Jesse Ferlianto

October 13, 2003

Coming off a relaxing summer following our first national championship, we began the fall season with fresh intensity and focus. Just as we did in previous falls, only this time we practiced without the uneasy feeling of urgency that often haunts talented teams in pursuit of the NCAA championship.

The monkey is finally off our back, as we have already achieved the loftiest of our goals. No longer do we look at the past with painful regret.

What mattered to us at the beginning of this fall season was the here and now. In less than five weeks of training we were to be prepared for our first major event on the schedule: "Rumble in the Rural Jungle: Sewanee, TN." (1)

Coach Browning wasted no time as he immediately worked to shake the rust out of our systems. By the five weeks' end, we were more or less ready to stroke tennis balls all day long. Most of us felt ready to do some damage at the tournament.

Indeed, practice was not the same without having two of our co-captains (Alex Jacobs and Tyson Ramsay) because they both are studying abroad in Spain for the semester, but junior Mark Odgers, the third caballero and co-captain stepped up and performed his leadership role well.

Freshmen Yoji Masuoka and Lee Friedman complemented their on-court training by attending Emory Swing Dance Club classes (taught by yours truly), since Coach Browning urged us to do whatever necessary to get in top physical shape, and so they did just that.

However, things were not always so fine and dandy. The day before the tournament we were shocked to hear that Friedman could not make the trip due to a leg injury. That cut our already small playing squad down to six.

When we reached Sewanee after a three-hour expedition through the "hills of Tennessee," a cold, shivering Yoji realized that he forgot his favorite pair of sweatpants. "I thought it would be like warm, sunny Tampa," he commented.

Furthermore, by the time we arrived at the Sewanee tennis courts, dusk had set in, making it too dark to practice on the unfamiliar territory. Fortunately, the indoor tennis facilities were still open and allowed for us to break a sweat or two, or five million in the case of junior Josh Rubens.

We unloaded our bags into our warm, cozy rooms at the newly renovated Regency Inn. They had a new fluorescent "Motel" sign in front, next to the sign that read, "Winter specials, rooms at $25.98 a night."

We immediately ravaged the neighboring Waffle House and declared it our official go-to restaurant for the tournament. I must admit folks, we members of the Emory men's tennis team tend to aim for the sky in all aspects of life, taste in food not being an exception.

A few of us were startled to find out that the motel happened to be out of shampoo for the night. But that led to sophomore Zach Smith's enlightening statement of the day: "It is a scientifically proven fact that not shampooing your hair indefinitely is actually beneficial to your health. I am a prime example." We all nodded and marveled at the profundity of this radical remark, and slept well that night knowing that we were doing ourselves a favor by not stressing out about shampoo scarcity.

The first day of competition began with 9 a.m. matches played under freezing temperatures and persistent winds.(2) Other than my three and a half hour grinder of a first-round win over a Brazilian from Palm Beach Atlantic College, everyone cruised through day one with relatively easy singles and doubles victories.

On day two, only 16 players were left in the singles draw. Zach fell in two tough sets to the tournament's No. 7 seed from Palm Beach Atlantic, while I fell in three sets to a Romanian player from Piedmont College. Later, sophomore Pat Redmond, donning his recently purchased bright red Piggly Wiggly t-shirt, and freshman Yoji Masuoka, sporting his lucky headband for the 48th day in a row, both advanced to the semifinals with authority.

In another quarterfinal match, Emory juniors Mark Odgers and Josh Rubens were unfortunately paired up to play each other for a spot in the semifinals. Rubens came through with a 6-4, 6-3 victory. However, that would not be the last Emory vs. Emory matchup of the tournament.

In doubles play, all three of Emory's doubles tandems advanced to the semifinals, where the doubles pair of Rubens and Smith were set to play Odgers and me. After trading a few breaks of serve and enduring many close deuce games, Odgers and I came through, 8-5.

In the other doubles semifinal, our 75-percent East Asian duo (Pat and Yoji) nearly came back from a huge deficit to tie the match at 6-6. But their 100-percent Romanian opponents from Piedmont fought to maintain their lead through much shedding of blood, sweat and tears, complemented by their persistent gnashing of teeth, tremendous grunts, passionate fist pumps and intense battle cries in an obscure language that left most of us baffled.

"Was that a mating call?" asked a neutral spectator viewing the match from the stands. We shrugged our shoulders as we called it a day, piled into the van, and prepared for a much-needed night of rest.

The morning of the third day greeted us peacefully. The air was cool and brisk as the rising sun worked its way through the remnants of an overnight haze that covered the night sky. After our last hearty breakfast at the Waffle House we bid farewell to our favorite waitresses, said goodbye to the Regency Inn and packed our bags into the cramped van, realizing that the end of the weekend was near.

During the drive to the courts, we were reminded that it was a Sunday morning, as we overheard voices within a small, rustic church singing verses from "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." We realized that we would miss driving pass the friendly cows and the idyllic landscapes that greeted us as we traveled the same tiny two-lane road each day.

"Look, it's a cumulus cloud," said Zachary as he gazed at the few white puffs of cloud that scattered the calm, morning sky. They actually were cirrus clouds, but no need to burst his bubble.

A disgusted Kyle Nelson broke the silence in the van by shouting, "Kill the Malaysian Prime Minister!"(3) Breaking out in laughter, we all realized there were some tough matches to be won before the end of the day, and that it was not the right time to be sentimental, serene, or complacent. The arduous weekend was not over yet.

In a rematch of last year's fall tournament, Redmond was up against the fiery Romanian from Piedmont, while Masuoka and Rubens waged war in the other semifinal played on the neighboring court. A cool-headed Redmond came through to win his match 7-5, 6-4, while Rubens (former Penn State athlete) maintained his Division I focus to get by Masuoka in a long two-and-a-half hour grinder, 7-5, 6-3.

In the doubles final, Odgers and I played a clean set of doubles to defeat the Romanian tandem from Piedmont, 8-4. For Odgers, it was his third regional doubles title, and for me, it was my first.

The last match of the tournament featured Redmond and Rubens in the all-Emory singles final. Trying hard to leave uneasy feelings and teammate bonds aside, they both played their hearts out in a long, dramatic three-set battle of wit, stamina, and strength.

A ticket to the ITA nationals and All-America honors were on the line, and they both played like they had these spoils of victory in mind. In the end, Redmond came out victorious, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, to became the sixth Eagle ever to win the men's singles title at the ITA Regional Championships.

After three days of fierce battle, the six Eagles who represented the Emory men's tennis team during the weekend of October 3-5 at the ITA Regional Championships came home proud, knowing they had represented Emory well. Out of a 64-man playing field, all six Eagles found themselves in the singles "Sweet 16," four of whom made it to the "Elite Eight", three of which advanced to the semifinals and finally two of them duked it out in a rarely seen all-Emory singles final. In the doubles bracket, each of our three doubles teams advanced to the semifinals, one of which came home with the doubles title.

The fall season isn't entirely over for Emory men's tennis, as three Eagles fly to Corpus Christi, Texas, to compete in the ITA Small College National Championships Oct. 15-19. With that said, I hope to have more good material and success stories to write about when I get back!

Footnotes:
(1) Also known as the ITA Regional Championships
(2) To those of us from warmer climates (i.e. Los Angeles, Tampa, Johannesburg), temperatures in the low 40s with equally cold 20-mph winds definitely "felt" like freezing.
(3) A frequently quoted line from Zoolander, one of Kyle Nelson's favorites.

Jesse Ferlianto is a sophomore from Canyon Country, Calif. He would love to answer e-mail questions from Emory recruits and fans.