There is a nice, easy calm on campus.
No need to hustle. No reason for bustle. Final exams for all and graduation for some are in the rear-view mirror. The calendar shows it is May 21. Really, for almost each and every student, this is summertime, summertime, sum, sum summertime.
There are a few exceptions. Seven Carthage athletes are proficient to the point of having their seasons extended to NCAA Championship events this week. Three men and two women in track and field. Two men in tennis.
At the Smeds Tennis Center, on Court One, some pre-NCAA competition diligence is being put in by the doubles team of Daneric Hazelman and Jeff Lotz Jr. Watching with great interest and occasional amusement — and providing compliments when warranted — is Carthage coach Brady Lindsley. Two former Red Men are testing the Hazelman-Lotz duo that is going where the former pair has gone: the NCAA Division III Doubles Championship. Hazelman and Lotz will play a round of 16 match at or after 3 p.m. (EDT) on Thursday, May 24 at the Cary Tennis Center in Cary, N.C.
It was not just any former Red Men providing the workout for the current guys. Dane Schmidgall and Brad Livingston are — to this point — the school's only Intercollegiate Tennis Association NCAA Division III All-Americans. Those fellows, who in 2005 were the first Carthage doubles team to participate in the Division III Championship, are also the most decorated. Schmidgall was the school's first Intercollegiate Tennis Association NCAA Division III All-American in singles, in 2004. He reached the NCAA quarterfinals in '05 and was again an All-American. Livingston and Schmidgall were All-American doubles partners in '05. Livingston was an All-American in singles in '06.
Monday's match is not just hitting balls. Livingston and Schmidgall, who have made earlier visits and who clearly still play quite a bit, lament some missed opportunities with gusto. Hazelman and Lotz are more reserved, but speak quietly after — it seems — every point. They, too, occasionally show a little emotion.
It has not been an easy assignment for Hazelman and Lotz, who Thursday will attempt to extend their school record of 33 victories (in 36 matches), to stay sharp. They have not played an official match since May 5.
“Some of the other guys on the team have stuck around and helped them with some practice,” Lindsley says. He is extremely happy Schmidgall and Livingston have made the effort to come to Kenosha to help. “They've come in and tried to give (Hazelman and Lotz) some motivation and work with them a little bit,” Lindsley says. “It's been a program effort to try to get these guys ready to go.”
Hazelman and Lotz win the match in a tiebreaker. As the players are gathering their gear, the alums tell the students to stay positive during the match, to never give up. Pretty simple. Certainly welcome. Necessary, too.
“Mostly, they gave us advice to just play our game, and don't worry,” says Hazelman, a senior and native of Lautoka, Fiji Islands, who says it is a privilege to play against Livingston and Schmidgall. “ 'Don't think you can't hang with all these top teams. You can compete with them. If you can play well, you can win a couple rounds at nationals and even take the tournament.' ”
Bragging Rights for the Winner
Lotz, the 2012 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin “Men's Tennis Player of the Year,” says there was pride on the line in their match.
“I think they'd want to beat us really bad, because they're both All-Americans,” says Lotz, a junior business administration major who attended Racine Horlick High School. “(They think) they should be able to beat us. We knew that they were going to try to come out and beat us. We don't want them to beat us, because then they always have that on us. It was pretty serious. We definitely didn't want them to beat us.”
Lotz says there is a lot of value in playing Livingston and Schmidgall.
“It helps so much,” Lotz says. “They're still really good players in their own right, and if just the two of us were practicing, it just wouldn't be quite as good as actually playing a real doubles match and going through the motions of being in an actual doubles match. It was really great that they could come out and hit with us.
“It's very good to be able to stay fresh, and kind of get the reactions going, and stay with the flow of doubles. Just stay in the right frame of mind.
“We played once before, a week ago. Basically, the advice they gave us last time we played was, if we just keep the ball in play, we'll do good. They think we might really be able to do good this week. Just stay positive, and never give up. This is a once in a lifetime kind of opportunity for us, so we've got to make the most of it. There's no point in getting down on each other, or anything like that. That's about it.”
For Lindsley, Hazelman and Lotz were an obvious match in the fall of 2010. Their two-year record of 56-9, which crushes the previous mark of 42 doubles victories in a career set by Miguel Yunes and Sergio Lopez in 2007-08, validates Lindsley's philosophy.
“It kind of happens naturally,” Lindsley says. “You just kind of see the talent pool of what you have on your team, and try to figure out who you think will play well together. Daneric and Jeff are our two best players, first of all. But it's great doubles combination as well because Jeff's left-handed and Daneric's right-handed. It's nice to have that left-righty combination.”
Everything's All Right .. and Left
It is not unique to have a lefty-righty combination, but it is far from common. Hazelman and Lotz love it.
“It works out perfect, especially on return of serve,” says Hazelman, who spent two years at the New Mexico Military Institute before coming to Carthage. “That's probably one of the best parts of our game. Also, his lefty serve. He's got a great serve. It's perfect for me at the net, because I can put balls away on his serve.
“My backhand is my strong suit. Most of the time I'm returning on my backhand, which is good. And then, most of the time he's returning on his forehand, which is also good.”
A lot of times, both are returning on their forehands.
“It's always an advantage, because we have both of our forehands in the middle of the court,” Lotz says. “If we're up to net ... most of the times people want to hit towards the middle. That would be to both of our forehands, so that would be an advantage to us, rather than being two righties, and then somebody has a backhand in the middle.”
When a return can be hit by either player, do you call 'mine'?
“That's how it's supposed to happen,” Lotz says. “But sometimes, if it's coming kind of fast, you just react, and hope you don't hit each other. But usually, it's all right. You just have to try to call it if you can.”
So nobody has beaned the other guy?
“Not yet,” Lotz says with a smile. “Not yet. Close. A couple times, close.”
This Was Lindsley's Vision
Lindsley was confident Hazelman and Lotz would reach the NCAA Championship. It was just a matter of when. The 23-6 record last season was not quite good enough.
“These two guys, I knew they had a shot at making the NCAA tournament last year,” Lindsley says. “That's kind of why I put them together, because I knew that they were capable of doing this, accomplishing this goal. They obviously haven't disappointed. They've had a great two-year run.”
To keep the run going, Hazelman and Lotz will have to make the same adjustment as each of the other 15 teams in the field. To this point, matches were played as an eight-game pro set (win by two). Now, it will be a best two of three sets.
“I think it's a truer tale of who the better team is,” Lindsley says. “In pro sets, if someone gets off to a quick lead, you can kind of ride it out. When you win a set, you have to start over at zero-zero. I think it really is a truer test of who the better team is.
“I'm actually looking forward to it, because I think our guys do a really nice job of adjusting their games and feeding off of what the other team's strengths and weaknesses are. I think it's an advantage for us to play two out of three sets.”
Says Hazelman, like Lotz a first-team All-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin honoree: “It's definitely going to be different, just because we've played the eight-game pro sets the whole season. We've been doing that for two years now. This is the first time we actually get to play full sets. It will be interesting, but it should be good.”
Lotz says losing on serve will not be nearly as punishing in the NCAA setup.
“The thing about eight-game pro sets is, if you get down a break early that could be the end, because you don't have as much time to get back into it,” Lotz says. “But if you have two out of three, if you get broke once, it's not as big of a deal because you have a lot of time to claw your way back into the match.
“So it's a different kind of strategy. You just think of it as you have more time, not to get worried. One break isn't a big deal. You just kind of keep moving.”
Time to See How They Match Up
How far can Hazelman and Lotz keep moving?
“They're very excited to be invited, but by no means are they satisfied,” Lindsley says. “If they can win one round, they automatically become All-Americans. You obviously want to take one match at a time, but there's a lot riding on this first round. One, they want to play well, and two, the opportunity to be an All-American is exciting. I think they're confident. I think they've worked really hard. ... The season was over for the rest of the team, but these guys have still been out every day hitting and working on their game to actually get to this tournament and do something.
“I feel like we're going to take it one match at a time, but I think they've got a lot of confidence and they're playing real well right now. So we'll see what happens.”
Neither Hazelman nor Lotz showed a lot of emotion during the match with Schmidgall and Livingston. That does not mean they are not thrilled by what is ahead.
“I think our chances are really good,” says Hazelman, who will in the fall will complete his major in business management and his minor in public relations. “We can definitely compete with all these top players.
It will be really exciting. I'm really psyched. I can't wait to play. Me and Jeff, we've been playing two years together. We know each other very well. We know our strengths and our weaknesses. It will be a great time. I can't wait. One of the biggest strengths we have is our faith in each other. Our trust. In tennis, there's always big points, and it's winning those big points that make you win the match. So we always have trust in each other. We believe in each other.”
Lotz: “I'm excited, for sure. When I'm on the court, it's a different story than when I'm off. I get pretty fired up on the court. I get mad at myself for making mistakes and stuff like that, but off the court, I just take it easy and relax, not think about it too much.”
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