Looking Ahead to the College Season

18. The Georgia Tech men's tennis team will play 18 home matches during the 2008 collegiate tennis season. The 2007 national champion Georgia Tech women's tennis team is scheduled to play 12 home matches in 2008. Wow. That is a lot of high quality tennis action to look forward to in this upcoming season.

I've been going to Tech matches over the last six years and this will easily be the highest number of home matches for the public to be able to see in that time.

I ran into Scott Blackmon, a senior on the Tech men's team, at the Georgia Tech - UNC Greensboro basketball game in Atlanta recently and he had a different take on the schedule. While I was thoroughly excited that the team would be in town often, he said the downside is that the players on the team don't get as many chances to travel to other schools. If I was a player, I'd be looking forward to the trips as well.

On the men's side, I am looking at possible road trips to see the team, but the opportunities are few. I had such a great experience in 2007 when I went to Washington, DC to visit one of my hitting partners and good friend, Eric, and we made our way over to the University of Maryland for the match vs. GT. When we arrived at the indoor facility and realized there were no seats in the place, we went over and hung around the Tech players. They were a little surprised when we showed up in our Tech clothes to root them on. They were really great to us during the match as we raised our voices in support of them. After the match in which Tech beat the Terrapins 4-3, a GT alum, Clint, invited Eric and I to his place where he was hosting a party for the team and other alums living in the DC area. It was a great time and we got a chance to connect with the guys and the coaches away from the court. The team is really a classy group of people. Kenny Thorne runs a great program. So it gets you really fired up about making another road trip this season. The best options are all in North Carolina, as the team plays at NC State, UNC, Wake Forest and Duke.

On the women's side, there are two matches I will be disappointed in missing. They play Notre Dame and Duke on the road. My dad went to Notre Dame so I had all that ND brainwashing for as long as I can remember. While I am not a fan, the school does occupy a special place in my life. I have even been to see the ND men and women play in South Bend. They have a great indoor facility and a nice outdoor facility as well. They run a really good program, both on the men's and women's side.

The GT women had two big wins against the Irish in 2007 and in both matches there was a lot on the line. After beating Stanford 4-3 in the semi-finals and ending their 89 match win streak at the ITA National Indoor Championships, GT played ND for the championship. The women were tough and beat ND 4-2 for their first tennis title of any kind. Later in the year, in Athens, GA, they played ND in the quarterfinals of NCAA Championships. Again the Jackets were able to beat the Irish 4-2 and advance to the national semifinals for the first time in the program's history. I was there. Great stuff. I know there will be plenty of excitement at that match this season.

While I am not a big Duke fan, I am an acquaintance of former player Daniela Bercek. The Devils came to Atlanta last season and I was able to visit with Nina for awhile while the Jackets were notching another victory. Nina was a former #1 ranked player in the NCAA and I had the chance to see her play on a few occassions. It was a great win for the Jackets as Duke had beaten them in 29 straight matches. Talk about getting the monkey off your back. Nobody beats the Jackets 30 times in a row. Nobody. While Nina has moved on, they have another player I saw as a junior at an Addidas camp at the Saddlebrook Resort a few years ago. Elizabeth Plotkin will be a sophomore this year and while I always look forward to seeing players I have run across in my tennis travels, seeing Duke this season may have to wait.

Once we get to January, the season will be upon us.

Time.