4-3 win over USC in the first round of National Team Indoors

Right on! Didnt see your post!

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!!! Gig'em ladies!!!! That is so impressive. Keep it up!!!

I've long been a critic of Kleinekce but props to him and his team on a quality win.This only means something if they translate it in to more wins this season.

I have read two tennis posts of yours in the last few minutes. You downplay the women's win against #5 USC because it doesn't mean anything unless do something with it later in the year (i.e. win it all else your season ends in a loss). Then on the men's loss to Duke. It proves they are better than us because they have beat us. We just can't copete on that level.

Two similar observations could be made based on your thinking:

We must be better than USC because we beat them (analogous to what Duke's win means against the men).

Duke's win over A&M means nothing unless they do something with it later in the season. As such, our loss means nothing because we will do something later in the year. It may include beating Duke when it means the most.

FYI - The glass is not always half empty.

Hey Gap I don't know what your sports background is but let me help you out here. The women beat USC great thats wonderful but if they don't well in Conf or even get out of the regional how great will this win help? I will give you an example the football team beat OU when they were number 1 how great was that win when got beat by Mizzou and Texas the weeks after that? That win was great sure but it was followed up by two weeks of crap. The guys side sure they might be able to take Duke later in the year but I doubt it two wins over a team in the span of one week pretty much tells me they are better...

FYI..."I don't suffer fools gladly"

If you understand my quote.

[This message has been edited by aggie11 (edited 2/6/2004 8:07p).]

Stick it up your a$$, A11. We don't need experts like you.

Hey aggie11- the post says "Props to Womens tennis" Thats what we are doing, is giving them props for beating the #5 team. They had a great win and we are proud of them. Take your crap somewhere else.

Aggie11, I can tell your dumb arse exactly what the win over USC does you douche bag. You play through the season and try and prove your better than other teams, let me explain this in idiot terms because that seems to be your level more than this expert crap your trying to pull. See, if you beat the #5 team your rank goes up... the higher your ranked the better seed you get for Big 12 tourn. and then NCAA tourn., so you wont have to play the top teams first. Seems to me like a really good thing there eh? Before you ever try and go around talking crap have a good argument and not just sound like a dumb shmuck.

its about time someone gave the womens team props. Funny thing happened last year when the women won the Big 12 title. in the Batt, front page of the sports was a big article about mens tennis losing to texas 4-3, while on the 3rd page was a small blurb about the women winning big 12. If any other sport won a conference title, it would be front page. womens tennis is on the way up now, so maybe finally they will steal some of the much undeserving spotlight the mens team has. dont get me wrong, the guys are good, but they are way too overhyped for losing first round of nationals every year. somehow they always get a top 15 ranking preseason every year. Cass gets way too much credit for not doing much after getting the team to Athens every year to lose the first day.

Bigfoot: First you are correct to give props to the ladies for their big win. Second, if the Batt is not doing a good job of covering the ladies (especially when they win the conference) take that up with the Batt. Third, leave Coach Cass out of the equation. The men are not overhyped and have a very good team again this year. We lead the nation in collegiate attendance because of the marketing job done by Coaches Cass and Madden and the athletic department. Building up the ladies program does not mean we need to tear down the men.

have the men lived up to the hype that they get every year? why is it the marketing that coach cass and shuon have done? they arent in charge of marketing, they are coaches. we have made no improvements as a team since cass' first few years here. he is all about himself, and not the team. thats obvious when he skips out on ITA regionals in Fort Worth and he isnt at half the practices because hes out promoting himself. he got on the ITA board to promote himself. He is not a very personable man, in the way that I have known him since he got here, and yet everytime I see him,he barely says hi. if you are not bigtime, he wont talk to you, because he is too good for regular people. on the other side, the womens team has better results AS A TEAM, and they get nothing. All I am trying to say is that people hype up the mens team, when they arent improving. they get the same results each year, losing early in the tournament. The women could win the national championship and everyone would talk about the mens team, win or lose. I just dont think its fair.

Although I agree with bigfoot's comments on Cass, I also agree that this line of commentary belongs in a separate discussion -- Cass has nothing to do with the lack of coverage...just as Melvin Watkins and whoever replaces him next season have nothing to do with the lack of women's hoops coverage.

I agree with harry.

At the same time, you are right bigfoot10... after they clinched the BIG XII, Nothing was ever mentioned about the women. There has never been good coverage of the women..

Just the other day, Jessica Roland beat the #5 girl in the nation, and the duo of Lauren Walker and Roberta Spencer recently moved to #1 doubles and beat the #20 team, right after moving there. Hear anything about that?

Cass is good for the men. He has done an exceptional job recruting talent and developing that talent. He has also made tennis more fun to watch and has been aggresive in increasing attendance. Raven is correct in that. It may not be his job to market, but he does, and he pushes the marketing department to do more also.


[This message has been edited by jsobertxag (edited 2/23/2004 7:43p).]

[This message has been edited by jsobertxag (edited 2/28/2004 12:22a).]

[This message has been edited by jsobertxag (edited 2/13/2006 8:31p).]

I support both programs. I go to more mens matches than the girls, but I go when I can, I always check the web to see how the ladies are doing; I am very excited when they do well...I suffer when they lose. This is not about women versus men.....Coach Cass versus Coach Kleinecke, Coach Madden versus Coach Ojeda, etc. etc. When you say the men are over-hyped, I don't really understand what you are saying. Who is doing the over-hyping. The media? The athletic department? The fans? I realize that many of you have been in this game much longer than I have been (I was dragged scratching and screeming from Olsen Field by Scott Triebly in 2000), but it looks like to me that the mens program has had incredible success during the period of time that I have been a fan,and the future looks very, very good. Will we win them all, I don't know. Will we win a national championship, I don't know, but it certainly seems that our coaches have us headed in the right direction. I am very sad that some of us decide to pit the two programs against each other. My goodness, if we can get them both in the top 16, that would be outstanding. Once you are in the top 16, anything is possible.

[This message has been edited by Raven (edited 2/23/2004 9:34p).]

[This message has been edited by Raven (edited 2/23/2004 9:36p).]

nm

[This message has been edited by Harry Dunne (edited 2/24/2004 5:25p).]

nicki mechem = goddess

I hope this definately isnt about the mens vs the women, we got to support both! The men will win a NC!!

And yes, the Women are hot, no doubt about it.

[This message has been edited by jsobertxag (edited 2/28/2004 12:23a).]

Overhyped? How can you be overhyped when your team is in the top 10? Early in the season, that poll is done by coaches before it becomes computer based in March. Even when that happens, A&M is always among the elite and generally a top 10 team.

Overhyped? How can you be overhyped when you lead the nation in attendance for three straight seasons. There is a solid fan base many of which are season ticket holders.

I have a hard time when personality is brought in the equation because you can't dispute the overall success of the program since Cass' arrival. I believe only 5 teams have won the NCAA Championship since 1977 and the fifth was Illinois last year. Many people compare what is happening at Illinois with what is happening at A&M.

I think the common thought on campus in College Station is that the next national champion will come from women's soccer or men's tennis. Has that changed?

the men have made improvements since cass got to A&M, but they have been slowed down recently. the comparison to illinois is not accurate because A&M has not been a top 5 team yet, and that is a huge hurdle because you look at the teams that are top 5. one word - powerhouse. those teams are almost unbeatable. until the men make the semis or finals of nationals, they cannot be considered to be following illinois. I think they are overhyped because they have not gone above top 10, and have not produced in the national tournament.

as for the girls, they are all attractive and some of the nicest girls you will meet. I have known lauren for about 10 years and roberta since she got here, among the others, and they are all the most down to earth people you will meet.

I woundnt say that the mean arnt going anywhere. They are constantly getting better. I mean, they have 14 deep this year. Thats amazing. I expect good things out of them by the end of this year and next year.

All of the girls are very down to earth.

ok this is off the subject, but we are in a womens tennis forum..does anyone know where Dakki came from? I didnt know we were getting a midseason transfer and then the aggieathletics.com site mentioned a senior other than Khaled. I was confused, and still dont know where he came from and why you would transfer for one semester, unless he was a redshirt at w. mich.

AgTenGod- I think the next national championship is coming from football.....and when that happens our ticket prices will go back down...RIGHT

Dakki played pro and has one year left.

Soccer and Mens Tennis will produce a NC soon.

Dakki was the 1999 MAC conference player of the year for Western Michigan (as a freshman). His father was ill and he was forced to return home to help run the family business (he's originally from Morocco but his family now lives in France).

Getting him is a pretty Baylorrific move in that he's a very "mature" player with all sorts of international experience. With that having been said, he's been holding down the fort at #3 the team would be pretty screwed without him (our 4-6 spots have been VERY shaky against top teams).

he seems to have taken well to playing here, and is certainly helping the team. I think as long as we dont have team germany playing for us like baylor did when they won big 12 in 02, we will be fine. if that were to happen, some of us might wonder if cass and matt knoll were brothers...

...Multiple Sweet 16 or better appearences, helped bring national tourney to a&m, big 12 champions, top in attendance...

I can't believe some of you are complaining about Coach Cass. He has done a fantastic job here. Especially in light of our lack of indoor tennis courts. He has brought our program to even footing with ut, which can't be said for many sports here..

He is one of the best coaches we've got. Go over to the basketball forum if you feel the need to b*tch about one of our coaches.

Only one person is *****ing about Coach Cass, the rest of us agree he is good. Chill.

I don't think anyone said Cass is a bad coach. I think the objections were with his personality and notice I say personality and NOT character. I know him and I don't like him as a person, but then again I don't have to. He's a good coach and he has built his program from the ground up into a top 10 team and that, I like -- I don't need him to be my best friend and he doesn't get paid to be nice to me or to any of you.

I think if you ask people that know him well or ask his players, not a lot of them are going to say that they consider him a friend. Phil Jackson, Kobe, and Shaq have all admitted recently that they wouldn't consider each other "friends" off the court but that they have been able to win because they have a mutual goal (to win) and a mutual respect for each other. Cass runs a clean program and a winning program and he recruits and wins with good kids. That's good enough for me.

College athletics, be it tennis or football, is big business and these coaches get paid a lot of money to win. It's hard to qualify what makes a "good" coach. I would say that aside from the obvious (technical knowledge of the game and strategic genius), a great coach cares about his players beyond the scope of the sport they play, cares about developing quality individuals and not just athletes. A great coach is a leader, mentor, and role model to his players and cares about them more than he does about winning and losing.

The people that rank teams in polls don't care about any of that -- they only care about wins and losses...and to a great extent, so do we (the fans). If a coach doesn't bring home a conference championship every couple of years, we're all calling for their head. It would be nice if all coaches could be like Dean Smith and John Wooden -- guys who built dynasties and mentored future leaders and did it with character and integrity. Unfortunately being a "good guy" isn't enough anymore -- ask R.C. Slocum.

[This message has been edited by Harry Dunne (edited 2/24/2004 5:28p).]

Again, well said.

multiple sweet 16 appearances? true, and thats great, but how many times have we been past the sweet 16? once. also, can someone explain to me how we only move down 2 spots with our record? the guys are 9-4, hardly a top 10 record, we have one quality win over cal when they were #12, duke beats us twice AND DROPS IN THE STANDINGS BELOW US (I know, they lost to tennessee) and we lost to Illinois (doesnt matter that it was close, its still a loss, and where we are in the rankings, a close loss doesnt matter). We are not close to a top 10 team right now. The guys are good, dont get me wrong, and will contend for a big 12 title again. Im not saying they arent good, even though someone will say I am. I just think that until we can reach a level higher than sweet 16, we cant be considered to be improving. Its almost like there is a mind block with A&M to get past that level. just to set it straight again, I have never said that A&M tennis isnt good. and if I did say that, I didnt mean it. Until we make it past more than 2 rounds of ncaa's to the sweet 16 and break through that barrier, we should not be said to be like illinois or UCLA or any of the other great teams in mens tennis. Does anyone not agree that we have hit a wall and cannot seem to get past sweet 16? you cant deny the facts, and the numbers and results dont lie.

As for Cass bringing us the NCAA championships, how much do you think that he had to do with that process? you are acting like he went to the meeting and made the bid himself. let me guess, he designed the new courts too? those courts were designed long before he was ever thought of as a coach for A&M. everyone acts like Cass runs the tennis program, when you dont know that there are things that he gets credit for that he basically has nothing to do with.

Don't forget the players. What are they doing in the OFF season? Players on the top ten teams are at ITA, futures and challenger tournaments during the summer. Cook, Ante, Nallon and Malmgren played tournaments and trained regularly all summer. The team has to be serious about breaking the sweet 16 barrier, and that includes the players along with the coaches AND THE FANS. They have to have that vision everytime they walk out on the court to play. Every match counts towards that goal. The fans have to be there to support them.

As far as the standings go, the AGs have played 13 matches, look at how many the other schools have played, less than 5 is not unusual, so there will be volatility in the standings for some time. The first set of standings are based on expectations, after that they are based on weekly results and a computerized point system.
We have a ways to go before it settles down.

Losing to number 13 is not nearly as much of an impact as being number 4 and losing to number 53. We want great tennis in the last 5 or so weeks. We want to be as high as we can be before the tournaments.

[This message has been edited by Ags40luv (edited 3/1/2004 9:51p).]

However they play now is not always an indicator of how far they will go in NCAA's.

Look to our Soccer Team this past season. Who would have thought after ending the year like they did they would make it to the 16's.

The men are still figuring stuff out, and they will solidy as time goes on, and like Ag40luvs said, hoepfully they will peak in the weeks to come, right before NCAA's

The coaches are generally pleased where we are at this point in the season. We have played a tough schedule, many matches indoors, and have been competitive in all matches. They certainly would have liked to get a win at TCU and at least one of the Duke matches, but that did not happen. The good news is that Dakki has solidfied the top part of the lineup and doubles seems to be improving. The upcoming California trip should give us some additional time to focus on doubles. We are still a little unsettled at six, but our depth should give us some possibilities as the year progresses. This year has a long way to go, but we are positioned to have a very good season. Rice and Baylor at home should be great matches. Hopefully our depth will give us opportunites to rest players during the year and we can be fresh come tournament time.

[This message has been edited by Raven (edited 2/25/2004 1:38p).]

I dont want anyone to get the wrong idea on here. I am an aggie, I have been involved with aggie tennis in some way, shape, or form, now for about 9 years, since I moved to bcs. I work for coack K in the summers, I work for the team in the year. Please dont think that I dont want the team to succeed. I would love nothing more than to see the ags win a national championship, and I know we are right on the edge of making it to that level, but we have a long way to go. I find it hard to believe that the guys werent out playing tournaments. I have played tennis for 9 or 10 years now, having played two years in college, and I know that I didnt sit out any in the summer, and I played D3 tennis. Im not placing blame on either the coaches or the players, but I think there is a lot of equal responsibility for the results of the team.

also, I am well aware that the way we play now doesnt say how we will play at nationals. look at USC two years ago when they won it. they came out of nowhere in the tourney to win. I am not saying it isnt possible for us to win it all. if we made it to the semis, I would probably drive to tulsa this year to watch (I think thats where it is), or athens, or wherever we may be playing. I dont think the guys are trying to peak at a certain time though, because we all know that once you get on a winning streak you really get rolling (see: stanford, St. Joes basketball). The schedule usually gets easier in the middle of the year, when you play your trinity's and UTSA's and ACU. Those are when we will hit our stride. you get some practice under your belt (no disrespect to those teams, of course) and then you get into your groove as you get to the stretch run in march/april. If we make it through that run without any losses or as few as possible, they will be ready come big 12 and nationals time. I think we are all in agreement though, that there is still a big hurdle to jump as far as getting to the next level and the upper echelon of college tennis. Will they make it there this year? obviously that is yet to be determined. I may not be the biggest tim cass fan, but I am still an aggie fan, and I just hope I can make it home to see some matches this year. Gig 'Em Ags!