Sorry I didn't write a post after our final match against Depauw. Doing a recap of our last match would mean the season was actually over -- something I hoped would never happen. It also means that my time with Kenji, Steven, Robbie and Phalkun is officially over. It has been an absolute pleasure and honor to have gotten to know these four outstanding men.
Against Depauw we got off to a horrible start in the doubles. The tigers came out firing and quickly went up breaks in all the doubles matches. The #8 ranked Tigers used that momentum to sweep all three doubles in convincing fashion -- #1 8-4, #2 8-3, #3 8-2.
In singles we played much better and, for the most part, played Depauw about even (the scores don't reflect how close the match was). At number #1 singles Phalkun regained his early season form playing some great ball. Phalkun came out firing quickly going up a set against the #6 ranked player in the nation. This was a very entertaining match to watch as both players cracked huge forehand after huge forehand. In the end Phalkun lost 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
At #2 Steven was playing aggressive tennis and quickly went up a break in the 1st set. Steven served for the 1st at 5-4 but the Depauw player rallied and pushed the 1st set into a tiebreaker. In that breaker Steven went down 6-0 but won the next 5 points in a row to make the score 6-5. On the his 6th set point the Depauw player was finally able to clinch the set. In the second set Steven fought hard and played pretty well. Unfortunately the Depauw player pressed his advantage and never let Steven back into the match winning 7-6, 6-0.
Robbie's match at #3 was also very tight. Like heavy weight champions both players traded blow after blow. Both players were equally matched and only a couple points made the difference in the match. Because the team match was finished they played a 10-point breaker for the match. Robbie ended up being on the short end of that tiebreaker losing 6-4, 4-6, 10-7
At #4 Matt played perhaps the best #4 player in DIII tennis (he lost only 2 matches all year). His opponent was very quick, rarely missed and possessed pin-point passing shots. I was very impressed with Matt in this match and even though he lost in straight sets I feel he played one of most complete matches of the year. Early in the match Matt was being patient, setting up points and then going after big forehands. Although he had some success, his opponent was playing 8-10 feet behind the baseline and was running EVERYTHING down. Matt made a couple brilliant tactically adjustments: he served and volleyed more often, he started opening up the court with shorter angles and even hit some drop shots to mix up the play. Each set was decided by only 1 break with Matt losing 6-4, 6-3.
The most pleasant surprise in singles was Jake at #5 who pulled our only team point with a 6-3, 6-3 win. The surprise in this match was how quickly Jake pulled his game together after doubles. Jake would be the first to admit that he played horrible in the doubles. I was very nervous that his tight played would carry over into the singles. To Jake's credit he turned around his play and quickly dismantled his opponent (he was the 1st singles match off the court).
At #6 Dan played well but couldn't find an answer for his opponent's unconventional style of play. I've seen players with good slice backhands but I've never seen a player with a devastating slice forehand. Dan's opponent took the ball early off both slides and more that not sliced the ball keeping out of Dan's strike zone. He possessed a pin-point lob that always seemed to land on the baseline. Although unconventional, the Depauw player has been very effective all season long only dropping 2 matches in the entire season. Dan played and competed very well but ended up losing 6-3, 6-4.
Even though the final match score was 8-1 the match was close down to the wire. At one point in the match Jake was closing out his match, Phalkun was up a set, Steven was serving for the first set, and the other matches were on serve. The 3-0 lead after the doubles gave the Depauw team a wide cushion and never allowed them to feel any pressure in the singles.
No. 1 -- Evan Webeler (DePauw) def. Phalkun Mam: 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
No. 2 -- Kortney Keith (DePauw) def. Steven Ly: 7-6 (7-5), 6-0
No. 3 -- Scott Swanson (DePauw) def. Robbie Munday: 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-7)
No. 4 -- Brian Heck (DePauw) def. Matt Solomon: 6-4, 6-3
No. 5 -- Jake Cappel (Whitman) def. Scott Sandager: 6-3, 6-3
No. 6 -- Scott Sauer (DePauw) def. Dan Wilson: 6-3, 6-4
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