A Gusty Performance in Charlotte

I recently relocated to Charlotte, NC to take on a new job. I lived in Charlotte from 1999 through 2002 and that was the time when I was introduced to college tennis at the University of North Carolina Charlotte and at Davidson College. Today I made my first visit back to UNCC to see a tennis match since I left.

UNC Charlotte hosted Pfeiffer University, a Division II school in North Carolina, in the second match of a double-header on campus today. I was surprised to see the Pfeiffer team take the doubles point on Charlotte. At number one and number two doubles, Pfeiffer won 8-1. That would be all for the Falcons as UNCC ended up winning all the singles matches and took the match 6-1. Earlier they beat Johnson C. Smith University 7-0. With the two wins, UNCC goes to 3-5 on the season. It will be interesting to see how the Forty Niners do once they get in to Atlantic 10 league play. Last season the team made the NCAA tournament for the first time.

What a great day in Charlotte. It was in the low 60s and the skies were clear and sunny. The real story of the day today was the wind. Thoughout the entire match a stiff wind created a difficult situation for the players. A lot of groundstroke balls were flying deep and when the players got the ball high enough in the air it was almost like the ball hit a wall and came down. It was crazy. The players were asked to keep their tennis bags on their chairs during play so the chairs would not blow onto the court. Early in the number two doubles match, a Pfeiffer team member had his hat blow off his head and then the two teams played through the point. The official then warned them that the next time that happened a point would be lost. I did see one of the plastic chairs get blown about a foot while a game was being played. I don't think I have ever been at a match where the wind gusts were so fierce.

It certainly made things interesting.

Time.