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Hunter Harrington
© David Kenas
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Marcos Giron
© David Kenas
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Bjorn Fratangelo
© David Kenas
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Bjorn Fratangelo of Pittsburgh, Marcos Giron of Thousand Oaks, Calif., and Hunter Harrington of Spartanburg, S.C., along with USTA National Coach Mark Merklein, are now in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, representing the United States in the Junior Davis Cup Finals, which take place Sept. 29-Oct. 4. During their trip, the boys will be writing an exclusive blog for USTA.com, detailing their experiences both on and off the court. Stay tuned for updates throughout the event.
Entry 9 - Hunter Harrington, Oct. 4, 2009
Hello,
Today was the last day of the Junior Davis Cup, and it was a good one for Team USA. Today we were scheduled to play off-site, so at 9, we took the bus over.
The courts we were hitting on were some of the fastest courts I have played on. In the beginning of the warm up, we were struggling to keep more than three consecutive balls in, but we eventually found our range. We played Korea, and I knew it was going to be tough because Coach Merk said that the courts in Asia are generally faster than the courts here in America, so the Koreans would be already adjusted to the pace of the court.
I won the first singles match 6-4 in the 3rd set, and Marcos won his singles match 6-2 in the 3rd. With those wins, we clinched 5th place. After we arrived back at the hotel, we watched the finals -- Great Britian vs. Australia. They were in a battle, but the Aussies took the title.
This trip has been extremely fun and one that I will never forget. It has been such an honor to represent the USA in this tourney. I would like to thank the city of San Luis Potosi for putting on this event. I would like to thank the USTA for sending us here and for providing us with a coach, clothes and whatever else we needed. I would also like to thank Coach Merk for spending his time to come down here and for putting up with us for 11 days. I have met a lot of new people here, and I have had a blast. These 10 days probably have been the best of my life.
Adios,
Hunter Harrington
Entry 8 - Hunter Harrington, Oct. 3, 2009
Hey,
Today when we woke up it was soaking wet outside. We were expecting a lengthy rain delay, but they only postponed play for 30 minutes.
We split the practice court with the Mexican team. After we warmed up, we headed to the mini tennis courts again to see who had bragging rights for the day. Coach Merk and I mentally achieved the victory, even though the score said we lost. (They hit the ball out on our game point, and I touched it in the air).
Now, it was time to battle Mexico. We knew it would not be an easy match because they are used to the altitude, and they have a couple hundred supporters every day. We came out with the victory, 2-1. I lost the first singles rubber 76 in the 3rd set, Bjorn won his singles easily, and Bjorn and Marcos won doubles in 3 sets. It was a battle, and the crowd knew it. They were cheering very, very loud, and they occasionally booed us. It was pretty hostile, but we managed, and we came out with the win.
It was a pretty early night. I think we all were drained from the match against Mexico. Tomorrow we play Korea for 5th place... GO USA!!
Entry 7 - Hunter Harrington, Oct. 2, 2009
Hello,
Today we were allowed to sleep in because it was our day off from competition. We woke up around 8, had breakfast and hung around the hotel room till about 11. At 11, we decided to take a taxi to downtown San Luis Potosi and check out the sites. The cab we rode in was not fit for people of our size. It was smaller than a Toyota Prius, and I was stuck in the backseat.
We arrived at the downtown, and I was very impressed with the sites. We came cross 3 or 4 massive churches, and the center square was very clean and well kept. We also came across a couple bootleg watch shops. Coach Merk and I really wanted to get our hands on some of the 20 dollar watches, but it just did not happen. After walking around for an hour or two, we all were dying for some classic American food. McDonald's was calling our names. We stopped at McDonald's and went back to the hotel.
We had a couple hours, so Coach Merk and I tried to buy some string from the stringer. As we were walking, we came across German Silva, one of the best marathon runners in the world. He was training some of the kids in his running academy, and he stopped to talk to us for about 20 minutes. He gave us some great advice on how to train and how to maximize our training. I really enjoyed talking with him.
We were scheduled for a 4 o'clock practice. We practiced for a couple hours, then Coach Merk was ready for his captain's soccer game. It was Europe vs. the World. We were watching the game, and Coach Merk just could not hang with the Europeans. He was trying his best, but I think we can work on his soccer skills a bit.
Tomorrow we are set up for a battle with Mexico. GO USA!!!
Entry 6 - Hunter Harrington, Oct. 1, 2009
Hola Amigos!
This is Hunter Harrington, or Big Hunt, writing from Mexico. Last night I took one for the team. I volunteered to sleep on the boulder-like cot so Marcos and Bjorn would get the best sleep possible for the next day's match against Czech Republic.
Today, we woke up at our usual time, and I was again responsible for waking the boys up. We had the early-slot practice, which was from 8:15 to 9. We hit, and then we had a battle on one of the mini-tennis courts at the site. Coach Merklein, or Murk, and me vs. Bjorn and Marcos. Murk and I took the first game to seven, but then we proceeded to lose the next two games. We are improving, though. We just need a little more strategy, and we will take Bjorn and Marcos out. (It also did not help that on every big point, Marcos made us redo the point because he thought I was hitting the ball too hard).
After we broke a little sweat, we sat down, and Coach Murk gave us an inspirational speech. We then were all fired up for the daily USA cheer, and we were ready to beat the Czechs.
In the first match, we lost a close three-set battle. On the sidelines, we were full of adrenaline. (Coach Murk actually had to tell me to quiet down because I was being too loud). We took the 2nd singles match in straight sets, and we took it to the deciding doubles match. We lost the deciding doubles match in 3 sets. The whole team was devastated. I was on the verge of tears after we lost. We all put so much heart and effort into the match, so when we lost, we all felt absoulutely terrible.
Tonight there is a player party, so that probably will lift our spirits. Tomorrow we either have Mexico, Argentina or Korea. Team USA is getting ready to bounce back and place 5th. Wish us luck!
Adios Amigos,
Hunter Harrington
Entry 5 - Marcos Giron, Sept. 29, 2009
Que Pasa Amigos,
Hey guys. It's been another full day in Mexico. Today we woke up at 7 and had breakfast at around 7:30. There was much more tension today because it was the first day of matches.
I played the first match, and it was very intense. Thankfully, I ended up winning. It helped a lot because Bjorn had a lot less pressure when he played. He won his match in a very close 3 sets. The most intense match out of them all was my doubles match with Hunter. We ended up winning 7-5, 5-7, and 9-7 in the third. When the last shot went out, Team USA was so satisfied.
One of the most entertaining parts of the night was when Hunter saw the biggest moth we have ever seen. One of the Mexican guys threw a penny at it, and then everyone in the hotel went nuts. It took a good 10 minutes of intense hustling to corner it, and then one of the waiters squashed it. Everyone was really relieved.
Another big thing is that Big Hunt gets the cot tonight. It will be a good night of sleep for him.
Adios,
Marcos
Entry 4 - Marcos Giron, Sept. 28, 2009
Que Pasa Amigos,
Hey guys. This is Marcos, and I'm taking over for Bjorn. This morning we got to sleep in, which was really enjoyable. Big Hunt and I got to sleep in the comfortable beds, while Bjorn was in the rock-solid cot.
Breakfast was basically the same as all the other days, and after that we went to practice. During the hit, we got into another important battle between Mark and Big Hunt vs. The Girongelo team. The competition was a game of mini tennis, which of course the Girongelo team won in straight sets.
The hit was pretty good. None of us was taking down the fence like we were earlier in the week. The hit was a solid hour and a half. After sitting in the room for a few hours, we went to get our pictures taken. Shortly after the pictures, Mark told us about how we needed the migration papers to get out of the country. Immediatly after Mark told us that, Bjorn started to sweat. Right before the bus ride to the opening ceremony, Bjorn sprinted to the room looking for the migration papers, which were nowhere to be found. He was stressed out during the whole ceremony.
The opening ceremony was pretty sick, even though we couldn't understand any of it because they spoke in Spanish the whole time. Once the ceremony was done, they had some snacks and drinks for everyone to have. Big Hunt had a close encounter with the ice. He was about to gulp the drink down, but then Team U.S. stopped him just in time. We then left the ceremony and had a real dinner.
It's a bummer tonight I get to enjoy the rock-hard cot.
Adios Amigos,
Marcos
By the way, Bjorn found the papers. They were in his suitcase, rolled up in a t-shirt.
Entry 3 - Bjorn Fratangelo, Sept. 27, 2009
Hey guys,
Today started off similar to yesterday. We woke up at 7 and were downstairs at breakfast by 7:45. The rain did not go away, and everything was soaked in the morning. So, we took a bus to the indoor facility, which is really nice, and hit from 9 to 10. We did some 2-on-1 drills and continued to work on our consistency. Things are looking very good right now with the way we're playing. Hopefully, we will get better and better.
After our hit, we went to the gym, and Coach Merk did some more fitness with us. Today was all about non-stop moving to work on the lungs. That lasted for 20 minutes, and then we were back on the volleyball court for the 5th set. I'm sorry to tell you all that Hunter and Mark took us down. It was clearly not our day. We missed so many balls, and Hunter kept getting lucky with his balls landing right on the baseline. They had better communication than we did, but that was only the first of many matches. Hopefully, we will take them down tomorrow. Marcos and I have a solid game plan.
We ate some lunch around noon, and then we were supposed to be on court by 2, but the rain came again and postponed the practice. So, we went to the grocery store. Since we have no car, we walked there... in our USA warm-ups, which was probably not the brightest idea. We kept getting looked at by everybody. We bought a couple things, like bread, peanut butter and jelly. When we arrived back to the hotel, we dove right in to make our sandwiches. We had no knife to spread the peanut butter and jelly, so we sent Big Hunt downstairs to get one, but I guess the restaurant staff didn't trust us with a butter knife since Hunter came back empty-handed. So, we used the next best thing, which was a tortilla chip. Marcos thought that the tortilla chip with peanut butter and jelly was the greatest snack ever. It actually worked out pretty well.
Our practice was scheduled for 4, but it rained again, and we were on the court by 6. We played sets with Great Britain, and we did really well. We played for about two hours and then got some dinner at the hotel and went over some things for tomorrow. We are all extremely excited to get things started!
Well, that's it for my blogging. For the next 3 days, you will hear from Marcos.
Take care,
Bjorn
Entry 2 - Bjorn Fratangelo, Sept. 26, 2009
Hey everyone,
Today started pretty early for us. We were up by 7 a.m. and downstairs for breakfast at 7:45. Marcos did not have a great night sleep because he was on the cot last night. I don't think he enjoyed it too much.
Our first practice was scheduled for 9, but it rained almost all day. The clouds didn't let the sun come out once throughout the day. So, instead of hitting, Coach Merk ran a little fitness circuit for about 30 minutes. It was a lot of agility work, and it got the blood pumping pretty quickly.
Since we were on a volleyball court, this set the stage for an epic volleyball tennis match. The teams were Marcos and me vs. Hunter and Coach Merk. The format for the first match was best-of-3 tiebreakers with all touch shots (Big Hunt didn't follow the rules very well... he hits hard). Hunter and Mark took us down 2-1 in sets. We all got really intense, and by the end, we were dripping with sweat.
After their first win, we came back to the hotel room and ate lunch. With no more rain and just grey skies, we thought that our 3 o'clock practice would be on time. The minute we got to the courts, it poured for only 5 minutes, which was enough to drown the courts. So, we rolled up our sleeves and got the squeegees out. Our court dried pretty quickly, and we grooved for about 30 minutes. We are all starting to find the range on our shots, and Marcos isn't taking down fences any more.
It rained again, though. We decided to head to our volleyball court and start the next battle. Marcos and I got up to a quick two-set lead, but after a racquet change from Coach Merk, we started to go downhill. He said he needed a tighter frame in the altitude. They took the next two sets, and we were going into a 5th set, but the rains cleared up, and we jumped back on the court and played sets against the Chileans. I'll let you know tomorrow who took the 5th set and the title.
We played well against Chile and started to construct our points much better. The team is feeling much more confident now. We hit for about two hours and then got some dinner at the hotel.
That's all I have for tonight, and by the way, it's Big Hunt's turn to take the cot. He's 6 ft. 3, and the cot is about 5 ft. 8. This should be interesting.
Cya tomorrow,
Bjorn
Entry 1 - Bjorn Fratangelo, Sept. 25, 2009
Hola amigos!
This is Bjorn Fratangelo, and I am blogging to you from San Luis Potosi, Mexico, along with my teammates Marcos Giron and Hunter Harrington, or Big Hunt as we like to call him.
Yesterday was a full day of travel, and we arrived at the hotel around 9 p.m. We were all spent from the day of travel, so we got a quick bite to eat with our coach, Mark Merklein. After the meal, we all went to bed to get a good rest for our first day of practice in the morning.
Hunter and Marcos had a great night sleep, while I was first on the cot, which is pretty rock solid. The bed is like sleeping on concrete, and we are rotating each night so everyone will get a feel for it.
Our first practice was at 10 a.m. We were all pretty anxious to get out there, considering San Luis Potosi is in altitude. Balls were flying everywhere. Marcos's big forehand was hitting the backdrop, Big Hunt's serve was nowhere near the box, and I was not any better. We grooved for about two hours, trying to put the ball in the court, and by the second practice, we all started hitting our shots a lot better.
Since the air is thin, Coach Merk thought it would be a good idea to run some sprints after the second practice to get the lungs going. We ran for about 20-25 minutes, and then we showered and got some authentic Mexican dinner.
That's all I have for today, and I will see you all tomorrow.
Hasta Luego,
Bjorn