One of the many things I love about Whitman is the institutional support of athletics. Our program is well funded and we get the opportunity to travel extensively to compete against the best teams in the nation. This is, without a doubt, one of the reasons our players improve and the tennis program continues to improve (also one of the reasons our team chemistry is so unbelievable but that is another story). This season three of our losses have been to teams ranked in the top 10 and the fourth loss was to a team that started the year at #11. In all those matches we were competitive and everyone on the team knows if we play just a little better we can win those matches. I strongly feel that has a team, as a player, and as a coach one doesn't improve unless they challenge themselves against better opponents.
I'm convinced one the reasons we defeated a very strong PLU team and up and coming Willamette team in the conference tournament is because of our spring break trip. Earlier in the year we defeated a very good Pomona team (top 20 in the nation at the time) in Santa Cruz. In that match we won at #1 and #2 doubles. However #3 doubles struggled and ended up dropping a close match. That win completely energized the Pomona team: they knew they were back in the match and were excited to start the singles. We, on the other hand, were a bit deflated. Its a strange feeling, even though we were going into the singles with a 2-1 lead we were also going into the singles after dropping the last match and the team was a bit deflated. In the NWC tournament we were able to draw on that past experience, know what to expect and manage our energy going into the singles. Against both PLU and Willamette we won two of the doubles but dropped the last doubles match.
Against Willamette we came out came out smoking at #1 doubles. Matt and Etienne are playing good doubles and their energy is unbelievable. Against Willamette I think they won the first seven games before winning 8-1. The match was much closer that the score with quite a few of the games went to deuce. In fact they finished mere moments before #3 doubles won 8-5. Speaking of #3 doubles after a disappointing performance against PLU I decided to mix up that team. It is a bit of a risk putting together a team that hasn't played together (not even in practice) but I thought Jeffrey and Conor would make a good team and more importantly have good chemistry and even better energy. Kudos to Conor for "coming off the bench" to play with Jeffrey and winning 8-5. Unfortunately Quin and Christoph again didn't play well and lost 8-5. The "quintoff" combination had been rock solid this year not dropping a conference match all year; however this weekend they lost both of their matches. Both Quin and Christoph are very competitive driven young men and I'm sure they will draw on this experience to make them better players and a better team.
Just like Friday (and against Pomona) we are starting up 2-1 but dropped the last doubles match. In singles we came out fired up, ready to play and it showed in our attitude and our performance. One thing that is a bit a strange about playing the finals at the Yakima tennis club is we play 1-4 on 4-lower courts and 5 & 6 on their upper courts (which are 400 yards away). Certainly this is not an ideal situation because everyone wants to play together. However it is better than making #5 and #6 wait and perhaps not getting a chance to play if the team match is clinched before they can take the court.
The top four all start solid and we are up in all the matches. With the top four in charge I go to the upper courts to check on #5 and #6. As I'm walking up to the courts I see Christoph come to the net, put away a volley and then reach across the net to shake hands with his opponent. After a disappointing weekend of doubles I'm very proud of how Christoph responded...he was incredibly positive in his singles. His 6-1, 6-0 victory gave us a 3-1 lead. Christoph has been a great leader this year. He is very goal orientated and that attitude has rubbed off on our team. At #6 Conor was seeing his first singles action of the weekend (on Friday the team match was clinched before he could play). Conor is one of the reasons our team has improved over the course of the season. He works as hard as anyone I have ever had on a team and he pushes those around him. Every successful team I have been a part of has had to similar two components -- a strong push from the lower part of the line-up and leadership at the top. Conor is that push, his hard work inspires everyone and forces everyone to get better. Conor finishes his singles a few moments after Christoph with a 6-3, 6-2 victory giving us a 4-1 lead.
If Conor is our push then Matt is our leader -- our warrior at the top. I can't begin to explain the feeling I get when I think of Matt's improvement and maturity during his time at Whitman. His freshman year he dropped his match at #4 in the conference finals. Now he is our #1 player, ranked #6 in the West Region, and was just named NWC Most Valuable Player. Matt is also the leader of the team: everyone looks to him for guidance and advice, and they feed off of his success. He has also shown the younger members of our team how to train, how to work, how to act, and how to compete. Its funny on teams how the next generation of players benefits from the earlier generations. Matt certainly benefited from a strong senior class his freshman year. Now Matt has shown the younger players how to be leaders and I'm sure his legacy will be felt for years on the Squirrel team. Matt was up 6-1, 5-2 (match point) when the team match was decided.
Our Lion (Etienne) has also been a major reason for our success this year. Sometimes I think he has a heart big enough for the entire team. I've never had a player that does more to fire up his team that ET. His booming "lets go Whitman" and fiery attitude is special and inspiring. ET is the player that a coach loves to have and hates to play against. He is going to be fired up and fire up those around him no matter the situation. He is also the player that is not going to show any weakness, lose his fight, or stop trying to motivate his teammates no matter his score or the team score. His passion, his fight and his energy fuels our team. Our Lion had his hands full at #3 singles but was up 6-3, 3-1 when the match was halted.
At #4 Chris was beginning to regain his form. He would be the first to admit he has been in a slump and hasn't been playing confident tennis. Chris's game is based around his punishing flat groundstrokes. However those same punishing groundstrokes can go awry when he gets tight. It was nice to see Chris start to crack his forehand again. More importantly, at least in my mind, was to see Chris being positive on court. Bails is one of the nicest young men I have ever been around and he is a big part of the glue that bonds our team. Sometimes though, Chris tends to be negative on court and dwell on a poor shot. Over the weekend Chris more positive with himself, lifting his teammates, and enjoying the competition. Chris was up 6-3, 1-2 when the match was decided.
Jeffrey Tolman clinched our match with a very good 6-4, 6-3 win over one of Willamette's talented freshman. I'm so proud of Jeffrey's growth this year. He has had an incredibly rough year losing a dear friend. I know as well as anyone Jeffrey's struggles this year and I'm proud of the adversity he has overcome. I'm also proud of how he has put his game together at the end of the year. Jeffrey possesses every shot in the book and can play amazing tennis. But earlier in the year he tended to play a great set and then immediately drop the second set (sometimes very quickly). This weekend he took care of business winning both his singles matches in straight sets (both against very good opponents). He also won both of his doubles matches with different partners. I find it fitting, and rewarding, that Jeffrey clinched the team match and propelled us into the national tournament.
Kudos to coach Kraul and the Willamette team. They showed incredible improvement this year and look to become one of the better teams in the conference. Under Kraul's leadership and coaching this team should continue its improvement and make our conference even better. Speaking of coaching well deserved NWC Coach of the Year honors to our womens Coach John Hein. He has done an amazing job with our women's team and its telling that the women's coaches voted him Coach of the Year.
This coming weekend Matt, Jeffrey and Nadeem will represent Whitman at the prestigious Ojai tournament in Southern California.
Thanks to the huge Whitman "family" that came out to support us this weekend. The women's team hung around after their matches to watch us play. The many families that came out to watch us play -- the Fuchs, Moshevichs, Pat Burke, Bailys and the Millers. Thank you to the Whitmann Athletic Director Dean Snider for making the trek to Yakima to watch us play in the finals. And thanks to the Whitman W Club for hosting an alumni dinner for all the players, parents, grandparents, coaches, alumni and friends after the conference tournament. Not sure how many other programs have alumni events after tournaments/matches but they are great...thanks to the Adkison's for hosting this wonderful event. Annie Kunkel-Patterson for an unbelievable, amazing, delicious dinner on Friday night .. and for the Fighting Squirrel cookies! Dan Wilson great to see you and congratulations on the engagement!
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