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Historically Black Colleges and Universities National Championships 2009 Atlanta, GA

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Over the weekend of September 26th, 2009, the Florida A&M University men's and women’s tennis team competed in the 9th annual HBCU National Tennis Championship held at the Sugar Creek Golf and Tennis Club in Atlanta, GA.

This year’s Championship was well represented with competitors from 13 HBCUs: FAMU, Bethune-Cookman University, Hampton University, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina Central University, Winston-Salem State University, Southern University, Alabama A&M University, Arkansas Pine Bluff, Prairie View A&M University, Xavier University (Louisiana), Fort Valley State University, and Morehouse College. In total, there were over 150 participants.

This was the Fang Gang’s third consecutive HBCU championship. Team captain, Michael Moore, won the A Flight draw against fellow teammate David Jackson. They both teamed up to win the Flight A doubles draw as well. Freshman, Takura Happy won the C flight singles and freshman, Rashaad (Harold) Williams teamed with Takura to reach the semi-finals in doubles. With these great performances, FAMU’s men accumulated the most points, which allowed them to win the team competition as well, with Bethune-Cookman and Xavier placing second and third, respectively.

Michael Moore, 21, a 3rd year Political Science major from Harlem, N.Y. felt that the Fang Gang had a great showing. “The freshman played well and the upperclassmen led the way with strong performances. This was our first real tournament and it definitely made us unite as a team, so hopefully with each tournament we’ll get better and more prepared for our Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference matches this spring.”

David Jackson, 22, a senior Economics major from Indianapolis, IND also felt that the Men’s Tennis team had a great weekend. “We definitely had a few close matches that could have gone either way but we came through with the victories that were needed. I feel like I played really well in singles and in doubles”

According to Moore, “Singles is our strong point but we need to work on doubles more in practice heading into the new year to become more well-rounded.”

His teammate and doubles partner also had very similar goals and expectations.
“I want to work on being able to serve and volley more in my matches and transition more from the baseline to the net during points. Tennis is an all-court sport and I feel like working on these skills would take my game to the next level, in singles and doubles,” said Jackson.

The Lady Rattlers came in third place in this year’s championship behind Southern University and Hampton University. Senior, Rachael Pye lost a very close and highly contested Flight A singles final and Sophomore, Alexis Brown, battled to reach the Flight B singles final. In the doubles competition, Rachael Pye and Latreece Olagbegi reached the semi-finals of Flight A doubles finals while Kitrine Durden and Alexis Brown reached the semi-finals of Flight B doubles draw.

Pye, 20, a senior health science major from Miami, FL is proud of the Lady Rattlers results but not satisfied.

“I think we played well this weekend and the competition was much more competitive this weekend than last year but we failed to rise to the occasion, especially in doubles. Based on what I learned this weekend, I need to work on staying mentally tough and closing out points when I have the opportunity. There is always more work to be done. As a team, we need to improve on consistency and our doubles play.”

With strong performances from both teams and several months until conference play begins, this year’s tennis season seems very promising and has already jumped off to a great start.
 

Click here to see the photos from the last Clark Atlanta University mixer

 

Feature Article
The Phenom

As I travel around the tennis community, the most common topic of conversation is Donald Young and the state of African American tennis today. Even if Donald's not the conversation eventually it comes back to him. Is he the next biggest thing in tennis? Will he dominate and rejuvenate American tennis? What makes him special? What does he have to do to dominate the Pro tour?

Well, he moves like a gazelle, and pinpoints, laserlike groundstrokes, with accuracy. He also has great hands and volleys like McEnroe. Why is he not dominating men's tennis? Well at every level of play adjustments need to be made. Each player must figure out what he or she has to do to win. Example: to go from state ranked junior to top level national player the most common adjustment is consitency, and court coverage, to go from juniors to collegiate player the most common adjustments are learning how attack and how to handle pressure. So, once he figures out what adjustments to make he'll be ok. Secondly, he needs to stronger physically, it's still a boy against men. Lastly, he needs to develop a weapon, so that opposing players have something to fear.

The Phenom is right on schedule to dominate. He has all the tools,and good leaderships(parents), and he will dominate in due time.

Tip of the Month
How to beat a big hitter

Beating a good big hitter can be a daunting task, but there are some things you can practice to neutralize a big hitter.

1. First keep the rhythm out of the match. Do that by controlling the pace of the match.
2. Don’t hit the same ball two times in a row. Slice hard and deep, then use heavy topspin high, soft slice short to side T’s, and lob.
3. Keep your opponents guessing. Sneak in to net behind well placed lobs, or drop shots, serve and volley when you are ahead.
4. Finally, it may take all you have so, bring a lunch, and be prepared for a long tough match.

Good Luck!