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

Getting Ready For The Weekend

The Fighting Squirrels of Whitman College (aka the Men's tennis team) is getting ready for a weekend of interesting and intense play. On Sunday we take on University of Montana at 10am at home (Bratton Tennis Center). Its not often that a DI come through town and we are looking forward to playing the Grizz. Hopefully the Squirrels can out scamper and outhustle the powerful Grizzlies! Also on Sunday at 10am we will be playing conference opponent UPS at UPS. 

For those keeping track that is two matches at the same time at different locations! Coach Ann will be working with one group of guys at home and I'll be taking another group to Tacoma. I'm nervous about playing two good teams at the same time. However it will be a great challenge for our team and everyone will get to play meaningful matches.

Last weekend we had a similiar split squad stragety against George Fox and Pacific. The Squirrels really stepped up to the plate defeating both George Fox and Pacific 9-0. Click the links below for match scores.

Whitman 9 George Fox 0

Whitman 9 Pacific 0

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!