Best-ever tennis finish
GCSU fell just short of their ultimate goal, finishing runner-up to Lynn University.
The Super Bowl of Small College Tennis was held at Mobile, Ala. in the Copeland-Cox Tennis Center. Region winners from around the country representing Division II, III and NAIA battled at the event.
The Bobcats represented arguably the strongest region in the field of eight competitors in their divisional bracket. Heading into the matches as Southeast Region champs, head coach Steve Barsby was excited.
“I knew if they played well they’d be in it,” Barsby said.
Bobcat stalwart Siqueira felt privileged to compete for the National Championship.
“The whole environment was cool,” Siqueira said. “I never thought we could win a regional, and it was great to be there.”
GCSU had to win three matches in two days to bring home the first national doubles title in Bobcat tennis history. They faced Brigham Young University-Hawaii in first round play.
Pickham and Siqueira got through the opening round unscathed winning in two sets 6-2,6-4. The match got interesting during the second set as the Bobcats fought through a 4-3 deficit.
GCSU found a way to break serve on their way to victory. Pickham described their strategy against BYU-Hawaii.
“They had one good guy, so we just pushed our play onto the poorer player,” Pickham said.
After a nice early round win, the GCSU twosome had to play Concordia College in the semifinal. This matchup would test endurance and concentration on both sides of the court.
GCSU came away with a 6-2 win in the first set, but Concordia battled back for a 6-3 win of their own in the second.
The vital third set turned ugly with GCSU up 8-6. Siqueira was disappointed with his play after that moment.
“When we got up in that set, I missed three easy shots to put us down 9-8,” Siqueira said.
With match point at stake, Pickham dropped a backhand right on the line to keep hope alive. Pickham claims that he got lucky off a poor shot.
“I shanked it into the other guy, but he just missed,” Pickham said. “The last few points were terrible on both sides.”
Flustered after blowing match point, Concordia double faulted on their next serve. The play on both sides diminished as Barsby said it seemed like neither team wanted to win.
Somehow the Bobcats were able to grind out the last two points for an 11-9 comeback win. Siqueira felt lucky to survive the round with a championship birth up for grabs.
“I was so happy we won because I felt like we were supposed to lose that one,” Siqueria said. “We let down our play because we thought about the outcome.”
No. 2 seeded GCSU faced No.4 seed Lynn University in the ITA D-II Championship.
Unfortunately, the up-and-down play continued for the Bobcats as they got down 3-0 early in the first set. They battled back to force a tiebreaker, which Lynn eventually won 7-2.
Barsby said the Lynn players had a much different style than what Pickham and Siqueira are used to seeing in doubles.
“Basically, they were two singles guys who play doubles,” Barsby said. “They just stood on the baseline and ripped it.”
Still, GCSU scratched back into the match, winning a tiebreak of their own in the second set, 7-3.
The superb run ended for GCSU in a 6-2 third set loss as Lynn cruised to the title. According to Barsby, the match was closer than the score indicated as a few missed volleys made the difference.
Despite the loss, this was the first runner-up trophy in this event for the men as the women have five.
Barsby said he was pleased at how the guys represented the GCSU program with their play in both the regional victory and at the championship final.
“This was a good sign heading into the spring,” Barsby said. “The guys feel like the team could make a run again.”
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Oct 24 2008. Filed under Sports.
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