an up and down season (well, mostly up after a slow start). They lost early to some teams that were ranked lower than Northwestern at the time - No. 26 Vanderbilt, No. 16 Georgia Tech, No. 23 Virginia. Virginia turned out to be very good and NU was missing a player when they played them. Other than that, they lost to No. 4 North Carolina (3-4), No. 6 Duke (3-4), No. 7 Baylor (3-4) and No. 10 Michigan (1-6). But, they also beat No. 3 North Carolina (4-2), No 5. Cal (4-1), No. 10 Michigan (4-3 the week after losing to them), No. 24 Texas (7-0), No. 20 Notre Dame (4-3). [All rankings at the time of the match] So they beat highly ranked teams and played a lot of top teams close. I know, big deal, lots of teams do that. BUT, they finished with a rank of 14 after winning the Big 10 tournament, and if they would have been awarded the 14th seed, their chances of winning the Rnd of 16 and making it to the QFs would be infinitely better. Instead, they're No. 16 and matched with No. 1 Stanford (at Stanford no less). And of all the unseeded teams they could possibly match up with in the second round, Notre Dame is the absolute worst. ND is a team that Northwestern beat at home 4-3 after being down 0-3. Just not a great match up. No I don't think this is any sort of huge injustice. I just think it's a terrible draw for NU. I think paired against No. 3 Duke as the No. 14 seed, NU would have had a chance to make it to the QFs.
When a perennial power starts slowly but finishes with a very strong burst down the stretch, you might think they would get seeded higher than their computer ranking, not lower as is the case with the Northwestern women.
This is kind of puzzling. Slilam has been playing very good tennis lately and probably the most improved on the team this year - other than Federhofer. Bangoura has played the vast majority - if not all matches at 2 this year. Bangoura is a good, steady player but can get overpowered at the 2 position. Coach Jackson must feel Slilam might be able to handle this spot better. Bangoura will be tough at 3.
O yeah in the women, Clemson got the ITA annual screw job. We have to go to Arkansas. Hey but now Sacramento State only has to fly to Arkansas rather than Clemson.
Maybe we should just take bets on who will be the one to knock out Virginia THIS year. I kind of laughed when someone said Illinois would do it. Virginia probably has: Sacred Heart VCU North Carolina Stanford or Texas A&M Ohio State or Baylor USC or Tennesse Baylor might be interesting. USC-Virginia would be fun to watch.
hahahaha "This is Travesty" i've been trying really hard to keep myself away from this board til there are some real NCAA results to talk about, but you win Fedace, sometimes you really are good for a laugh
Where I told you he would be last week if he didn't get farther than he did in the PAC-10 championships...watching from the stands.
lol...you hooked me again....i swore i would stop responding to your inane posts, but here i am! :-? yes, UVa did not play any 'outside' matches this year....all of their players are vampires, and exposure to the sun will reduce them to dust....
I know, i was just kidding. but i do feel sad for Alex not getting in. because he is one of the top talents in NCAA. Not enough to go pro but in NCAA division 1, he is one of the most talented players out there. and he really deserves to be in. I wonder if Alex will play any tennis at all after he finishes his career at Stanford ?? Probably not. Just concentrate his energy into running for office one day....
Ironically, that just maybe what will happen under the pressure of playing the home team in the Electric atmosphere that is Taube family stadium with all the trees cheering for the home team.....:shock:
The home team's going to need to focus on the Aggies first. Texas A&M matches up with the Cardinal very well, and they (unlike Illinois) are hot. They're coming into the tournament as the Big 12 champions.
I'd love to see UVA vs USC - decent chance of it happening this year. On the surface I'd say UVA should win - though presume USC is more familiar with playing @ Stanford. Will be interesting to see; would be a great final if it happens! K_I
USC deserves a lot of respect as a two-time defending champ, that goes without saying...and doubting their abilities come NCAA tourney time usually doesn't end well however, i think people should keep in mind that the best team that USC has beaten this year is Stanford...they haven't played any of the true elites: UVA, Tenn, Ohio St, Baylor...and I don't think they would fair well against these teams this year they may get to the final, they have a fighting chance of doing so for sure, but I think they would get run off the court by UVA ask any Duke player whether they'd rather go up against UVA/Tenn. (played both twice this season with little success) or USC (who they beat in Indoors despite losing the dubs pt - and yes Sarmiento did play in this match) and I don't think they have to put a second of thought into their response in my mind, USC has about the same chance as the likes of Duke and UGA of winning this tournament - practically zero but we'll see when they finally go up against a top 5 team, it's about time
LOL,,,UVA should win on this surface ?? How? USC is much more familiar playing in this stadium,,,if they get there that is. Highly unlikely UVA will get to the finals. Last few years, UVA boys were always considered one of the favorites to get to the final,,,,,and what do they do ??? Lose early,,,every year. WHAT makes this year different ??
I cant belive no one is talking about Texas A&M, they had a solid year and have just recently blanked oklahoma at baylor right after baylor had lost to ou. Baylor will lose rd 16 or elite eight imo. Texas A&M had a big 4-0 win over Ohio State this year so I think its hard for you to not call them elite....
what happens when they play Stanford. ? Stanford 4-3 ? surely, Texas AM can't hope to beat the elite team from Pac-10 ? They have No big names like Stanford does. Klahn,,Thacher, Clayton,, Need i say more ?? These are the celebrity of NCAA tennis.
agreed A&M is very tough this year...great dubs play and depth, and krajicek and damado are capable of some big wins themselves i agree w/ the above comment - we'd be talking about A&M a lot more if they didn't have UVA staring them in the face in the quarters if A&M wins the dubs point vs UVA, they could send some shivers up the spines of those guys over on thesabre boards, but i just don't see them winning the match ultimately
By the same logic, why would someone continually predict great success for Stanford on these boards? Certainly not based on recent NCAA tournament appearances.
It doesn't take much to send shivers up our spines. I do believe that if every team comes into the tournament playing to the best of their abilities in every match with no injuries, then Virginia wins it. But things rarely go down like that, and injuries were a concern for Virginia at the end of the regular season.
like every college sports or pros,by the end of the long season, athletes always get banged up.. that's part of the sports business.. that's the reason why you need to have the best trainers and physio people around .. better conditioned athletes gets injured less and recover faster when injures occur... so it's all about staying healthy and and peaking at the right times.. on paper,USC players never seems to be the best,but that's where the whole program shows the difference .. they tend to every detail ..
Luck also plays a role. For the last two years, Robert Farah had injury problems that caused him to miss matches early in the season that USC lost. He got healthy in time for the NCAAs both years and they won. If the USC program had some great ability to prevent injuries, he never would have gotten hurt in the first place. If he had been healthy all year and then got injured in late April instead of in January or February, they would not have won the title. Timing of injuries is not controlled by great trainers or anyone else.
On the surface - as in "at first glance", not literally _that_ surface. I think UVA will be a formidable foe for most anyone. Personally I think SC has a better shot at it than the home team, but hey - let's see the results... K_I
