Texas Tennis advances to Final Four

by kellen on May 19, 2008 10:23 PM CDT

This is too cool. Thanks to kellen, this is your liveblog/celebration/wtf? thread. Everyone head over to www.texassports.com and follow the links to watch Texas try to advance to the Championship Round of the NCAA Men's Tennis Tournament! - Horn Brain

#7 Texas men's tennis team defeated #2 Ohio State 4-2 on Sunday in Tulsa. The Horns will advance to the final four for the second time in 3 years (lost to eventual champion Pepperdine in 2006). They will meet the winner of USC-UCLA -It's UCLA -ed. #1 Virginia and defending champ Georgia will meet on the other side. This is a good break for the 'Horns as Virginia and Georgia are probably the top two teams in the tournament. This is a special group of guys, probably the deepest team in the field. They are led by Kellen Damico, a freshman out of Colorado who is a former Wimbledon junior doubles champion. Look for a Texas - Georgia final.

[Note by Horn Brain, 05/19/08 8:39 PM CDT ] Texas wins! Kutrovsky clinches it and Texas is headed to the Finals to play the winner of Georgia/Virginia. Details on TV and all that good stuff to follow.

[Note by Horn Brain, 05/19/08 9:17 PM CDT ] Final round will be played against Georgia at 6PM CST on ESPNU. Be there or be 54b. The University of Tulsa is running the event, so check out their site for any info you may want - Unless of course you're just trying to find out if we really have a tennis team or not, do that on texassports.com.

All comments, FanPosts, and FanShots are the views of the reader-authors who create them.

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Woo!

This year is turning around, after all. First baseball, now tennis is two matchups away from a national championship? whow!

Anyone know how we can watch this? Stat tracker may not do it justice. Please tell me they televise the national championships of college tennis.

--Horn Brain--

by Horn Brain on May 18, 2008 7:41 PM CDT 0 recs

I just mentioned in the fanpost below...

that there is live video available online.

by hornbone on May 18, 2008 9:43 PM CDT up 0 recs

I'm trying to watch live scoring at work...

and it’s not showing the court scores for the Texas/UCLA match, just for the Virginia/Georgia match. Though it does say that Texas is up 1-0, suggesting they won the doubles point.

Is anybody out there watching live video? Anybody any clearer on what’s going on?

by hornbone on May 19, 2008 6:13 PM CDT 0 recs

2-2

The remaining three matches split sets and Texas is up 5-0 in one of them.

by JohnsonUT on May 19, 2008 8:13 PM CDT 0 recs

He close it out.

UT up 3-2.

1 singles is on serve, UT leads 2-1 in third.
#2 singles third set is about to start.

by JohnsonUT on May 19, 2008 8:17 PM CDT up 0 recs

Texas breaks at #1 singles

by JohnsonUT on May 19, 2008 8:19 PM CDT up 0 recs

Anyone know which courts are good to watch?

I can’t figure out which courts we’re on.

--Horn Brain--

by Horn Brain on May 19, 2008 8:26 PM CDT 0 recs

Watch Kutrovsky @ #1

He’s been huge all year

by kellen on May 19, 2008 8:28 PM CDT up 0 recs

Court #1?

Thanks, I guessed 7.

--Horn Brain--

by Horn Brain on May 19, 2008 8:28 PM CDT 0 recs

Kutrovsky up 2 sets and 5-3

Serving to go to the CHAMPIONSHIP!

--Horn Brain--

by Horn Brain on May 19, 2008 8:32 PM CDT 0 recs

A few notes about the Georgia - Virginia match

The two remaining matches involve kids with Texas ties. Jamie Hunt at #4 for Georgia is a San Antonio Alamo Heights kid who somehow got away. Travis Helgeson at #1 for Georgia played for UT, didn’t get along with Coach Center and transferred to Georgia where he won a national championship last year.

by kellen on May 19, 2008 8:33 PM CDT 0 recs

Jamie Hunt

My high school teamates used to warm up with him before clinics when he was like 10. I guess he continued to become a badass.

by JohnsonUT on May 19, 2008 8:39 PM CDT up 0 recs

Yea he's a badass

He is a good kid. He left SA to go to Houston to train in an academy there and homeschooled (I am in the junior tennis business, run an academy myself). He finished up back in SA training with John Roddick, Andy’s older brother. He trained there with Nate Schnugg, who plays #2 for Georgia. Interestingly enough, Schnugg was Damico’s partner when they won junior Wimbledon. There’s your junior tennis history lesson for the day.

by kellen on May 19, 2008 8:44 PM CDT up 0 recs

TEXAS Wins!

In the finals.

by JohnsonUT on May 19, 2008 8:37 PM CDT 0 recs

Woo! .nt whills

--Horn Brain--

by Horn Brain on May 19, 2008 8:41 PM CDT 0 recs

My Texas vs Georgia prediction

is looking pretty good. I wonder if there is a betting line for collegiate men’s tennis.

by kellen on May 19, 2008 8:52 PM CDT 0 recs

Thanks for putting this post up...

... is it showing up on the front page for you?

--Horn Brain--

by Horn Brain on May 19, 2008 9:01 PM CDT up 0 recs

Yea, it's showing up

Thanks HB. I know tennis isn’t one of the “revenue producers,” but it’s nice to give these guys and Coach Center the credit they deserve.

by kellen on May 19, 2008 9:04 PM CDT up 0 recs

One last note on the Texas-Georgia final

Texas fell to Georgia 4-2 earlier in the year at the national indoors at the University of Washington. Besides the fact that it was in January, indoor tennis and outdoor tennis are very different, especially at this level. Indoor courts tend to play extremely fast and are more suited for certain players, teams and styles of play. For example, a big serve and volleyer will like a fast indoor court much more than a slow outdoor court. Our team is much more suited for the slower style. Four of our top six come from latin america or eastern european countries where they grow up playing on slow clay courts. I’d say going in it’s a toss-up. Give UGA an edge as defending champion (although they lost their #1 from last year) and give UT an edge for the big mo!

by kellen on May 19, 2008 9:03 PM CDT 0 recs

woo!

I’m so ready for men’s tennis to get its first national championship. I love this team.

by hornbone on May 19, 2008 10:28 PM CDT 0 recs

Questions from college tennis novice

I admit it. I know very little about tennis at all, and even less about college tennis. So I have some very basic questions that I’m hoping one of you can answer. Since college tennis isn’t televised, I cannot run out and watch a match or two to get edumacated.

1. So do they play all of the matches simultaneously? Is there an actual reason for this, or are they just trying to get it over with? If so, isn’t this a bummer for spectators? Or do they wander from match to match?

2. Once a team gets 4 points, do the remaining games in play just stop? If so, doesn’t this annoy the players, who don’t have an outcome for their game? Or are they just used to it?

Yes, I know these questions seem stupid. But again, I know nothing.

I refused to name my children Vince, Kevin or Major ... despite my secret desire to do so.

by EddieTheAlbinoSquirrel on May 20, 2008 12:08 PM CDT 0 recs

kellen could probably do a better job...

... but here’s my try:

1.) I think they play as many as they can at a time. There are 3 doubles sets which give one point to the first team to win two sets, and I think they start three singles a little after doubles. Then, once doubles is over, the other three singles start up. If they didn’t do this it would take literally all day to play a match. As far as the spectators, I think it’s sort of like golf, in that you just go to whatever match interests you at the time.

2.) They just stop once one team clinches it, I think this is to prevent injuries, but I’m not sure.

Hopefully someone can substantiate my BS.

--Horn Brain--

by Horn Brain on May 20, 2008 12:20 PM CDT up 0 recs

#2

No, they don’t stop once one team clinches it. All the kids get a chance to play. If you look at ‘boxscores’ or final results from a tennis match, they’ll always have the same number of aggregate total matches. Their might be special circumstances (maybe if one team forfeits?) but my understanding is they all get a chance to compete.

by Blitzburgh on May 20, 2008 12:34 PM CDT up 0 recs

So how do we always win 4-0 and 4-2?

Do they just not count the remaining matches? They always report the scores as “Texas’ (So and so) was up a set and leading 5 games to 3 in the remaining singles match”. I took these things to mean that they didn’t play the rest of their match. The “boxscore” at the bottom of the semifinal recap says suspended for one singles match and DNF for the longest doubles match, so maybe they only stop playing in the tournament because injuries are so critical.

--Horn Brain--

by Horn Brain on May 20, 2008 1:25 PM CDT up 0 recs

Goes either way

They can keep playing for practice and experience or stop. I think it is up to the coaches.

So if UT played Trinity (in San Antonio) for an out of conference match, they may just play it out. But, in a tournament, once you clinched, there is no need to keep exerting energy and risk injury.

by JohnsonUT on May 20, 2008 1:29 PM CDT up 0 recs

They don't stop during regular season play...

but they do stop after the match has been clinched in postseason play. I don’t know if they do this so that the team can rest as much as possible, or to save the other team the embarrassment of having to play when they’ve already lost, or what. So that’s why, during the regular season, you’ll see 7-0 shutouts, but in the tournament they’ll stop after a team gets to 4.

Also, I think having all the matches going on at the same time increases the excitement. All (or half) of the courts are lined up right next to one another, so you can watch multiple matches at the same time. So if the match to your right is at a change over and they’re not playing, just look to your left and there’s action going on over there. And that way, there’s always someone cheering, without any pauses in the action. It makes college matches a lot more fun than pro matches. It’s more like Davis Cup, where cheering is encouraged.

by hornbone on May 20, 2008 1:30 PM CDT up 0 recs

oh, also...

They play all six singles matches at the same time, I believe. At least they have during the matches I’ve watched.

It’s also really fun if there’s one match left to clinch the whole thing, and all the coaches and all the finished-playing players for both teams and all the fans are watching this one match finish. Everyone should go check out a UT tennis match, it’s a fun, relaxed experience. And the facility is pretty good.

by hornbone on May 20, 2008 1:33 PM CDT up 0 recs

Viewing

Courts are usually next to each other so a spectator can watch multiple matches at once.

by JohnsonUT on May 20, 2008 1:06 PM CDT up 0 recs

Team Tennis

Also, if there is a crowd, it can get noisy during points if something good happens on another court. Team tennis definitely has a much different atmosphere than the pro tennis you see on tv.

by JohnsonUT on May 20, 2008 1:09 PM CDT up 0 recs

Thanks for the great answers!

Hey, y’all, I really appreciate all of the excellent information. Interesting stuff.

I refused to name my children Vince, Kevin or Major ... despite my secret desire to do so.

by EddieTheAlbinoSquirrel on May 20, 2008 2:00 PM CDT up 0 recs

Answers

1. They begin with the 3 doubles lines and play 8 game pro sets (first to 8, win by 2, tiebreaker at 8 all). First to win 2 doubles matches gets the “doubles point.” They then receive a 5 minute break before beginning all 6 singles matches simultaneously. Each singles match is worth 1 overall point, thus first to 4 points is the winner. These matches are best of 3 sets. As Johnson mentioned, what you see on tv at Wimbledon is not what you see at a collegiate tennis match. There is quite a bit of cheering, jeering, etc. that occurs and is encouraged. Cheering when the opponent makes a mistake is not frowned upon like it would be in other environments.

2. During any kind of tournament play, matches will be stopped once a team gets to four points. This is to both prevent injury in any remaining matches (that are in effect meaningless) and to preserve energy for the next round. In dual match formats, that is Texas vs. the aggies on a Saturday afternoon, the match is played to completion. The main reason for this is to help determine all-conference awards at the end of the season and to help determine national rankings for individuals. They will hand out all-conference awards at each of the six singles positions based on your conference record. Also, in addition to team rankings, they also have individual rankings for players based on head-to-head results. For example, Dimi is ranked #10 in the country and Damico #41. Once the team competition is over tonight, they will begin a men’s singles draw and a men’s doubles draw to determine national champions in those categories. Texas has many singles and doubles players who have won individual national titles over the years (although not recently). Check out www.collegetennisonline.com for team and individual rankings.

by kellen on May 20, 2008 2:21 PM CDT up 0 recs

Thanks, kellen

We of the oblate quasi-ellipsoid brand of ball games appreciate your primer.

--Horn Brain--

by Horn Brain on May 20, 2008 2:30 PM CDT up 0 recs

Question for kellen...

do you think pro tennis should work like college and Davis Cup in that coaching is allowed? It bugs me so much that coaching isn’t technically allowed, but so many players are obviously coached in the box. I think they should allow a coach down on the court, just like pretty much every other sport. What do you think?

by hornbone on May 20, 2008 3:09 PM CDT up 0 recs

Right On

Kellen is right about the answers. The main reason play is stopped in a tournament is that the remaining matches are meaningless. As far as players wanting to finish their match, for the most part it does not matter at this point because a win or loss will not help or hurt the players individual ranking as selections for the NCAA individual tournament (which immediately follows the team tournament) have already been made. As a former UT tennis player, I did not mind that my match was stopped as that meant that we had won and could rest and prepare for the next day’s matches. The NCAA tennis tournament is a huge grind as you play 4 out of 5 consecutive days in matces that typically last 3 hours (when I was playing you would play 4 consecutive days). By the finals it is really a battle of attrition as your legs are gone and you get a number of people cramping up pretty badly.

by baller00 on May 20, 2008 3:24 PM CDT up 0 recs

So you were a UT tennis player?

When did you play?

by hornbone on May 20, 2008 3:49 PM CDT up 0 recs

I played in the late 90s. The last years of Coach Snyder.

by baller00 on May 20, 2008 4:00 PM CDT up 0 recs

hes too modest to shrare

But he was All American.

by Blitzburgh on May 20, 2008 6:20 PM CDT up 0 recs

Good question

I would definitely like to see it, at least on some sort of trial basis. Traditionalists of individual sports like golf and tennis will tell you that that is what makes them unique. The players are left to make adjustments on their own. But I think that coaching would only make the quality of tennis go up. Times change and so should the rules. Many people opposed the challenge/instant replay rule that is currently in effect during the grand slam events, but to date instant replay seems to be a big success. I know as a junior coach, it kills me sometimes to not be able to talk to my players ( we are allowed to coach if they split sets). But the one big obstacle to allowing coaching at the junior level would be the involvement of parents. “Stage parents” in junior tennis may be some of the worst of any junior sport. I have to admit that I cringe a little bit at the thought of a mom or dad out berading their son or daughter on a changeover in front of a crowd of people. When it involves family it goes to a whole other level.

One other interesting note for you newbies. At the division I level in men’s tennis, a “let” serve (that is a serve that hits the net and goes in) is in play, there is no do-over. They started this on a trial basis at the D I level a few years back and while it as stuck at this level, it has yet to be added to the junior or professional levels.

by kellen on May 20, 2008 3:38 PM CDT 0 recs

Soccer moms...

I didn’t think about the parents trying to do the coaching, that would be horrible. When I was a kid playing juniors, I had a coach, so it wouldn’t have been my mom or dad over there, but I remember parents yelling at the other kids I played against and I felt bad for them. I was thinking more about guys like Andy Roddick and James Blake who I think could use some advice for some in-game adjustments. Also, golfers don’t have “coaches,” but they do have their caddies, who often serve the same purpose.

The let serve thing has been the rule for women’s tennis I know for a while, and I heard they were implementing it for men’s on a trial basis, but I didn’t know if it was going to stick. I don’t really like it, because I would hate to see a net shot dribble over and win a match.

by hornbone on May 20, 2008 3:45 PM CDT 0 recs