Chapter 116 The So-called Derby
After a whole season of running-in and adjustments, the main lineups of both teams have become mature, but facing the upcoming May Madness, the two coaches made adjustments at the same time. Obviously, their focus is not just on this one win or loss, the higher goal is still the U.S. Championship.
This is the difference in pattern, looking at it from a longer-term and more grand perspective.
The Bruins' No. 6 singles player was replaced by Sale, who replaced the mediocre DiGiulio.
The Trojans' No. 4 and No. 6 singles players are also new faces, Eric Johnson and Michael Grant.
Small details can reveal the subtle differences between the two coaches——
Coach Smith made adequate preparations for the first three singles, and was also prepared for the "last three singles to decide the outcome"; while Coach Martin spent countless efforts on the lineup of the first three singles, hoping that the team could finish the game as early as possible.
But what if the Bruins can't win soon? Then the third singles player will face more pressure.
Coach Smith is slightly better in terms of controlling the overall situation and preparing for difficulties. There is a reason why the Trojans have become the strongest team in the NCAA in the past five years under Smith's leadership. He deserves to be the best coach in the United States.
Of course, a big part of the reason is that the Trojans are "away" and the initiative is not in Smith's hands, which forces him to make more preparations.
As for Martin, he naturally showed no mercy as he had the home advantage.
In recent times, Thompson's condition has declined significantly. The outbreak in the autumn season and the pressure in the spring season have finally slowly emerged as time goes by. This also means that the Trojans' second singles player Hanfman is a headache. Without Thompson's strong confrontation, the Bruins' Gillon, Bremer, and McDonald are all at a disadvantage when facing him.
The only exception is Gawain.
In the last match, Gao Wen defeated Hanfman in two sets and performed very well; and, against Domyan of the University of Virginia, Gao Wen also showed his ability to compete with power players.
It is precisely because of this that Martin hopes that Gawain can confront Hanfman and make arrangements centered on this.
Judging from the results of the matchup table, Martin calculated some things and missed some; similarly, Smith bet on some things correctly and also fell into some traps.
Gillon vs. Hanfman was the biggest victory in Smith's overall plan. Coupled with the bold changes in the fourth and sixth singles, this gave the Trojans, who were playing away, a glimmer of hope. As long as they could win a victory in other games, they would be able to have the last laugh! However, Martin had other plans.
Gauvin vs. Sacramento, Thompson vs. Queiroz, Bremer vs. de Vroom, all are matches where the Bruins have a greater chance of winning; McDonald's fourth singles match is not necessarily a disadvantage, as long as they fight with McDonald in the doubles match, the initiative will still be in their hands.
It is for this reason that the order of singles appearance is listed like this: first singles, fifth singles, second singles, third singles, fourth singles, sixth singles.
If everything goes according to Martin's plan, the Bruins should be able to win by the third singles; but if the game continues, then the two sides will really be evenly matched, and the home advantage will no longer exist, and it all depends on the performance on the spot.
However, whether it is Smith or Martin, these calculations are all theoretical considerations on paper, but they do not represent the actual situation: Hanfman may not be able to defeat Giron 100%; Gawain may not be able to defeat Sacramento again.
Whether it is a mule or a horse, you still have to take a walk around to find out the answer.
In this way, the Pac-12 Conference championship game officially kicked off in the spring season of the 2013-2014 season.
It is worth mentioning that ESPN once again invited Sampras and Sofar to partner up for commentary at Libby Garden in Ojai to witness the birth of another league champion.
The game had just begun, but we could feel the unexpected storms one after another, proving once again with practical actions that the Los Angeles derby can never be measured by common sense: everything is possible!
In the doubles arena, the Bruins, a doubles team that has been mediocre with occasional highlights this season, pulled off a shocking upset.
First they knocked off the Trojans' No. 1 doubles team in the U.S., and then they easily defeated the Trojans' second doubles team, winning two games in a row cleanly and taking the doubles points first!
Surprise or not? Unexpected or not? Maybe someone expected the Bruins to take the doubles point before the game. Although the overall performance of the Bruins' doubles team this season is indeed not satisfactory, but in a city derby, everything must be open. Who knows whether the Bruins' doubles team will rise? Moreover, in the second match between the two sides, the Bruins also unexpectedly took the doubles point.
However, the Brown Bears doubles team not only rose, but also won the doubles points with two clean victories. The scores of the two games were "6:3" and "6:1" respectively. The overall advantage was very obvious. There was no anxiety, no excitement, and no ups and downs. The suspense was strangled in their hands early on.
Such an outstanding and strong performance definitely made everyone break out in a cold sweat, even the Bruins fans were overjoyed and ecstatic.
In the two city derbies this season, both teams scored double points in the away games. This time, the Bruins scored double points in their "home court", and the situation of the game has subtly changed.
More importantly, although the Bruins scored doubles points in the second match between the two sides, that time they played three doubles games, and the scores of each game were very close, and they only won narrowly in the end. No one expected that in this match, the suspense of the doubles points would be decided so easily.
Accident!
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As Sampras said, "In a city derby, any result is not surprising. Never ignore the energy brought by the city derby."
For all NCAA teams, they all know one thing clearly, that is, against the Bruins, doubles points are crucial because this is their weakest link. Once they fail to get doubles points, they will indeed face layers of pressure in subsequent singles, and the situation will become even more difficult.
Smith knew this well, and the doubles points should be in the Trojans' pocket. However, the championship game had just begun when an unexpected event occurred, and things suddenly became difficult.
If the Trojans still want this championship trophy, they will need to put in more effort in the singles arena.
But taking a step back, the Trojans have faced such difficulties at home and finally won the victory. Now they have no reason to back down. Moreover, it is also good for preparations for the U.S. Championship. At least they know that fluctuations in doubles may also break expectations. So, how should they deal with fluctuations in mentality and state?
The game is not over yet.
The fact is, the game has just begun.
The sixteenth update.
(End of this chapter)