22 Quotes by Mike Blakely

Today was a pivotal match, ... Yuba City came in with the same record as us so we were very evenly matched. Our singles played well, especially Jackie (Thompson) who was down 4-0 and then it was like a switch was thrown. That was a key match for us.

With only 12 players on a team and to have lost six of those players - that leaves some big shoes to fill. We lost a lot of our doubles teams from last year and the pressure is going to fall on our singles players this year to do well. We won't be able to count on our doubles teams to sweep.

Unfortunately all government agencies, locals no exception, are all behind the eight ball, when it comes to getting things done. We are always adding positions each fiscal year, and we are always a few people less than needed.

Those teams are more experienced than we are, but we have enough tough matches to help get us ready. A win like this gives us some confidence and you like getting to .500 after a rough start.

We didn't plan all this it kind of evolved that way. I write Western novels and do a lot of western music, so we put that kind of a slant on it.

Special kudos to our No. 1 doubles and our No. 3 doubles teams, ... but all of our girls played really well.

It really was a lot of run. By playing our doubles players the matches were fairly competitive. And it was a good experience for our players to play singles and hit the ball more often, especially after not many practices lately.

It just makes sense. If you've got them, why not place them in the climate most appropriate for their species?

That first round was a great win for Eli. That was a great win to have at the end of his senior year. Unfortunately, he only had about a 20-minute break before his next match; it was a hot day and he kind of ran out of gas.