Solomon falls in National Tournament

WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- A lost service game early in the first set proved costly as Whitman College senior Matt Solomon dropped a 6-4, 6-2 decision to Williams College senior Nick Lebedoff in this morning's opening round of the NCAA Division III National Tennis Singles Championship Tournament.

The 32-player singles tournament, taking place at Ohio's Oberlin College, continues through Sunday.


Matt Solomon
"It was a thrill to be invited to this tournament, but I definitely didn't play my best today," Solomon said. "This obviously wasn't the outcome I was expecting and wanted."

The difference in the first set came early, when Solomon dropped his first service game. After that the two players held serve until Lebedoff finished off his 6-4 first-set victory.

"I kept trying to change tactics to get back into the match, but I felt a little off my game the whole way," Solomon said. "I felt good from a physical standpoint, but I wasn't hitting through the ball as well as I can."

Lebedoff advances to play a second-round match today against the survivor of a first-round match between Chris Goodwin (Emory University) and Scott Sundstrom (Luther College).

The tournament continues Saturday with quarterfinal and semifinal matches. The championship finale is set for Sunday.

Solomon, a senior, is one of seven West Coast players -- but the only one from the Pacific Northwest -- invited to the singles championship. Invitations were issued to players based on win-loss records, rankings and strength of opposition.

Solomon, who has played No. 1 singles for Whitman since his sophomore season, led Whitman to a third consecutive Northwest Conference title this spring. He is a two-time NWC Player of the Year and was named the 2010 winner of Whitman's R.V. Borleske Trophy, which is presented annually to the top male athlete on campus.

"What a great season and great career Matt has had," Whitman coach Jeff Northam said. "He's had a huge impact on our team and athletic program in general.

"Our men's tennis program is stronger right now than it's ever been in my many years of coaching, and Matt is a big reason why that's the case."

Solomon is the first Whitman player to compete in the national singles championships since May of 2006, when Steven Ly got an invite to cap his junior season.

Tim Mullin made the national singles tournament in both 2001 and 2002. Mullin and Eric Bartee competed in the doubles championship bracket in 2000.

Solomon got his senior season off to a strong start last fall by winning the ITA's Pacific Northwest NCAA Division III singles title for a third consecutive season. He advanced to the ITA's National Small College Championships, where he won two of his four matches against other regional champs.

Solomon, who graduated from Whitman last Sunday with a degree in economics, starts work next Tuesday with IMG, the world's premier and most diversified sports, entertainment and media company.

Solomon, who is from Los Altos, Calif., will be working in IMG's San Francisco office, helping prepare for 40th annual Bank of the West Classic, which starts July 26 at Stanford University. The classic is the longest-running women-only professional tennis tournament in the world and the first stop of the Olympus U.S. Open Series.

Fuchs Named to ESPN The Magazine's Academic Team!

WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- Christoph Fuchs, a graduating senior on the Whitman College men's tennis team, has been voted for a second consecutive year to ESPN The Magazine's Academic All-District At-Large First Team.


Christoph Fuchs
Fuchs, who helped Whitman win its third straight Northwest Conference (NWC) title earlier this spring, is one 10 athletes chosen for the men's at-large team in the College Division of District VIII.

The district includes all NCAA Div. II/Div. III and NAIA schools in the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, Hawaii, California, Utah, Nevada and Arizona, as well as British Columbia.

The at-large teams represent student athletes in a variety of sports, including golf, skiing, gymnastics, ice hockey, swimming, lacrosse and tennis.

Players on all-district at-large teams from around the nation are now eligible for election to the Academic All-America team. Fuchs was voted to the All-America Second Team a year ago.

The College Sports Information Directors of America administers the nominating and voting process for the Academic All-America program, which is in its 59th year and has honored about 15,000 students at all levels for all recognized NCAA sports.

Fuchs, a member of the Phi Beta Kappa national academic honor society, graduates from Whitman this Sunday and begins medical school studies later this summer at the Baylor College of Medicine. He and three siblings were home schooled by their parents, Valerie and Dr. Alex Fuchs of La Center, Wash.


Christoph Fuchs at Baylor College of Medicine
Fuchs is one of seven graduating seniors on the men's tennis team who sailed through four seasons at Whitman without losing a single regular season match to a Northwest Conference team. Whitman's win-loss record during those four seasons was 64-0.

Fuchs was a consistent winner in his time at Whitman, collecting more than 100 victories in singles and doubles.

A biology major with a minor in chemistry, Fuchs received Whitman Undergraduate Research funding two summers ago to work on breast cancer research at the University of Louisville’s Brown Cancer Center. His research that summer was the basis of his honors thesis on estrogen receptor protein modifications.

In the summer of 2007, Fuchs was a volunteer nurse's aide at a hospital in Offenburg, Germany, as part of a program required of German students for medical school eligibility. Fuchs, who is fluent in German, handled duties ranging from feeding patients and taking vital signs to shadowing physicians on their rounds and assisting with surgeries.

While at Whitman, Fuch has been a volunteer for a local AIDS clinic as well as the Friends of Walla Walla, which mentors at-risk youth.

Earlier this week, Fuchs was named Scholar-Athlete of the Year at the Blue Mountain Sports Awards, an awards program for high school and college student-athletes in the Walla Walla Valley. The awards program is run by the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin newspaper.

Whitman is the top liberal arts & sciences college in the Northwest, according to the annual U.S. News & World Report survey of colleges and universities.

Congratulations Thomas Roston!

Graduating senior Thomas Roston recently received notice that he was selected to enter the University of British Columbia Medical school! Thomas is very excited to be going back home (Vancouver, BC) to start the next part of his education.

With Christoph Fuchs going to Baylor to this fall that means that two members of the Whitman tennis team class of 2010 will be entering Medical school this fall. It is rare for students to gain admission to medical school immediately upon graduation. Most students end up working for a few years, improving their resume, and MCAT scores before gaining admission to Medical School. It speaks volumes of Thomas's and Christoph's dedication and hard work to get admitted immediately after graduation.

Big congratulations!

Matt Solomon -- R.V. Borleske award!

WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- Matt Solomon, a two-time Northwest Conference Player of the Year in men's tennis, is the 2010 winner of the R.V. Borleske Trophy, which is presented annually to the top male athlete at Whitman College.

The trophy, which is awarded by a vote of the Whitman coaching staff, recognizes athletic ability and accomplishments, leadership and sportsmanship qualities, and contributions to the campus as a whole.

Matt Solomon

Solomon, playing No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles, led Whitman to its third straight Northwest Conference title this spring, and to its fourth consecutive 16-0 NWC regular season.

Ranked No. 22 nationally in NCAA Division III, Whitman advanced to the national championship tournament for the fourth time in as many years. A loss in the regional semifinals to No. 3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps ended Whitman's season with a 20-5 record.

Solomon, however, has as at least one more match left in his college career. He is one of 32 players from around the country invited to play in the NCAA DIII national singles tournament, slated for late this month in Oberlin, Ohio. He is the first Whitman player to make the singles tournament since Steven Ly in 2006.

Solomon got his senior year off to a strong start last September when he won his third straight singles titles at the ITA's Pacific Northwest Fall Tournament. Despite playing with a torn stomach muscle, he then split four matches at the national small college championships, placing seventh and earning ITA All-America honors in singles for a third time.

As a three-time winner of the ITA's PNW doubles title, Solomon is also a three-time ITA All-American in doubles.

After a slow start early this semester, Solomon posted a 12-5 singles record in spring dual matches, which included an 8-2 record against NWC opponents. His only losses in conference came early in the season and were later avenged.

In non-conference play, Solomon split a pair of matches with UC-Santa Cruz No. 1 Bryan Pybas, and lost close decisions to Tommy Meyer and Andrew Giuffrida, the No. 1 players at Pomona-Pitzer and Cal Lutheran, respectively.

Solomon was named NWC Player of the Week three times during the spring season. His latest Player-of-the-Year award, announced at the NWC post-season tournament in April, makes him only the second Whitman player to twice take home the honor.

Whitman's Tim Mullin was a two-time winner earlier this decade. The NWC began giving the award in the early 1990s.

Solomon, who earned All-NWC Second-Team honors as a freshman, was named NWC Player of the Year for the first time at the end of his sophomore season. He took a one-semester leave of absence from Whitman last spring and helped Boise State make the Round of 16 in the NCAA Division I team championships.

Matt Solomon

"As a player Matt is probably Whitman's most decorated male athlete of the past 25 years, but he is also one of the most outstanding young men to ever play tennis here," Whitman tennis coachJeff Northam says.

"He obviously had a tremendous impact on the courts, but the leadership he gave our team was just as important."

Solomon, an economics major, is a "serious student who was recently named to the NWC's Scholar-Athlete Team," Northam adds. "He's been very involved on campus, contributing time to the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, his fraternity, the school newspaper and the Whitman Investment Club. He also took time from his busy schedule to mentor students at a local elementary school."

"Matt has been a very special part of the Whitman community," Northam says. "I can think of no other player who embodies all the characteristics represented by the Borleske Trophy. I just wish Matt could stay at Whitman for four more years to help mentor and inspire his teammates."

Solomon, a graduate of St. Stephen's Episcoal School in Austin, Texas, is the son of Joanand Murray Solomon of Los Gatos, Calif.

The Borleske Trophy honors Raymond V. Borleske, who achieved legendary status as an athlete and later as a coach at Whitman during the first half of the 20th century. He starred on Whitman's football and baseball teams, and he was the first football player from the Northwest to be recognized by Walter Camp's Spaulding Football Guide.

After graduating from Whitman and earning a law degree, Borleske returned to campus in 1915 to begin a coaching career that continued until 1947.

For a complete listing of past Borleske Trophy winners, please click here.

Whitman Athletic Banquet

Last week was the Whitman athletic banquet. This is a wonderful event where all of Whitman's athletes (about 20% of the student body) gather to celebrate the year in sports. It is very fun to mingle with other teams, see the accomplishments of all Whitman sports, watch the slide/video show, and be apart of the outstanding athlete awards.

The highlight of the evening is Whitman's version of the "ESPies." Student-athletes are nominated in different categories and the coaching staff votes for a winner. Tennis players were nominated for the following awards:

Freshman male athlete of the year: Jeffrey Tolman

Sophomore male athlete of the year: Conor Holton-Burke

Junior male athlete of the year: Etienne Moshevich, Chris Bailey

Senior male athlete of the year: Christoph Fuchs

Borleske award: Matt Solomon

Matt Solomon won the coveted Borleske award. This award is giving to the outstanding male athlete/leader/student at Whitman. Matt certainly earned this award -- besides being Whitman's most decorated modern athlete (3 time singles All-American, 3 time doubles All-American, 2 time NWC Player of the Year), he volunteers his times at local elementary schools, has been active on SAAC (student athletic advisory council), is business manager for the school newspaper, CFO for WIC (Whitman investment club), and even performed in the Mr Whitman competition. Wow, Matt has done it all and is deserving of this very prestigious award!

Kudos to Christoph Fuchs and Conor Holton-Burke for being listed among the top 5 GPA's. It makes me proud to think that two tennis players were listed among the top 5 student athlete GPA's at Whitman!

Speaking of academics, a number of Whitman players were named to the NWC All-Academic team: Matt Solomon, Etienne Moshevich, Chris Bailey, Christoph Fuchs, Conor Holton-Burke, and Thomas Roston (hopefully I didn't forget anyone). It speaks volumes about the dedication of the men's tennis team when 5 of our top 6 players have a GPA over a 3.5!

Lastly the team was nominated and received the George Ball Award for Sportsmanship. This is given to a team that competes with class and is supportive of other teams on campus. Absolutely incredible to win the award named after the man who has given so much time and guidance to our team!

Squirrel's Season Stymied

Our foray into the national tournament was ended at the hands of the #3 team in the nation and host Claremont. In doubles we never got our teeth into #2 and #3 doubles and quickly went down breaks. All the doubles ended with a minute of each other..first off was #3 Christoph Fuchs/Conor Holton-Burke who lost 8-4, next off was our number #2 team of Nadeem Kassam/Jeffrey Tolman who also lost 8-4, our #1 team of Matt Solomon/Etienne Moshevich had a several chances to break but ended up losing 8-6.

Down 0-3 against the #3 team in the nation isn't the way to start the singles. We had plenty of fight and spunk but couldn't pull out any singles victories. At #3 ET was a few points from winning his match (6-2, 5-1) but we dropped two singles matches (#2 Jeffrey Tolman and #6 Conor Holton-Burke) sealing the match 0-5.

I'm beginning to feel a bit jinxed about the national tournament. Each of the past 4 years our loses have been at the hands of the eventual regional champion (yesterday CMS defeated #6 UC Santa Cruz to win the West Regional).

Interesting story for the trip. Because of the short turn around time between team selection and the start of play there wasn't a flight available with enough seats for the entire team. To make the trip work Women's coach John Hein drove us to Pasco where part of the team was going to fly Pasco->Seattle->Ontario and the other part was going to fly Pasco->Denver->Ontario. However the Seattle flight was canceled due to mechanical problems. We were able to get four members of the team onto the Denver flight but three players had to stay in Pasco. Lucky Nadeem, ET, and Adriel all have extensive travel experience and were able to work their way to Ontario. However the trio didn't arrive until midnight which didn't allow them any practice time after a long day of travel.

Thus concludes the team season for the Fighting Squirrels. Great year for the team -- we once again won over 20 matches, went undefeated in conference play, won the NWC team tournament, and advanced to the NCAA tournament.

On the road again

Wow talk about a crazy couple days! Have a lot to tell about Whitman tennis: athletic awards, dinner with President Bridges, NCAA tournament preview, article on Christoph and more! Over the next couple days I'll try to an update on the team.

We (at least most of us) are currently waiting at the Pasco airport to fly to Claremont for a 4-team regional playoff. The NCAA, in their wisdom, decided to have a 4-team regional event (there are 42 teams total) that has the #3 team in the nation (Claremont), #5 team (Cal Lutheran), #6 (UC Santa Cruz) and us at #22...kind of a brutal region. At least one other regional event only has 1 ranked team.

At the last minute the NCAA also deviated from the published Friday-Saturday schedule and moved our tournament to Thursday-Friday. This has created some travel issues for us and have had to split the team into two different flights today. Even with the travel headaches and rushed scheduling we are looking forward to the opportunity of proving ourselves against the best teams in the nation.

We are scheduled to play at 11am tomorrow and I'll try to twitter match updates as I can. Sorry for any spelling or grammar errors in this post but we are getting ready to board the plane!

Waiting

Sorry for the lack of posts but we are currently in limbo as we wait to see where the NCAA will send us for nationals. At this point all we know is the NCAA has to fly us to some regional tournament next weekend. The past two years we have been shipped to California, three years ago we were shipped out to Indiana, and before that we traveled to Texas.

The NCAA committee meets all day Sunday and I should get a call that evening with our destination. I'll post the location and match-ups as soon as I know!