Whitties sweep weekend

On Friday the "Fighting Squirrels" kicked off conference play with a 9-0 victory over University of Puget Sound. The #2 doubles combo of Justin "Hiyo" Hayashi and Dan "Mr ATT" Wilson got us rolling with a quick 8-0 win. We struggled a bit in the other doubles matches but pulled through with a 8-5 win at #1 (ET and Nadeem) and 8-4 at #3 (Jake and Chris). 

In singles Mr ATT (aka Dan) played like a man who had to make an important call cruising through a 6-0, 6-0 victory at #3 singles. Not to be outdone Chris Bailey posted a 6-0, 6-0 victory at #1 singles. This victory was especially sweet for Chris since his opponent was a NWC 1st Team All-Conference selection from 2008. In other singles Jake battled through a case of nerves posting a 6-3, 6-3 victory at #2, Quin held on for a 6-0, 6-4 win at #4, Nadeem worked hard for a 6-2, 6-4 win at #5 and Christoph completed the sweep with a 6-1, 6-2 win at #6. 

Whitman 9 UPS 0 Match Scores

Saturday morning was the "BIG" morning -- a match with our rival PLU. College football has their rivalry weekend the NWC conference has Whitman VS PLU tennis shootout. Make no doubt about it, this was a big match for both teams. A early season victory by either team sets the tone for the rest of the year. Last year we were able to get the Lutes 3 times (6-3, 9-0, 8-1). However this year the Lutes picked-up another DI transfer giving them one of the best #1, #2 tandems in the conference.  To make matters worse we lost our #1 and #2 players from last year. In a sport of match-ups losing or gaining a player at the top positions can have a huge impact on the outcome.

Doubles was a see-saw affair with Whitman gaining early breaks at #2 and #3 doubles. #1 doubles was a battle with neither game gaining any break points until mid-way through the match. Unlike #1 doubles, #3 doubles was a regular feast for the returners. In fact at one-time that match saw 7 consecutive breaks of serve! In all my years of coaching I don't think I've seen that many breaks of serves. Nadeem/ET were the first off at #1 doubles winning 8-5, the early morning break feast at #3 doubles ended with Justin/Dan pulling out a 8-6 victory, and Christoph/Quin never looked back at #2 doubles winning 8-5.

Going up 3-0 after doubles is HUGE. However we know from past experience that the match was far from over. Two years ago we dug ourselves into a 0-4 hole against PLU and managed to win the final 5 matches. Knowing anything can happen everyone took to the courts knowing that each individual singles match was important.

The top two singles matches were outright slug fests. All 4 players were absolutely crushing the ball. Normally we use the match balls for practice. However the balls from these matches were so worn out we just threw them away! At #1 singles ET showed the heart of lion pulling at 4-6, 6-3, 10-6 victory. After recovering from a shoulder injury ET is playing with passion, intensity and most importantly a renewed love of the game. At #2 singles Chris had the task of playing PLU's new DI transfer Joel Trudel. Chris picked up where he left off on Friday winning the first set 6-2. However Mr Trudel showed he is the real deal battling back for a 6-1, 10-5 victory (PLU's only point of the day).

If I had to pick an "MVP" for the day it would be Jake. Against UPS the previous night, Jake struggled with his serve and played very tentative. I was worried how he would react to a very good PLU opponent (another DI transfer). I was proud of how hard he competed, his attitude and intensity on court. In fact Jake was the first singles off the court with a 6-3, 6-3 victory giving us a 4-0 lead. Mr ATT (Dan) overcame an early break clinching the team match with 7-5, 6-2 victory. Numbers 5 and 6 stayed true to form with Quin and Christoph picking up straight set victories.

Also getting in the action was Conor Holton-Burke playing an exhibition against another new PLU transfer. It was great to see Conor battle through a major case of the nerves beating a very good PLU player in 3 though sets.

We now take two weeks off before returning to competition against Pacific and George Fox.

Whitman 8 PLU 1 

Whitties start the season 1-1

0810 Tennis-Fuchs.GL133
Originally uploaded by jeffnortham

The Whitties opened their schedule on Saturday with a double header vs NAIA power Lewis-Clark State College and DI Idaho. Our recent matches against LCSC have been competitive. In fact last year we lost a heartbreak 5-4 to the Warriors. This year we were able to turn the tables with a narrow 5-4 win.

In doubles the #2 team of Christoph Fuchs and Quin Miller powered to a quick 8-0. At #3 Dan Wilson and Justin Hayashi posted a solid 8-2 victory. We couldn't compete the doubles sweep as Etienne Moshevich and Nadeem Kassam lost 8-3.

In singles I was very proud of hard the guys competed. Most of the matches could of gone either way and we were able to win 2 of the matches in 3 sets. Perhaps the most gratifying match of the day was Etienne's 3 set win at #1 singles to clinch the team victory. Last year at this same time ET suffered a major shoulder injury that forced him out of tennis for the rest of the year. He has worked incredibly hard on his shoulder rehabilitation and is playing/competing incredibly hard.

Match results
Doubles
#1 Moshevich/Kassam lost Dufour/Berhane 8-3
#2 Miller/Fuchs def Mermut/Stone 8-0
#3 Hayashi/Wilson def Chong/Nibley 8-2
Singles
#1 Moshevich def Dufour 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
#2 Bailey lost Berhane 6-4, 7-6
#3 Wilson def Stone 6-2, 7-6
#4 Hayashi def Mermut 6-4, 1-6, 4-4 ret injury
#5 Kassam lost Chong 7-5, 6-2
#6 Cappel lost Nibley 6-3, 1-6, 10-8

Immediately following the LCSC match we took to the courts to play a very tough Idaho team. Being DI, Idaho is able to offer athletic scholarships and fields a team with a very international flavor. Also 3 of their players have earned ATP points.

Because we were playing back-to-back matches I rotated the line-up to keep people fresh and to give more players match opportunities. Even though we got swept 7-0 (DI scoring) highlights of the day were Christoph's and Adriel's singles matches. Both matches were close 3 set affairs that could of gone either way.

Match results
Doubles
#1 Miller/Fuchs lost Kuzntsov/Joitoiv 8-5
#2 Kassam/Cappel lost Huynh/Chalkley 8-2
#3 Bailey/Borshansky lost Shin/Glukhov 8-2

Singles
#1 Bailey lost Joitoiv 6-4, 6-1
#2 Wilson lost Glukhov 6-1, 6-1
#3 Fuchs lost Huynh 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
#4 Miller lost Chalkley 6-2, 6-0
#5 Follows lost Shin 6-0, 6-3
#6 Borshansky lost McDonald 3-6, 7-5, 10-6

Mens tennis Fall GPA!

David
Originally uploaded by jeffnortham

WOW, I'm absolutely floored at last semester's team GPA. I'm used to the guys pumping out high numbers, but last semester was the highest team GPA ever...a whopping 3.6!

As you can see from the picture even Jasper and David spent time studying while at Roland Garros this Fall!

Updated Stats

On the right side of the blog are links to updated (after last season) stats for last year and career records. The career page has several different sheet that are sorted by different fields. 

For those readers that receive updates via email here is the direct link to:

Career Stats

2007-2008 season

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Carving 2008

Yesterday was the annual Men's tennis pumpkin carving competition. The winners are picked by my 10 year old son and 6 year old daughter. Justin Hayashi used his 3 years of carving experience to good use and designed the pumpkin Pac-Man. Obviously this was hit with my son who immediately picked it as his favorite pumpkin.

My daughter, on the other hand, had a much more difficult time choosing which pumpkin was her favorite. After all there were so many quality pumpkins to choose from. In the end she picked Quin's "Turkey in Space" Pumpkin.

Congratulations to Justin, Matt and Quin for their victorious pumpkins.

Here is a link to pictures from the competition. 

Play in day at the ITAs

Today was the play-in day for the ITA Small College National Championships. The ITA Small College Championships is an 8 person/team draw. However because of geographic issues the winners of the Northwest and Southwest regions play-off a day early to determine the 8th tournament spot. These play off matches are pressure packed -- win and you are guaranteed 3 matches, lose and you out of the tournament.

Day started off well for Whitman as Matt Solomon played solid tennis defeating the #1 player from Trinity 6-4, 7-6. Matt showed great composure rallying from 1-5 down in the 2nd (including a match point) to win the match. Hats off to Matt for keeping his composure and battling back against tough odds to beat a talented opponent.

In the afternoon match Matt and Etienne Moshevich faced off against a fiesty #1 doubles team from Trinity. In the first set the Fighting Squirrels started off strong going up a quick break. However the Trinity team fought their way back into the match and served for the 1st set at 6-5. At this point Matt and ET played a brilliant return game sending the 1st set into a breaker. In the breaker it was all Whitman as Matt and ET cruised to a 7-3 victory. However the Trinity team stepped up their play winning the second set 6-4. At the ITA's doubles is determined by a match breaker in the third set. Matt and ET started off strong and took an early 5-2 lead. However the Trinity duo when on a streak bombing in 1st serves and crushing every return they laid a racket on. Their strong play lead to a 10-7 tie break victory.

Tomorrow at 8:30am Matt playes against the #1 from Gustavus Aldophus. I will try to send twitter updates to the blog after each set. 

ITA Tournament Results

Just wrapped up a wet weekend of play at the Northwest ITA Regional Tournament. Its been a long three day tournament (Saturday - Monday) and its too late to do a full tournament write-up. 

Basically the Whitties had an amazing tournament. Even with most of the top players in the conference competing, the Whitman men dominated the tournament. In fact the semi's of singles and doubles were comprised entirely of Whitman players!

In singles Matt Solomon successfully defended his title dropping only 1 set (to teammate Nadeem Kassam) enroute to his second consectutive title.  In the semi's Matt defeated teammate Quin Miller 6-1, 6-2. Quin had an outstanding tournament defeating the #3 seed (#1 player from Linfield) and the #1 player from Whitworth before losing to Matt in the Semis. In tonight's final, Matt defeated doubles partner Etienne Moshevich 6-4, 6-4. 

In doubles Matt and Etienne defeated Christoph Fuchs and Quin Miller 6-1, 6-2. Kudos to Christoph and Quin who knocked off the #2 seed, #7 seed, and the #3 seed before losing to Matt and ET in the finals.

Other Whitties who had a great tournament include semi-finalist Chris Bailey (who lost to ET in 3 tough sets), Christoph Fuchs who lost to Bailey in the Quarters, Dan Wilson who lost to the Whitworth #1 in the round of 16, and Nadeem Kassam who lost to Matt in the quarters. 

One of the big suprises of the tournament was play of freshman Adriel Borshansky who defeated the #2 seed (and #1 player from PLU) in the 2nd round of the tournament.  Adriel showed composure beyond his years winning 6-3, 4-6, 12-10 against a seasoned DI transfer.

Singles draws can be found here

Doubles draws can be found here

Next week Matt and ET represent the Northwest region in the ITA Small College National Championships in Mobile, AL.