Whitties finish spring break

Whitman 9 Oberlin 0

DePauw 7 Whitman 2

Long last day of matches on Hilton Head. Started off by picking up group B at 7:30am (4:30 pacific time) for our morning match against Oberlin. Against the OC I decided to move Thomas and Conor up to one doubles and put a new pairing of Jasper and Quin at #2 doubles. The blustery winds didn't allow for either team to play their best tennis. Despite the wind we were able to post an 8-6 win at #1 doubles, 8-0 win at #2 doubles and David/Reid won 8-1 at #3 doubles.

In singles Jasper continued his torrential play posting a quick 6-0, 6-0 win at #2 singles. In his last 3 matches his scores has been 6-2 6-0, 8-0 and 6-0 6-0. This break has been very good for his game. Quin had a very competitive first set against the OC's #1 player. After breaking to go up 6-5 Quin only dropped 1 game for a 7-5, 6-1 victory. Thomas looked a bit bewildered in the wind but still managed to win 6-3, 6-2 at #3. Conor and David both posted routine wins at #4 and #5. Reid was especially impressive in his 6-2, 6-0 victory in the last spring break match of his career.

As we were finishing up with Oberlin, Coach Jennifer took the rest of the team to warm-up for our show down with #18 DePauw. Myself and group B was able to catch-up with the rest of the team with about half an hour left in the warm-up.

I was really looking forward to our match with DePauw. Not only is DePauw traditionally one of the best programs in DIII but they are a good group of guys and they have a very classy coach. It is nice going into a match without umpires knowing that the opposing team will be competitive, respectful and their coach will keep players in line (not that this is a problem for DePauw). This is a major contrast to a team we played earlier week.

We just can't find our groove in doubles! It's frustrating to know we are close to some of the better teams in the nation but just can't grab the lead after doubles. Obviously it is nice having the lead after the doubles, but even more important it sets the tone going into singles. Typically the team that grabs the lead is loose and plays aggressive going into singles. Its crazy but these pro-sets in doubles really have a huge influence (probably too big an influence) on the outcome of the match.

Against DePauw we got rocked at #3 doubles. Jake and Nadeem had game points in almost all the games but ended up on the short end of a 8-0 match. Somehow Dan and Justin managed to find a way to win 8-6 after being down 4-6 (DePauw serving). I didn't realize it until someone told me, but Dan and Justin haven't lost a match all year. What an effort by these two! With the doubles knotted at 1-1 the lead came down to #1 doubles. Christoph and Quin were up a break at 6-5 playing very good tennis. Unfortunately a sloppy service game let the DePauw team right back in the match. At 7-8 DePauw was able to break serve to take the match. Christoph and Quin have proved they have ability to play with the best #1 teams in the nation. Now they just need to get over the hump of learning how to close out matches.

Singles didn't get much better. The bright spot of the day was the continued strong play of Adriel. Even though the team match was decided (7-1) Adriel showed a great attitude and competitive spirit at #6. In fact, Adriel was down 3 match points in the 3rd set super breaker (6-9) before winning 5 points in a row for a 4-6, 7-6, 11-9 victory! Wow!

Great spring break trip for us. Combining our conference matches last week we went 11-2 over the past two weeks (in college tennis that is a crazy amount of matches). Plus our only losses were to two top 25 schools. Puts us 19-4 on the year and only 1 match away from another 20 win season.

Whitties defeat Carleton

Whitman 6 Carleton 3

I love the resilience of our team. Two days ago we suffered our first NCAA III loss at the hands of Chicago. I was a bit worried going into days match that we would be tentative and on our heels. Confidence can be a strange friend -- here today and maybe gone tomorrow...

Lucky for us we had a day off (without traveling) after our matches against Chicago and St Thomas. We have played about 11 matches in the last 11 days and everyone's body needed the rest.

Before the match we talked about the importance of seizing the lead in doubles. All week we have been behind in all the doubles. Even the doubles matches we have won we have been down early breaks. Today was a much better effort in doubles. We are getting close but still have room for improvement. The new (at least new for this trip) #3 team of Nadeem Kassam and Jake Cappel started us off with a two-break 3-0 lead. Dan and Justin broke early and raced to an 8-2 win. At #1 Quin and Christoph were up a break 6-4. Great start for us! However the #3 Carleton team picked up play and leveled the match at 6-6. Nadeem and Jake showed their experience breaking and then serving out the match for an 8-6 victory. Quin and Christoph are having their streaks of brilliance, but they just can't seem to keep their focus. After being up 4-6 (one break) they let some opportunities slip away and the Carleton team won 4 straight games winning 8-6. Obviously it was disappointing to let #1 doubles slip through our hands, but a 2-1 lead is better than being down 1-2 (like against Chicago and Colby).

In singles Adriel continued his strong play. Against Chicago Adriel dropped the first set 0-6 before winning 6-1, 6-3. Today he continued where he left off winning 6-0, 6-1. That is four great sets in a row. His quick victory gave us a 3-1 lead. Nadeem struggled early in his match but figured out a good game plan (with a little help) and after being down 2-3 ran away with a 6-3, 6-2 victory. Unfortunately for Chris he ran into a buzzsaw, dropping his singles matches. Team score is now 4-2. Last post I wrote about Dan's great competitive spirit. Today he didn't disappoint. After winning the first set 6-2 he had two changes to serve out the match in the 2nd. His opponent great some great tennis, dipping balls whenever Dan came to the net and hitting outright winners from behind the baseline. Even though Dan lost the 2nd set in a tiebreak he roared back in the 3rd set super tie-breaker winning 10-7. His gutsy performance sealed the team match 5-2. Jake added some dessert to our victory with a solid 6-3, 6-1 victory at #4. At #1 ET was outplayed by Carleton's Ben Guzick. Keep your eyes on this young man. He is a tremendous competitor and player. I fully expect him to make some waves on the national level in the near future (if not this year).

Tomorrow we play Oberlin at 8:30am and #18 Depauw at 12:30pm. The afternoon match should be a good match. Yesterday Depauw defeated Carleton 5-4. I'll try to update the match via twitter.

Squirrels split matches

Chicago 7 Whitman 2

Whitman 9 University of ST Thomas 0

Tough morning match yesterday. As I mentioned in an earlier post we ran into a fired up and talented Chicago team. Even though Chicago defeated us 7-2 the match was much closer than the score indicated. 

Started off slow a bit slow in doubles. At #1 Christoph and Quin fell behind a break early in the match. To their credit they break back evening the match at 3-3. However one sloppy game sealed their fate. Couple easy put-a-ways that the Chicago team managed to dig out turned the tide as the Maroons were able to break back. After the break the Chicago team was able to finish out the match 8-4. At #3 doubles the heart was willing but the rackets couldn't get it done. We had a hard time holding serve and Chicago was able to score a quick 8-3 victory. At #2 Justin and Dan continued their strong play coming back from a break to keep us in the match with a 9-7 win. Funny thing about Dan and Justin is they almost always go down a break and then reel off a couple straight games.

In singles we didn't get many breaks against the loaded Chicago team. The Chicago roster is absolutely loaded with talent. They have 3 4-star recruits and several 3-star junior recruits in their line-up. Really on paper this team is one of the best in the nation. Really a shame to see this team outside of the top 10. They certain have the talent just missing something...

Really some close matches in singles. Etienne made his return to the singles line-up after a 3-week break. He layoff was evident as he quickly dropped the first set 6-1. However once he started to get his timing back he played some great tennis. He faced off 2 match points in the second set with huge forehands and was getting stronger as the match progressed. He able to come back from a break to take the 2nd set in a tiebreaker. ET was like "Rocky" against the Chicago opponent -- he moved his opponent around the court breaking down his movement and legs. It is unfortunate for ET that the team match was decided before he split sets. His opponent started cramping so badly he couldn't serve or move around the court. In a full match ET would have easily won. ET was a warrior in the match tiebreak. He worked hard, battled with pride and earned 3 match points. However his lack of recent match-play hampered his ability to close out his wounded opponent. I've really got to say that ET has become the soul of our team -- he has the unique ability to put the team on his shoulders and provide inspiration to all. If we were in Oz the Cowardly Lion would only have to search out ET for bravey and heart. Consider that eight months ago ET wasn't sure if he would ever play again. Now he treats every opportunity to be on court as a treasure. We are certainly a much better team with ET playing.

The Chicago match also marked the debut of freshman Adriel Borshansky into the top line-up. Yoga is one calm and collected competitor. I absolutely love his court ethic and love of the game. How is this for a come back. In a heated match he was down 0-6 before winning 6-1, 6-3! Now I just need to find a way to get him into the doubles line-up.

Really all the matches were close. In fact the most lopsided match was Chris's 6-4, 6-2 loss at #2. However he was up a break at 4-3 before the Chicago player notched up his game. Nadeem also had an intense battle at #5. One of those matches where one point can make all the different. The first set was a major war with the Chicago squeaking out a 7-6 (11-9) victory. Nadeem wins one of his set points I'm sure he wins the match. Dan also had a tough one losing 7-5 in the 3rd. I say this every post but Dan is one of the most amazing competitors I have ever coached. Doesn't matter the situation: he can be up big, down big or locked in a tight match and you can't tell if he is winning or losing. He is positive on court and works for every point. This is a guy you absolutely love to have on your team.

Tough 7-2 loss to a talented team.

Later that night we played ST Thomas under the lights at the Hilton Head Beach and Tennis Resort. I was proud of the effort and intensity that we displayed. After being out in the sun all day and being in a battle against Chicago I was afraid that we would be a bit flat. We started off with some great doubles going up early in all three matches. Thomas and Conor played incredibly well dominated a pretty good team 8-1. David and Reid got their measure of reedemption winning at #3 8-5. Earlier in the year they didn't play their best tennis and lost at #3 doubles to UPS. I know this victory was important for the them and they looked forward to playing. Number one doubles was interesting. Jasper and Justin raced out to a 4-1 lead before the ST Thomas team found their stride and strung together 3 straight games. This was a great doubles match with both teams playing solid tennis. In the end Jasper and Justin had a bit more experience winning in a breaker.

In singles it was especially gratifying to watch Quin and Christoph play. In his previous match Quin suffered a near melt down. Against a much better St Thomas opponent he was aggressive, played big and was relentless with his forehand. I really felt like his game matured before my eyes. Christoph played his best match of the year. He has been working on using his forehand to set up points and to dicate play. In the past he felt like he needed to consistently attack the net to be successfully. Now he is much more comfortable at the baseline his game has started to blossom. Playing a bunch of extra matches (in singles and doubles) has been wonderful for Christoph. If he keeps up this progression he is going to be a major force in our line-up.

Jasper played brilliant tennis. After being a bit moody in doubles he really found his stride and played unbelievably in singles. Jasper is a very deliberate player and takes his time between points and games. It really says something when he wins in a match in 40 minutes. Great stuff!

Thomas continues his torrential play. In a era when players bludgeon the ball with extreme topspin it is refreshing and enjoyable to watch the play of Thomas. He is no longer trying to outhit people (like the past two years) but is out-thinking people on the court. He is using a wonderful mixture of slice and topspin to keep opponents off balance. He has also learned the lesson that he doesn't need to win every point outright. He is now putting his opponent in tough situations, playing balls low at the feet, topspin lobs and crisp volleys to win matches. Honestly at this point he is probably playing as well as anyone on the team.

David was again "the clincher" with his solid 6-1, 6-2 victory. This trip has also been very good for his game and confidence. Conor had the roughest match of the night winning 7-5, 6-2. Tough match for Conor on his dimly light court (lighting was pretty bad on his court). Hard for him to play his attacking game when he can't cleanly see the ball. Have to give big props to Conor for his #7 match against Chicago. We decided to put on a #7 exhibition and I asked if anyone wanted to play. Well Conor jumped (begged) at the opportunity and was able to defeat his opponent 6-4. For the record his opponent was one of the better players out of the PNW. Love Conor's desire to always want to play!

Day off and tomorrow we face a tough Carleton team. To the beach!

Lost to Chicago 7-2

Ran into a fired up and talented Chicago team today. I need to cool off a bit before I write a match recap.  I don't have my match book so Im not exactly sure of the scores.

Doubles

#1 Christoph and Quin lost 8-4

#2 Justin and Dan won 8-6

#3 Nadeem and Chris lost 8-2

Singles

#1 ET lost to William Zhang (one of the top players in the nation) 6-1, 6-7, 13-11

#2 Chris lost 6-4, 6-3

#3 Dan lost 4-6, 6-1, 7-5

#4 Jake lost 6-3, 6-3

#5 Nadeem lost 7-6 (11-9), 6-3

#6 Adriel won 0-6, 6-1, 6-2

We take the court in 90 minutes against ST Thomas of Minnesota

Recap!

Long post incoming. Sorry for the length of the post but it has been a few days since I've been able to provide match recaps.

First off scores from yesterday:

Whitman 9 Westminster 0

Whitman 5 Colby 4

What an unbelievable spring break trip! Two weeks on the road with an amazing group of guys (we are starting our second week). Many people have asked why we are taking a two-week trip. Whitman has a two-week break and traditionally we have taken the 1st week to travel and play matches. This year I decided to schedule most of our away conference matches the first week of break and use the second week to travel to Hilton Head Island.

So far the trip has been a blast. Our team is more a family than a team and we are the best vacation ever! Well its not exactly a vacation since we are playing something like 14 matches during our trip.

Last time I really updated the blog was on Monday after the Pacific and George Fox matches. On Tuesday I took part of the guys to Salem for a conference match against Willamette. Since we had a two hour drive to Salem we left about 10am to ensure we had plenty of warm-up time. Weather was actually perfect in Salem and we got to play the match outdoors. This is quite a rarity in Salem: they have only played two home matches at their outdoor courts in the last two years!

We played Willamette 5 days earlier in Walla Walla so we knew what to expect coming into the match. In our earlier meeting we had close matches at both #1 and #2 doubles (both were 8-6). In this match we came out firing and took control of the match from the start. In fact we only lost a combined 2 games in the matches! In singles the matches were much more competitive. Chris really struggled at the start of his match before settling down for 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory. Dan also had a close three set match 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. We were able to win the rest of the matches in straight sets. One of the highlights was Reid Bennett's 6-0, 6-3 victory at #6. Reid was scheduled as the alternate but Justin's shoulder didn't feel right so I pulled Justin out of the singles and moved Reid to the #6 slot.

After a snack in Salem we drove to Lewis-Clark to watch Team B take on the Pioneers. Even though the two teams had only been apart for a day it seemed like forever since we had seen each other. We actually arrived after David "the clincher" Deming won the match with his 6-4, 6-2 victory at #6. However we able to watch Jake post a solid win over Vincent Groot (Vincent is top 30 in the region). When we arrived Jake was down 1-4 in the third. With the strong encouragement of his teammates, Jake was able to reel off 5 straight games for a 7-6, 1-6, 6-4 win. By the time we got to the Fuch's house for dinner it was already around 10pm...talk about a long day!

Thursday was another early day as our Linfield match was moved indoors in Salem. So up at 6am and out the door at 7am for another two hour drive to Salem. We had played Linfield about three weeks ago in the comfort of our indoor tennis courts. Even though we escaped with a 5-4 match we felt terrible about the way ended (we were up 5-2 in team scoring and let #5 and #6 slip away). The kicker for this match with Linfield was we were playing without our #1 standout Etienne Moshevich (injury).

I was so proud of the way we stepped up and started the match. At #1 doubles Christoph and Quin broke the first game and never looked back winning 8-5 (they lost to this team 8-6 in our first meeting). At #2 doubles Dan and Justin where down a break at 2-4 and motored to a 8-5 win (they played #3 doubles the first time we played). At #3 doubles Nadeem and Chris were down from the first game and battled back for an 8-7 lead. Unfortunately they couldn't convert a few match points and Linfield was able to send the match to a tiebreak. At this point Nadeem really showed his doubles skills and made it a personal point to take over the breaker...which he did. After the doubles we are up 3-0. In NCAA DIII tennis coming back from 0-3 in doubles is incredibly tough.

We only had four courts to play on so #5 (Quin) and #6 (Christoph) had to wait. We were able to take the 1st sets at #1 (Chris), #3 (Jake) and #4 (Nadeem). Unfortunately Dan ran into a red hot player and dropped his match 6-0, 7-5. Chris was able to close out the #1 match 6-4, 6-4 giving us a 4-1 lead. At this point Jake and Nadeem both drop the second set. I must say that this trip has been great for Jake. He has really stepped up his game and is becoming "clutch" in tight matches. He was up a break in the 2nd and let the set slip through his fingers. In the 3rd he was able to break at 4-4 and serve out the match 6-4. For the record at this point Jake has played 4 consecutive three-set matches and won them all! With the match over Nadeem played a 10 point breaker for the 3rd and ended up losing 6-7, 7-5, 10-5. Although Deem felt like he didn't play his best tennis he competed hard and pushed a very good player to the limits.

For Christoph (#6) and Quin (#5) this match was about redemption. One great thing about tennis is you always get second chances. In our first meeting Christoph and Quin were both up 6-1 and a break in the 2nd set when the wheels fell off and they both ended up losing in a match breaker. I know this didn't sit well with either of them and they were chomping for a rematch. To make a long story short (and this has been a long story) both were able to use the opportunity and reverse the outcome of the previous meeting -- Quin won 6-4, 6-4 and Christoph won 6-2, 4-6, 10-8.

It was great defeating 7-2 minus our #1 player! Certainly a good sign when we go into the conference tournament.

After the match we grabbed a quick lunch, raced back to our housing to pack-up, string a few rackets and hit the road for the Seattle airport. Ended up checking into the hotel at 10pm. After a quick dinner we hit the sack to grab a couple hours of sleep before our 6am flight (at the airport at 4am) to Charlotte NC.

On a personal note Charlotte was one of the highlights of the trip. Note only did my lovely wife join us for this stage of the trip but we stayed at the home of ex-Whitman professor, baseball coach and Athletic Director Travis Feezell and his family. For Jennifer and I it was wonderful catching up with our friends.

On Saturday we had a nice hit at a local high school, packed up the vans and hit the road. Its about a 4-hour drive from Charlotte to Hilton Head Island, SC. Reason we flew into Charlotte instead of closer airports was ticket price. Our tickets into Charlotte were less than half some teams paid to fly into Savannah, GA. I figured the $300 savings per ticket (16 tickets) was worth the the 4-hour drive.

Hilton Head is a wonderful place for matches. We are staying at the Hilton Head Island Beach and Tennis Resort and staying in condos. The condos are great since they have full kitchens, living rooms and separate bedrooms. Plus three of our matches this week are right outside of of the condos!

Yesterday we played a double header/split squad match against Colby and Westminster. In the morning the top players took on a tough Colby squad. It was really hard to gauge the Colby team. They are ranked #8 in the tough NE region but haven't played any matches (we were their first match). As I mentioned in an earlier post this marked the return of our best player Etienne Moshevich -- we decided to have him only play doubles to see how he responded to competitive play.

For the past two-weeks I've been preaching to the team that we need to be in close matches and look forward to the battle and intensity in close matches. Winning matches 9-0 with half a squad doesn't prepare us for tough national level competition. Well Colby provided our first test. We didn't play well in doubles and found ourselves in a 1-2 hole. Plus after watching the doubles it was clear that Colby had two very good players at #1 and #2. Everyone knew they needed to step up play in singles. And step up play did they ever. We won 6-0 first sets at #3, #4, #6 and 6-2 at #5. Talk about a momentum swing! The entire team was supporting everyone and playing with positive enthusiasm. We ended up rolling to 6-0, 6-1 victories #6, #4, and #3. With the match score 4-3 (Dan lost at #2) we only needed one more win to clinch the match. Chris lost an incredibly long set at #1 so the "clincher" appeared to come down to Quin's match. Quin was absolutely rolling in his match he won the first set 6-2 (didn't lose a point on serve) and was up 5-2 serving with a match point. At this point Quin thinks the team match is over and is wondering why his teammates are hanging on the fence screaming and yelling for each point he won. At 5-2 match point Quin hits a wall losing about 8 straight points -- he can't find the court with anything! From that match point Quin doesn't win another point until 4-5. It is one of the most incredible turn arounds I have seen in a match. At 5-4 Quin starts to get his focus back and earns a couple match points only to get broke. At 5-5 things are really tight and the entire team is squirming on the sideline. Of course Quin is blissfully ignorant to the match situation. Quin finally breaks after a long duece game. Serving 5-4, Quin loses 3 more match points (6 match points lost); lucky for us Quin finally wins the match on his 7th match point...whew!

We immediately started our second match against Westminster. Kind of funny since Chris was still playing his singles match when we started singles against Westminster (because of courts we started with singles). Team "B" looked incredibly sharp mowing through a team that has been to the NCAA team tournament the past 2 years. Adriel looked incredibly sharp in his 6-1, 6-2 victory at #1 (over a very solid player). Based on his strong play he is going to play #6 against Chicago later today. Thomas also played very thoughtful tennis and posted another routine win. So far this trip he has yet to drop more than 2 games in a match!

Later today (noon) we play a very loaded Chicago team. We are both ranked in the 20's but Chicago is one of the most talented teams in the nation. Their roster is loaded with 4 and 3 star recruits. On paper they are the better team. However, matches aren't played on paper and it is impossible to measure a team's work ethic and competitive spirit. We are certainly looking forward to today's challenge. We are also looking forward to having ET back in the line-up. At 6pm Team "B" takes on St Thomas.

Big shout out to former Whittie Dan Solomon who is finishing his college career at Colorado College. Over the weekend he defeated PLU #1 Joel Trudel in straight sets. He told me it was a very sweet victory:)

Pictures of our trip

Day one in Hilton Head

Once again I don't have time to provide a full match update. Between getting ready for the matches, playing 2 matches, and taking people to get food I'm left with only a few minutes before we leave for dinner.

This morning we had a real nail biter with Colby College. Very windy conditions made doubles tough. Going into the match I felt great about doubles because Etienne was back in the doubles line-up. I figured he and Jake would be a lock at #2. Unfortunately they got steamrolled 8-3. At #3 Dan and Justin went down a break and then went on a streak winning the last 4 games for a 8-6 win. At #1 Quin and Christoph were cruising up 4-1 (two breaks). However the Colby team caught fire and were able to win 7 of the last 8 games to win 8-5.

Tough spot being down 1-2 in doubles. Especially when you think you should have won at least 2 of the matches! In singles we showed a great amount of maturity and rolled matches #3, #4, #5, and #6. I'm not sure of the exact scores but I think the matches came off in the following order.

#6 Christoph won 6-0, 6-1

#4 Nadeem won 6-0, 6-1

#3 Jake won 6-0, 6-1

#5 Quin won 6-2, 7-5. Note: Quin decided to keep the match interesting by being up 5-2 match point (serving) and then dropping most of the next points to even the match at 5-5! He finally buckled down to break serve and serve out the match at 6-5.

Colby is very good up top. Dan lost at #2 7-5, 6-0 and Chris lost at #1 6-4, 7-6. 

Immediately after the Colby match Team B took stage against Westminster College. This is an experienced team that has been the NCAA III Team Tournament the past two years. We simply had too much firepower sweeping the match 9-0. 

Sorry for the short post. I'll try to update scores later tonight. 

Whitties defeat Linfield 7-2

I'll try to post more later tonight but we are in a rush packing so we can head out to the Seattle airport. Earlier today we defeated Linfield 7-2 at the Courthouse in Salem, OR.

Doubles
#1 Christoph/Quin def Kingzett/James 8-5
#2 Dan/Justin def Ruess/Van Mens 8-5
#3 Nadeem/Chris def Dewitt/Anderson 9-8
Singles
#1 Chris def Van Mens 6-4, 6-4
#2 Dan lost Ruess 6-0. 7-5
#3 Jake def Ander 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 (I think those were the scores)
#4 Nadeem lost James 6-7, 6-4, 10-5 (not sure of tiebreak)
#5 Quin def Magdaong 6-4, 6-4
#6 Christoph def Dewitt 6-2, 4-6, 10-8

9-0 vs Willamette and Lewis and Clark

Sorry in advance but this is going to be a short post. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have more time to write about the matches.

Today we again split into 2 teams to take on Willamette and Lewis Clark College. Against Willamette my group came out smoking hot in doubles. In fact we only lost 2 games in the 3 matches -- #1 doubles (Christoph/Quin) won 8-1, #2 doubles (Dan/Justin) won 8-0, and #3 doubles (Nadeem/Chris) won 8-0.

In singles we struggled a bit at the top spots with Chris and Dan both winning in 3 sets. The rest of the team won in straight sets:
#1 Chris Bailey won 1-6, 6-1, 6-1
#2 Dan Wilson won 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
#3 Nadeem Kassam won 6-3, 6-1
#4 Quin Miller won 6-4, 6-0
#5 Christoph Fuchs won 6-3, 6-2
#6 Reid Bennett won 6-0, 6-3

The second group swept Lewis Clark 9-0. Highlight of the match was Jake Cappel's 6-4 in the 3rd victory over regionally ranked Vincent Groot. Very good win for Jake. Also the 3rd straight match he has won in 3 sets!

As a team we are playing very well and peaking at a good time. In fact our last 6 matches have all been 9-0 victories.

Tomorrow we play Linfield in Salem at the Courthouse Club at 10am. A few weeks ago we narrowly defeated Linfield 5-4 so tomorrow should be a great match!

Two more wins during Spring Break!

Earlier today we split the Whitman horde into two teams to take on Pacific and George Fox. Both matches took place at 9am -- I had the Pacific group and Coach Ann had the George Fox group.

Against Pacific we came out with good energy and were able to quickly capture all three doubles matches. The #1 combo of Christoph and Quin struggled a bit in the early going of their match. I felt like they were playing well and getting the opportunity to finish points but just couldn't win the big points. After going down 1-3 they won 7 straight games for an 8-3 victory.

In singles play the closest match of the day was at #5 where Justin Hayashi defeated Nhat Nguyen 6-4, 6-3. Christoph and Quin continued their strong play in singles with Quin winning 6-0, 6-1 and Christoph winning 8-1 (shortened match due to time).

Whitman 9 Pacific 0

Against George Fox the highlight of the day was Thomas Roston's thrilling victory at #4 singles. Normally a 6-0, 6-0 isn't thrilling but Thomas was up 6-0, 3-0 before he lost a point! Wow what a great effort (for the record he lost 2 points the entire match).

Also of note Jake and Adriel both won their matches in 3rd set super-breakers! Outside of #1 and #2 singles all the matches had at least one 6-0 set! Perhaps it is the coaching! Kudo's to Coach Ann:)

Whitman 9 George Fox 0

We are currently 10-0 in conference play and 11-2 overall. In the latest rankings that were released earlier today we slipped two spots to #21 (even though we have yet to lose a DIII match) and are #5 in the West region.


Match changes!
Wednesday's match against Willamette has been moved to 11am at the Courthouse Tennis Center

Thursday's match against Linfield moved to 10am at the Courthouse Tennis Center in Salem!

Match changes

Because of weather and lack of available indoor courts several upcoming matches have been rescheduled.

Monday vs PLU reschedule to April 11 11am in Tacoma
Tuesdays matches vs George Fox and Pacific changed to:
9am vs Pacific* at Tualatin Hills
9am vs George Fox* at Lewis Clark College Tennis Bubble
*We will be breaking into two teams to take on G Fox and Pacific.

Hope to see you at the courts!

Spring is the air!

It is spring break for the Fighting Squirrels! Classes are done for two weeks and the players get to take a break from the books and focus on tennis. This year we are doing something a bit unique and playing our away conference matches during the first week of break and the second week we are heading to Hilton Head, SC to play some of the top NCAA III teams in the nation.

Yesterday we had a home match against short-handed Lewis and Clark College. Unfortunately for the Pioneers they were missing a player and had to default #6 singles and #3 doubles. Highlight of the day was the return of junior Nadeem Kassam to the line-up. Nadeem has been out for a month with a shoulder injury and Friday the 13th marked his return to competition. I know for most people Friday the 13th is considered a day of bad luck. However for us it marked the glorious return of Nadeem to our line-up. Against LC, Nadeem had the opportunity to play one of the top players in the conference (Vincent Groot). In fact Groot only has one NCAA III loss all year -- that being a three set loss to PLU's outstanding #1 player. Nadeem not only played beautiful tennis but he played with an incredible sense of passion. Being out the past month has made Nadeem hungry to play again. Against LC, Nadeem was unstoppable winning 6-2, 6-3.

Kudos to the rest of the team who shook off a hard week of school and were able to close out the LC 9-0 without dropping a set.

Whitman 9 LC 0

Earlier today we took on a determined Willamette squad. Willamette is a talented squad and has players in various positions that can play with any team in the conference. They have also been rock solid in doubles.

Even though I knew this would be a close match I decided to mix and match the line-up. I know I have mentioned this before but we are fortunate to have an incredibly deep and talented line-up. This is great not only in practices (which are a joy to watch and run) but in matches we have a horde of hungry guys chomping at the bit to play.

We started off with high energy doubles. At #3 Nadeem and Chris picked up where they left off on Friday winning 8-0. In the last two matches Nadeem and Chris have won two matches 8-0! In the world of men's doubles that is no easy feat! At #2 Justin and Dan were down an early break 2-4 but rallied to win 8-6. At #1 doubles Christoph and Quin played their best (and smartest) doubles of the year winning 8-5.

At #1 singles Chris Bailey played aggressive, strong tennis defeating Willamette's Cody Ferguson 6-1, 6-2. Even though Chris had a convincing win it was a pleasure to watch Ferguson play. Cody is a new transfer to the Willamette program and he showed why he is one of the top players in the conference.

One of the more entertaining sets of the day was at #2 where Dan Wilson won a very competitive 1st set 7-6 (8-6). I have to hand it to Dan, he has an amazing court presence. No matter the situation he works incredibly hard and always has a positive aura. About the only way I can tell that Dan is in a tight match is how hard he hits the ball. The closer the situation the bigger he hits. Dan ended up winning 7-6, 6-2.

The most competitive match of the day was Jake at #3. Last week Jake didn't have the greatest court composure and it cost him against Linfield. One of Jake's goals for this match (and our trip) is to improve upon his attitude on court. Today Jake was a brilliant leader for our team. After losing the 1st set 3-6 he continued to work hard but more importantly his aura was positive. Not only did he shake off the great play of his opponent but he showed great leadership supporting all his teammates. In the end Jake posted a solid 3-6, 6-3 6-1 victory. This is one of those matches that made me proud to be a coach. It is so gratifying to see the maturity and growth of players. Today Jake was a true team leader.

At #4 Adriel felt he didn't play his best. However its hard to find fault in a 6-0, 6-0 victory! At #5 Jasper played a very talented and experienced Willamette player. In fact last year this player played #2 -- infront of Willamette's current #1, #2 and #3 players! Jasper was able to cruise to a 7-6, 6-2 victory. At #6 Christoph won 6-3, 6-4. I've been working with Christoph the past week on some changes to his game and it was nice to see him utilize some new tools.

Great start to our break the past couple days. Two matches and two 9-0 victories. More importantly we are playing with a renewed sense of purpose!

Whitman 9 Willamette 0

ET is NWC Player of the Week!

Congratulations to Etienne Moshevich who was name Northwest Conference tennis player of the week!

Ugly win for the Whitties

Ick! I feel like just kissed my sister (no offense Patsy)! Last night we managed to pull off a 5-4 victory over Linfield but it left us with a bad taste. We had a golden opportunity to put our stamp on the conference. A good win over Linfield would not only places us uptop the conference standings but could give us momentum heading into a long 2 week spring break trip. 

In doubles we started very strong at #2 and #3. At #2 ET and Jake broke early and never looked back for a quick 8-1 victory. At #3 Justin and Dan jumped on a good Linfield team closing out the match 8-3. At #1 Quin and Christoph always seemed on the defensive. Christoph and Quin possess two of the best serves on the team. For some reason last night they really struggled with their serves:  in fact, I'm pretty sure their 1st serve percentage was under 30% for the match. To their credit they kept digging themselves out of holes and broke Linfield at 5-7 putting the match back on serve. However Linfield was able to break to finish out the match 8-6.

In singles we started with #1 ET, #2 Chris, #3 Jake and #4 Dan (we have 4 indoor courts). Early in the match things we were on cruise control and we were steaming ahead. In all 4 matches we broke early and had command of all the matches. Someplace along the line our cruise control broke down and we started struggling. Jake was up 3-0 in the 1st and then went down 4-6, 0-5. Dan won the first but quickly when down 0-4 in the 2nd. While Jake and Dan were struggling, ET and Chris were able to put the hammer down both winning in straight sets. 

With ET and Chris's victory we were able to take a 4-1 lead. Jake mounted a mini-rally at 0-5 but ended up dropping his match 4-6, 2-4. Match score now 4-2 with Dan starting his 3rd set and #5 (Quin) and #6 (Christoph) taking the courts. With Dan locked in a major battle, both Quin and Christoph won their 1st sets 6-1. At this point the team match looked like a lock since we only need to win 1 more set to clinch the team match. Dan ended up breaking serve at 4-4 and managed to serve out the match despite the Linfield opponent fighting off 3 match points. We now have the team match in hand 5-2 and up a set and a break at #5 and #6. However once Dan clinched the team match the air went out of our sails and we ended up dropping up 5 and 6 in 3rd set match tiebreaks.

Hats off to a very tough and competitive Linfield team. They came into our place and battled tooth and nail the entire match. As I told the team in our pre-match meeting is I look forward to playing Linfield because they are always fired up and will keep coming after you no matter the score. Coach Swanson does a great job getting his players ready to play.

Even though we ended up with a 5-4 victory we all felt horrible about the way the match played out. We had a very long, and incredibly positive, team meeting after the match. Hopefully this experience help our team develop as we head into spring break. 

Whitman 5 Linfield 4

Weekend results for the Whitties

What a fun weekend of tennis for the Whitties. Sunday we had the wonderful opportunity to split the team into two and play DI Montana (at home) and conference opponent UPS (in Tacoma). Since I was in Tacoma I can't write too much about the Montana match. From text messages and calls it appears that Etienne had the match of the day defeating Montana's #1 (a senior from Poland) 13-11 in the 3rd set super-breaker. At #3 Jake had a good effort winning the first set 6-2 before dropping the next two 6-3, 6-3. We also picked up a 9-7 win at #3 doubles (Dan and Justin) that doesn't count on the official team score since we played the 7 point DI format.

Whitman 1 Montana 6

While team 1 was battling the all-international Grizzly team, team 2 ran into a fired up UPS team. With our top 8 players in Walla Walla this was a major opportunity for UPS to knock us out of the top spot in the conference (we are currently tied with Linfield). I must say that things looked bleak in doubles. We were down breaks at #1 and #3 doubles but up a break at #2. As the doubles wound down I was prepared to go into singles down 1-2. However at 4-6 down Jasper and Adriel (#1 doubles) played inspired doubles -- closing hard, crossing and nailing returns winning the last 4 games for a hard fought 8-6 victory. The #2 doubles team of Thomas and Conor got an early break and never looked back scoring an 8-5 victory. Unfortunately the #3 doubles team of David and Reid never got on track losing 8-6.

One thing that I absolutely loved the team that played UPS is that they never "panicked". Losing this match not only would of knocked us out of first place in the conference standings, but would of nailed our national ranking and ended our conference winning streak. Plus we had two freshman playing #1 (Adriel) and #2 (Conor) in their first big team match.  

In fact early in the singles things didn't look promising: at #5 Thomas was down 1-5, at #2 Conor was down 1-4, and at #3 David was down 0-3. At 2-5 I scrambled down to talk to Thomas and he told me not to worry,  although he wasn't playing well he was going to win the match. Even though he was down 2-5 he had that champion look in his eye and I knew he would be ok. At 1-4 Conor and I had a great chat and I've never seen a more dramatic turn around in my years coaching. He went from trying to end the point early in rallies to taking his time, pounding the ball deep and forcing his opponent to miss. From 1-4 down Conor raced to a 7-5, 5-2 lead! If he can keep this type of  composure on court he will be a force to be reckoned with! Speaking of composure I can't say enough about Adriel. This young man wise beyond his years! I've been calling Adriel "Yoda" for a few weeks now..he certainly lived up to that billing on Sunday beating a good NWC 1st Team All-Conference player 6-3, 6-2. 

David and Jasper also had great comebacks over the weekend. Jasper was down 2-5 in the 2nd and rallied to close out his match in a tie-breaker. David came from a set down to post a 4-6, 6-4, 10-8 victory at #3 singles.

Our lone senior on the trip (Reid) posted a 6-2, 6-4 victory at #6. I know this was especially sweet for Reid since his parents made the trip up from Olympia to watch him play. By the way the cookies were awesome! :)

Whitman 8 UPS 1

We have a big show down with Linfield on Friday. Both teams are currently undefeated in conference play. If you are in Walla Walla on Friday I hope to see you at the courts at 4pm!

Jeff