The NCAA Championships have provided the unexpected nearly every year for
KC Corkery. His first two years as a collegian, the Cardinal finished
his season ranked #42 and #40 in the nation. Playing beyond expectations
and his computer rankings, Corkery as both a freshman and sophomore advanced to
the Round of 16 in the NCAA singles tournament. Then in the 2005 NCAAs,
the 6'2" righty was seeded #9-16 and finished the year as the #15 player in the
national rankings. Corkery disappointingly had his worst performance when
he was bounced in a first-round upset of that year's NCAAs.
This week, Corkery is surprising us all once again. After an opening
round match that saw him go three sets and battle an obvious back problem, the
unseeded Stanford senior has now advanced impressively through his two
subsequent matches. Both times Corkery has upset seeded players, with
Friday's three-set victory looking relatively easy over #7 seed Arnau Brugues at
4-6, 6-2, 6-3. The Manhattan Beach (Calif.) native is now on to the
quarterfinals, the furthest he has ever advanced in the NCAA singles tournament.
"I kind of had higher aspirations after my freshman year," he says of the
2003 Sweet 16 berth. "This is the first time I have made it past that
round."
One key for Corkery these past couple days has been relatively good health
with his ailing back, which suffers from a bulging disc. Such an injury is
a day-to-day mystery for an athlete, but preventative care, treatment and
caution have served Corkery well since his first-round setback.
"It's been feeling a lot better. I've been taking a lot more care of
it," he comments. "I was scared that first round when I went down, but
it's felt pretty good since. I have changed my service motion a little
bit. I have tried to do a few things that might not aggravate it as much,
and it hasn't really hurt me yet. I'm just trying to stay healthy and keep
going."
Slotted #25 in the latest ITA computer rankings, Corkery scored upsets in his
second and third round matches against the #15 and #7 players in the country,
but big competition is nothing new for the Stanford man. In just this
month, he has played also against the #4 (Lars Poerschke, Baylor), #5 (Ludovic
Walter, Duke) and #6 (Conor Niland, Cal) players in the nation, scoring a win over
one and leading the other two by a set before the dual match ended.
Corkery has played Walter and Niland twice this year, as well as #1-ranked
Benjamin Kohlloeffel of UCLA. This is a player who has been plenty tested
by the top talents in the college game.
"I'm just out here playing. It was remarkable today that I didn't
really feel any nerves until maybe just right at the end. I just feel like
I can play with these guys," Corkery explains. "That is kind of where I
feel I belong. All the players out here are really good, and on any given
day anyone can beat anyone."
That has indeed been proven in this Men's NCAA Tennis singles draw. The
quarterfinals today at Stanford have just three of the top eight seeds still
alive. Four of the quarterfinalists are unranked. Corkery today
plays against an unseeded foe in #30-ranked Clement Reix. The French-born
Clemson junior yesterday scored a big upset of his own, knocking off #3 Luigi D'Agord of Miami.
The conditions for today's match could favor either player. The Taube
Family Tennis Stadium is Corkery's home court, which certainly amounts to some
advantage. Corkery does admit, however, that he maybe let himself get too
wrapped up in the partisan environment and emotion when he blew a 4-1 lead in
the first set that he lost 4-6.
"This is awesome that I am able to finish out my playing career here at
Stanford, where I have a lot of great memories. And I like the courts.
They're nice. The crowd has been great," the senior says. "I have
tried to stay within myself. I felt like I kind of got a big head when I
went up 4-1 in the first. I stopped really focusing, but the crowd is
great. Anytime I have a big point, I feel like I have the crowd right
behind me. I never felt tired at all out there. I don't know if that
was the crowd's energy, but it was awesome."
Friday however was a very un-Taube like environment for tennis with forceful
winds wreaking havoc on the courts that were wildly uncharacteristic of the
area. The wind may have played a role in at least one of the Stanford
women's upset losses yesterday, and Corkery felt like he faced a disadvantage
against Tulsa's Arnau Brugues under the conditions.
"The wind was a little crazy today. We don't normally have that much
wind," Corkery explains. "The last time I played at Tulsa, which is where
this guy is from, the wind was incredible. The wind was really severe
there at times. He probably was used to it, playing in Tulsa. I just
tried to play my game and not think about it too much. A couple times it
hurt me when I tried to throw up a lob; I didn't quite play it right. For
the most part, I'm trying to hit through the wind. Just try to play big
and get to the net."
A bad back. Blustery winds. Higher ranked players across the net.
These are all conditions that should conspire against Corkery, but he is playing
some of his very best tennis right now. With the exception of his lapse
after leading in the first set, the Stanford man has played smart tennis and
served efficiently. His strokes are with him, and he is on his game.
"Mentally, I feel like I'm focused. I'm in the matches," Corkery
states. "I just feel like I am moving pretty well from the baseline.
Today especially I missed a lot of opportunities to step up when I had a short
ball, but for the most part, I was doing it pretty well. Recognizing when
the ball is short and playing the patterns that I want to play, as opposed to
letting the other player dictate what is going on."
NCAA Men's Singles Quarterfinals:
Today, 2:00 pm
Taube Family Tennis Stadium
KC Corkery vs. Clement Reix
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