Whitties go 2-1 at Stag-Hen Classic

This picture doesn't have anything to do with the Stag-Hen classic but it is a very unique picture that I simply had to put on my blog.

The Stag-Hen, hosted by Claremont and Pomona, is one of the few DIII team tournaments (outside the NCAA tournament and National Indoors) and features top teams from across the country. This year's field included #5 CMS, #7 Trinity, #11 Bowdoin, #12 Kenyon, #16 Whitman, #25 The College of New Jersey, #30 Pomona Pitzer, and UT Tyler.

Unfortunately for us we drew the very hot Kenyon team in the first round. Coming into the tournament "The Lords" were undefeated this season and might have the best player in the nation in transfer Michael Greenberg. I don't know how else to put it but in doubles we got rolled. At #1 and #2 doubles we lost by identical 8-2 scores. Our only doubles bright spot was #3 Justin and Jasper who had numerous match points. Unfortunately we couldn't convert any of those key points and dropped the match 9-8.

In singles we faired a bit better. At #2 singles Dan played well (and smart) winning 6-2, 6-4. Our only other victory was at #3 singles with Chris taking the honors 6-3, 6-4. However all but one of the singles were very competitive. In fact we lost at #1 (Matt), #4 (Jake), and #5 (Dan) in three sets. Unfortunately for Jasper his very bad week continued and he lost in straight sets at #6.

In retrospect the 7-2 loss at the hands of Kenyon wasn't such a bad loss (although after the match I was pretty upset about losing 3 3-set matches). Honestly we should of won at #3 doubles and could of picked up one of the singles we lost in three. Under that scenario the match would be tied at 4-4 and anything can happen. In the next round Kenyon defeated host CMS (#5 in nation) on the Stags home court. Another highlight of the match was Matt proving to be on tough competitor taking Greenberg three sets. As an FYI Greenberg won his next matches against the #1's from CMS and Trinity without losing more than two games a match!

Whitman 2 Kenyon 7

The following day we squared at 8:30am off against a very tough UT Tyler team. One of the things I dread as a coach is playing an earlier morning match against a team from a mid to eastern time zone. Lets face it 99% of college students HATE getting up early and typically don't perform well in the morning. The 8:30am match for us is like a 10:30am match for the Tyler team.

In doubles we again got off to a slow start at #1 and #2. At #1 doubles Matt and Dan were down two breaks before coming back to win 8-6. At #2 Jake and Nadeem played a poor match losing 8-2. Jasper and Justin were up an early break but couldn't maintain their momentum losing 8-5.
Going down 2-1 put us in the difficult position of having to win 4 of the 6 singles to take the match. This is always a tough proposition and even more difficult because the UT Tyler team was fired up sensing a potential upset.

Coaching is a such a wonderful calling (as my good friend Greg Patton says) -- it is a thrill to be on the court hours each day with so many outstanding young men. It is a great feeling to watch your team, the men you coach, compete hard and battle tooth-and-nail for each and every point. However there is absolutely not better feeling in coaching that watching your players grow before your eyes. I felt like a proud father watching our three sophomores Matt, Dan and Jake (each of whom lost in three sets the prior day) play their hearts to lead us to a 5-4 victory. One thing I should mention about this tournament is all the dual-matches are played on 4 courts. Because of the court situation we rotated which two players would go on in the 2nd rotation of matches (so #5 and #6 weren't the players always the last on). In singles first off for Whitman was Jake (#4) with a solid 6-2, 6-3 win. Dan (#5) quickly followed Jake blasting his opponent off the court winning 6-3, 6-4. As Dan was finishing Jasper (#6) lost 6-3, 6-2 tying the team score 3-3. At #3 singles Chris Bailey was locked in a tough three set battle as both Matt (#1) and Dan (#2) took the courts. Chris played his heart out in the 3rd set but his 1st serve let him down and he ended up dropping the match to a very talented UTT player 1-6, 6-2, 7-6. Down 3-4 we needed to pick up both #1 and #2 to win the match.

At #2 Daniel overcame an early break and was able to stick with his "Natalie" and post a big 6-4, 6-2 win. I have to add that Daniel has been such a great addition to the team. Besides being a big boost in our line-up he is a great influence on the members of the team. His maturity and quick wit are an absolute pleasure to be around. Additionally it is a thrill to watch the brothers Solomon play doubles. They compliment each other well and are incredibly supportive of each other (both on and off the court.)

With the match tied at 4-4 our fate would be decided by #1 singles. Going into this match we knew this was going to be a battle because the UTT player had defeated the #17 player in the nation (Larry Wang of CMS) the previous day. The first set was a see-saw battle with Matt going up early but then had to face down a set point before taking the opening set 7-6. The second set was close all the way through until Matt dropped serve late in the set and the UTT player served out the set 6-4. With all eyes on the match and both teams trying to will their player to victory Matt proved victorious 6-3 giving us a thrilling 5-4 victory. As I told Matt after the match -- last year he was like a moody Momma Bear (we call Matt the Bear) but this year he is more like a Papa Bear who aggressively defenses his family and turf.

Whitman 5 UT Tyler 4

Big kudos to Coach Chris Bizot and the UT Tyler team, they are damn good and compete hard. If they don't crack the top 25 in the next ranking period something is wrong. Later in the day UT Tyler beat host and #30 ranked Pomona 5-0.

Following the UT Tyler match we faced off against #25 The College of New Jersey. Since this was the last match of the tournament and rain was impending it was decided to play the match to decision (i.e., stop all the matches when a team reached 5 points). The only match we lost was #2 doubles were the new combo of Jake Cappel and Robert Rye lost 8-6. We were actually a bit lucky (Matt was unlucky) to finish the match as it started to sprinkle about an hour into the singles. We were able to post quick victories at #2 (Dan), #4 (Jake), and #6 (Justin) to seal the 5-1 win. At #3 Chris was serving for the match at 5-3 and at #1 Matt was up a set against the #7 player in the nation (he really wanted to finish this match).

Whitman 5 TCNJ 1

We finished our spring break trip with a 2-2 record. Interestingly enough the two teams we lost two have a combined 24-1 record!

Whitman falls to Redlands 5-2

Since I have a coaches meeting in 15 minutes this will be a short post (please forgive any typos and/or bad grammar.) Yesterday we ran into a fired up and hungry Redlands team (#15 in nation). One thing I knew going into the match was the Bulldogs were going to fired up to play us. Last year we were able to sneak out a 5-4 over Redlands on their home courts and I'm sure they have been looking forward to a rematch for the better part of a year. Also Redlands does much of its recruiting in our backyard (the Pacific Northwest) and a victory over #16 Whitman would be a feather in their hat.

Even though Redlands was our first match of Spring Break I already feel like our team is the walking wounded. Its a good thing we have such a deep roster with players that are willing and able to fill at a moments notice. Yesterday doubles standout Nadeem Kassam couldn't go because of a sore achilles. Instead of juggle doubles teams I moved Chris Bailey and Robert Rye into the #3 slot and bumped Jasper Follows and Justin Hayashi up to #2. As an FYI all 4 of my Canadians are now hurt: ET with his lingering shoulder problems, Nadeem with an achilles, Thomas (heck I think Thomas has 3 different injuries, and Jasper's bad week continues has he is now sick.

In doubles brothers Solomon posted a great win at #1 doubles with an 8-4 victory. We spend a fair bit of time talking about momentum in practice and how quickly doubles matches can change. Yesterdays #1 doubles match was a classic example of switch momentum. The brothers were broke at 4-3 giving the big serving Redlands team the early lead. However, for whatever reason, Matt and Dan rallied to win the next 5 games.

At #2 doubles Justin and Jasper were getting their feet wet in their new position. The J's didn't play as they are capable of losing 8-4. With the match tied at 1-1 our new #3 doubles team of Robert Rye and Chris Bailey were unable to capitalize on their many opportunities and dropped the match 8-6.

In singles the match of the day goes to Matt who posted a 7-6, 7-5 victory over Redlands #1 player. Earlier in the week the Redlands player had defeated the #7 player in the nation in straight sets. Kudos to Matt for playing a very mature match in a difficult situation.

We were close in most of the other matches but couldn't win the critical points that often determine a set (or a match). After the match the team all agreed we would like to play them again. Who knows if we can win the NWC perhaps we will get another chance at them.

We are off to play #12 Kenyon at the Stag-Hen tournament.

PS Big shout out to Kelsey from Colorado College who keeps up with friend Daniel Solomon via my blog!

Jasper's Terrible horrible no good very bad day!

It has been a busy week for the team. After our 9-0 victory over Lewis Clark College we drove to Spokane for a double header against Whitworth. It is a bit unusual to play double headers in College tennis but it allows us to save a date of competition and knock out two conference matches. Because of the double header I varied the line-up(s) to give the guys different matches.

In match #1 we defeated the pesky Pirates 7-2. In both the matches we lost, #1 doubles and #6 singles, we had match points. While it is disappointing to lose those close matches I was proud that we won 2 of the 3 singles matches that went three sets. Match #2 went a bit smoother as we were able to blank Whitworth 9-0.

The sweep of Whitworth improved our conference record to 10-0. In those 10 conference matches we have won an amazing 83 matches against only 7 losses.

Match #1 Whitman 7 Whitworth 2
Match #2 Whitman 9 Whitworth 0


As the title suggests Jasper is having a legendary spring break trip. His bad day (actually bad week) started Saturday night. As we are getting ready to leave Walla Walla Jasper realized he is missing his passport -- which he will need to get back into Canada. Before we can hit the road we have to phone security so Jasper can get back into the French house to find his passport (all the residence halls at Whitman are closed for spring break).

The troubles of Jasper continue on Sunday when he (along with Christoph, Jake and ET) were left at the hotel prior to our Whitworth match. Early that morning we had a team breakfast and the team was informed that we were leaving at 10:30 for the Whitworth campus. At 10:45 I was tired of waiting for the trio so they had the honor of waiting an extra 45 minutes as I drove the rest of the team to our match. Unfortunately for Jasper and company they only had 10 minutes to warm-up before the match. Hopefully I made a point about being punctual.

On Monday Jasper's interesting week continued as he left his plane ticket on the airplane during a layover in Sacramento. Luckily for Jasper he was able to run back onto the plane and find his ticket.

Tuesday we had a wonderful day at the Pacific Life Open. It was one of the last days of qualifying and we were lucky enough to see some great matches and many of the top professionals practicing. It is inspiring and motivating to see so many great players applying their trade.

Unfortunately for Jasper he was left at the A & W in Indian Wells! We made a quick stop for snacks and drinks before heading back to L.A. and were almost back on the the freeway when Jasper called saying we had left him at the A & W. Honestly if Jasper hadn't called we would left him. To solve and future missteps I've now assigned the three freshman to keep of Jasper. They are tasked with keeping track of Jasper for the remainder of the trip -- hopefully he won't get lost, dropped off or forgotten for the rest of the trip!

We have had a wonder couple days in California but are looking forward to some competition. Tomorrow we take on #15 Redlands (we dropped to #16) and Friday we take on the very hot #12 Kenyon team.

Whitties continue to roll in the NWC

This afternoon we continued our run through the Northwest Conference with a 9-0 victory over Lewis Clark College. This was our sixth consecutive 7-0 victory and we are currently standing in first place in the conference (8-0).

Today's match marks a special time of the year -- the start of Spring Break! We continue our spring break tour tomorrow at noon (time change from 2pm) against Whitworth in Spokane. One Monday we fly out to Los Angeles for a Thursday match against Redlands and a weekend tournament at Claremont Mudd Scripts. Below is the press release from our match today.

The Whitman men's tennis team, ranked No. 16 nationally, continued its dominating march through the Northwest Conference ranks with a 9-0 shutout of Lewis & Clark Saturday afternoon in Walla Walla.

Blanking its sixth consecutive opponent, Whitman ran its NWC record to 8-0 and has now won 26 consecutive regular season matches against conference foes. Saturday's loss dropped Lewis & Clark to 2-7 in the NWC standings.

With 11 players seeing court time, Whitman first swept the doubles and then won each of the six singles matches in straight sets. The afternoon's most competitive battle came at No. 1 singles, where Whitman sophomore Matt Solomon notched a 6-4, 6-4 victory. His opponent, Lewis & Clark sophomore George Allen, jumped in front 4-1 in the second set before Solomon stormed back to win five straight games and close out the match.

Freshman Chris Bailey and sophomore Dan Wilson were easy winners at No. 2 and No. 3 singles, respectively. Both players are now 6-0 in NWC singles action.

Sophomores Jasper Follows at No. 4 and David Deming at No. 6 also chalked up victories to stay undefeated in singles against conference opponents. Deming is 4-0 and Follows 3-0.

Robert Rye, the lone senior on Whitman's roster, posted a 6-2, 6-2 victory at No. 5 singles.

Follows and junior Justin Hayashi won 8-2 at No. 2 doubles, improving their NWC doubles record to 4-0. Sophomores Nadeem Kassam and Jake Cappel, after cruising to an 8-0 victory at No. 1 doubles, are also 4-0 in conference doubles play. Junior Christoph Fuchs and freshman Quin Miller completed the Whitman sweep in doubles with an 8-3 win in the No. 3 match.

Most of Saturday's match was played on the Whitman outdoor courts. The No. 5 and No. 6 singles matches were played in the nearby Bratton Tennis Center.

Whitman hits the road on Sunday, playing two NWC matches at Whitworth in Spokane, Wash. Lewis & Clark travels to Tacoma, Wash., next Friday and Saturday for matches at Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran.

Match scores

Whitties Sweep PLU and UPS

What a great weekend of play for the Whitties. Not only did we defeat both UPS and PLU we did so in convincing fashing sweeping both matches 9-0! Whitman has a strong tennis tradition. This team added to that strong tradition by doing something no team in recent history as done -- sweep PLU! In talking with the PLU coaches they don't remember the last time the Lutes were swept by any conference school! Although we still haven't played up to our full potential, the PLU match was our most complete match of the season.

In doubles we started quick at #1 and #3 going up quick breaks. At #2 doubles we struggled to hold serve early in the match: fortunately for us PLU was also struggling to hold serve. At one point in #2 doubles the teams traded 4 straight breaks! The #3 team of Justin Hayashi and Jasper Follows continued their impressive play winning 8-1. Justin and Jasper have had a great year only losing one match so far this year (to UC Santa Cruz) and have defeated teams from Gonzaga and EWU. The Brothers Solomon quickly followed with a 8-4 win at #1 doubles. This was an especially gratifying win for the brothers since the PLU defeated them 9-8 a few weeks ago. At #3 Nadeem and Jake were able to get through their shaky match 8-6 giving us a 3-0 lead going into singles.

As a side note we played 3 exhibition doubles matches and swept all three.

In singles we got strong performances up and down the line-up. First off the court was Daniel "I have no nickname" Solomon with a 6-4, 6-0 at #2 singles. Daniel continues to impress and has yet to drop a set in conference play. In fact his only loss in DIII was a close #3 setter to #1 ranked UC Santa Cruz. The other Dan "I have many nicknames" Wilson sealed our match with a 6-3, 6-1 win at #5. This was a nice win for Dan since his opponent had been undefeated in conference play. We also got solid wins from Chris Bailey 6-1, 6-4 (#4 singles) and Jasper at #6 (6-2, 7-5).

The two competitive matches of the day were three set battles at #1 and #3. At #1 singles Matt Solomon saw his match go the distance as he gutted out a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 win. Besides being a gritty road win, Matt was able to defeat an opponent that beat him in straight sets a few weeks earlier.

At #3 Jake showed a lot of maturity overcoming a slow start to win 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. While Jake didn't play his best tennis at the beginning of the match he was tenacious and worked his way back into the match.

This weekend is a busy weekend for us as we host Lewis Clark College Saturday 1:30pm and then travel to Spokane for two matches against Whitworth (first match at 2pm).

Box Scores
Whitman 9 PLU 0
Whitman 9 UPS 0