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Last Updated: Oct 16th, 2008 - 13:33:17 |
In the Intercollegiate Tennis Association men's regional tournament in Kearney, Neb. Oct. 5, the final matchup put Metro tennis head coach Beck Meares in an awkward position - neither she nor the rest of the Roadrunners knew who to cheer for. Metro players Sacha Ruckelshausen and Scott Bradley met as No. 1 and No. 2 in the final match, putting the team in a win-lose situation. Either way, Meares had booked her ticket to Mobile, Ala. for Nationals.
Ruckelshausen, the tournament favorite who cruised to the final, held on to beat his teammate in a very quiet three-game match and advance to the national stage.
"I told the team that if they were going to cheer, they just had to cheer for Metro, not one player or the other," Meares said. "But it was awesome for Metro to have two in the final."
The coach said that there was no love lost in the all-Metro final, with Bradley and Ruckelshausen already prepared in case the expected actually happened. The two roomed together, and Ruckelshausen said that he and Bradley had already discussed the final game.
Despite being the underdog, Bradley rocketed ahead to win the first game 6-3. He led early in the second game as well, forcing the tournament's No. 1 player onto the defensive.
"Scott was up for most of the time," Ruckelshausen said. "I got lucky hitting a net roller on game point (in the second game) and that's basically when it all turned around."
The Metro senior rebounded to win the second game and then finished off his teammate in the final by a score of 10-7.
The tournament displayed the strength the Metro men's squad has at the top of the singles bracket with the senior from Milan, Italy and the Junior transfer from Melbourne, Australia.
Ruckelshausen will be making his second appearance at Nationals, his first being in 2006 at the College of Santa Fe. It is the first time a Metro player has reached Mobile since Meares and a teammate did it in doubles in 2004.
"The goal was to get there," Ruckelshausen said. "Now whatever happens, happens."
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