Coaches Journal: Ojai 2008

We've just returned from the 108th Ojai tournament this past weekend. For those not familiar with the Ojai tournament, it's one of the oldest and largest individual tournaments in the country (www.ojaitourney.org). We haven't been particularly successful in the past few years, as many of our guys have struggled in non-dual matches. This year was quite different, and a sign of things to come. JR and I have known that this year was special from the beginning, and this tournament only further exemplified this. I've mentioned before that we graduated 5 of our top 6 guys from last year. There were probably some who felt that this would be a rebuilding year. After all,it took us 3 years to develop into a good team last year, and our recruiting class, while strong, wasn't expected to hold a candle to that of schools like CMS. Well, we again made it to the conference semifinals this season, avenging last years tournament lost to Occidental. We took the toughest road possible this year both with our overall schedule (I defy anyone to find a tougher schedule), and our SCIAC tournament road (Oxy, CMS, Cal Lu). Junior Cam Taylor continues to amaze, as does a youth movement anchored by freshmen, Nick Tag and John Williford, and sophomore Grant Friedman. Thanks to incredible (and I don't use that word lightly) leadership from our seniors (Drew Olian, Blake Phillips, Michael Powell and Carlson) and Taylor, the development and chemistry this year has been unparalleled.

So, heading into Ojai, this group looked to break the curse of the past few seasons, yet did so with zero expectations and a commitment to appreciating the opportunity. We had five guys in the singles draw of Division III, and three in the Independent (NAIA and division III players) draw. In doubles, we had three teams in the D-III draw and one team in the independent. Last year, we only had one player (Cam) advance to the second round before we were sent home after the first day. This year was quite different. Cam started us off with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Chapman's Leland Buttle. Nick Tag followed that up with a 7-6 (4), 6-1 win over Linfield's Wes Gabrielson. On the independent side, Blake Phillips won his first round in three. Tag fell to Max Liberty-Point in the second round, 6 and 1 but left the tourney hungry to improve his results for next year. Cam took on Mario Backes of La Verne in the next round and won 6-0, 6-1, securing a spot on Saturday at Thatcher school.

In doubles, Michael Powell and John Williford got on the board in the independent draw. On the D-III, Nick Tag and Drew Cohn advanced to the second round with an 8-5 win over the team from Puget Sound. Cam and Drew Olian won their first round 8-5 over the three team from Cal Lu. We didn't have as much luck in the second round of doubles as both teams fell.

Cam's round of 16 opponent was 2007 NCAA singles semifinalist and six seed Brian Pybas. Cam jumped out to an early lead behind the strong vocal support from his teammates, and took the first set 6-4, prompting Pybas to shatter a racquet and incur a point penalty to start off the second set. In the second, Cam continued to look strong and dictate from the baseline, and a demoralized and struggling Pybas couldn't get a foothold in the match. At break point, 4-1, Pybas hit a second serve wide to go to 5-1. When he questioned the call, he used a verbal obscenity which resulted in his second penalty, thus securing the 6-4, 6-1 win for Cam.

In the quarters, Cam took on UCSC's Jeff Fong, his second Slug lefty of the day. As it reached midday, the sun beat down on the court, providing little if no shade, and it certainly affected both players. Cam proved more solid, dominating Fong, 6-3, 6-0 for a trip to the semi-finals against Redlands number one Matt Leibman.

Moving to historic Libby park for the semi's, Cam laced it up at 9 am against Leibman, with Cam pulling out the early break and going up 2-0. While Cam was able to get out to a 5-2 lead in the first, Leibman battled back to take the first set to a breaker. In the breaker, Cam stole back the momentum and the first set. In the second set, Cam jumped out to a 3-0 before he started to cramp. He was able to gut it out and double flip to go up 5-0 and take a medical timeout. Serving 5-0, Cam jumped out to a 30-0 lead before Leibman battled back for the break. Up 5-1, Cam took advantage of a couple uncharacteristic Leibman mistakes and then pulled out an incredible up the line pass to give him match point. An errant lob by Leibman gave Cam entry into the Ojai singles final, and Pomona-Pitzer their first-ever men's finalist.

In the final, Cam was placed on court 2 at upper Libby, right next to the Pac-10 Men's singles final and then the Open Men's singles final. Facing UC Santa Cruz's (his third Slug of the tournament) Max Ortiz, both players came out very tight, trading breaks until 5-5, when Max held and broke to take the first 7-5. The second set wasn't much better, with Max holding on 6-3 for the title. While Cam has chances to win the first set, it was an incredible experience and environment, and one that will hopefully serve as a springboard to future success. This was Cam's first experience in the finals of a tournament at any level, and he showed great poise and skill that will benefit both he and our program in the future.

I'd really like to thank the Taylor's for making the trip to support Cam. They were an incredible help all weekend long. I'd also like to thank the Cohn family for all of their help and support. A special thanks to Jeff Jablonski for making the trip to Ojai to watch the semi's and finals, and warming Cam up.

- Ben