Flushing, NY- Philadelphia University Athletics is excited to
unveil the newest fan feature this spring, a 2010 Men's
Tennis NCAA Travel Blog that is coming soon to www.philaurams.com.
The #4 seeded PhilaU men's tennis team heads to Queens
College on Thursday (5/6) at 4 p.m. to face #5 Merrimack College in
the NCAA East Regional Tournament. A win on Thursday advances
the Rams to their bracket championship on Friday (5/7) at 9 a.m.
vs. the winner of Concordia-Adelphi. A loss would end the
2010 season.
Rookie Head Coach Cha Goods will team up with
freshman #3 singles player Kyle Burke to give fans
a behind the scenes look at all the action.
May 7th, 2010 FINAL POST
RamNation!!!
It would have thrilled me to be able to post that our season was
going to continue, but unfortunately my/your Rams fell in the final
to Concordia (4th time this year) in the Regional Final this
morning. They fought hard and valiantly to the bitter end. Our
opponent was just simply better and kudos to them. We have a great
amount of respect as they have not only raised the bar in our
conference, yet as well for my coaching staff and my players to a
man. Be sure that all of us left Queens, NY with our heads held
high. Knowing again that we did achieve our season goal and the
buzz is already in the air looking forward to next year.
It has been my honor to represent the Athletic Department and my
leader Tom Shirley, along with Philadelphia University and Dr.
Stephen Spinelli; who being a "tennis guy" has come out to support
our campaign each and every step of the way. A quick thanks to my
fellow coaches who have welcomed and warmly embraced me into the
coaching "fraternity" (Kappa Alpha Coach? LOL!), but seriously
you've made this a thrilling ride. And from the bottom of my heart
I promise you, "The best is yet to come, for you haven't seen
nothin' yet!!!" To all of the RamFans who have stopped me all over
this campus with words of support and encouragement I/we look
forward to seeing more of you at the courts, hearing from you on
Facebook...
To my players who I genuinely consider my sons and simply love,
you know before I am your coach, I am and eternally will be..... A
Ram. 20 wins? Not bad for a..... Rookie:)
-Cha-
May 6th, Midnight
What an unbelievable
(and emotionally exhausting) day!!! Your Rams defeat Merrimack 5-1
in the semi-final round. The bus ride to Queens College was
uneventful. Once we got here, we were told that our match scheduled
for 4pm would more than likely not be played until nearly 530pm due
to rain in the morning forcing matches to start late. So we had
plenty of time to kill, which we did in this Queens neighborhood
(home of Manoli "NY" Sgouros). Following lunch and a quick nap on
the bus it was time to change, put our game faces on and get ready
to rumble. In the doubles things started a bit slow, but many times
that has been how we've been all season. Then as usual upon my
urging all three teams dialed up the intensity realizing that we
couldn't afford to go into the 6 singles segment without winning
all 3 dubs. Tom "Condor" McAvoy and Seppi "Flying Bear" Hutter
being a mature veteran duo were first to secure a victory, soon
followed by Adrian "AT" Torroella-Cruz and Manoli at #1. We all
stood by gripped with excitement as Kyle "Kiwi" Burke and Ryan "Big
Rig" Christopher launched a late comeback to give us the sweep!
With daylight quickly running out, and in a race to win 5 matches,
the singles was nip and tuck for a good while. At 8pm we were
forced to move indoors to complete all remaining play. Seppi was
first to secure a win. Then things got extremely heated with many
disputed line calls which had the appearance of outright
gamesmanship on our opponents part; yet in the end it was homegrown
Manoli who won!! Giving this rookie head coach a 20 win season and
the first NCAA tournament victory for Philadelphia University.
Tomorrow we report back to the courts at 8am for our 9am match-up
with #11 nationally ranked Concordia; who we've played and lost to
three time already this year. But don't fret all you RamFans, we go
into it with absolutely nothing to lose. And like Muhammad Ali once
said, we'll try to "shake up the world!"
Ok, my head is about to hit the pillow... More tomorrow-
Cha
Ram Nation!!!
This blog comes straight to you via Adrian's laptop in the
hotel after defeating Merrimack 5-1. Coming in as a freshman, the
expectation was for our team to win a round in NCAA's for the
first time in our teams history. After accomplishing this feat, I
can say that as a team we are ecstatic.
The team started strong
by securing the first and third doubles matches handily. Then Ryan
and I pulled out a massive win at two doubles that essentially
sealed up the match for the team. After Manoli won the final point
we rushed his court in celebration and the thrill of the victory
has yet to wear off. The team dined and celebrated in the hotel
restaurant and then we returned to or respected rooms to rest and
prepare to play Concordia College. Concordia is heavily favored in
our matchup tomorrow but we have high hopes of pulling off a
massive upset. Check in for an update tomorrow!!!
-Kyle Burke (a.k.a. Kiwi)
-Cha-May 5th, 2010- 8:05 PM
RamNation!!!
Words can't adequately express the mix of excitement and
anticipation as we now have finished our last practice before
leaving for Queens, NY in the morning for our Regional semi-final
against Merrimack. This is a moment that I've personally been
thinking and pondering since I was informed by my predecessor Coach
Marty Gilbert that he'd be recommending that I take his place
leading the program upon his retirement in December. Our day will
start with an early breakfast in the Kanbar Center then board our
bus at 9am for the 2-21/2 hour trip. Upon our arrival, myself and
new assistant coach Shawn Becker will attend a coaches meeting,
then watch and scout our potential regional finals opponent during
the match between Concordia and Adelphi at 2pm. Our match is
estimated to begin at 4pm. My rookie season this spring has been
the most rewarding time in my professional coaching career thus
far. And an NCAA tournament appearance is the proverbial
“icing” on the cake. To be selected as one of the best
64 teams in the nation is an honor and tremendous responsibility.
After this 19-6 season and CACC finalist, we enter 
this tournament confident and we definitely have that
“edge”.
Talk to ya'll tomorrow!
-Cha-
