Jimtown Match Report

This wrapped up a historic day for the Bruins, as this victory marked the first time in program history that we have defeated Jimtown. It's also the first time that we have won two matches at the Concord Invitational, but I can tell you that the main thought in my head as I watched this final match was, "Oh my goodness, it is freakin' hot!"

In the 90 degree heat, playing on the sun-drenched hardcourts, Bethany Christian tennis conditioning was put to the test, and I'd say we passed. The Bruins pulled out a 4-1 win over the Jimmies, in what was a draining match to play and even to watch.

Luke cruised to a straight sets win over junior Matt Candler. Candler looked like the sun and previous matches had taken a lot out of him, and while Luke wasn't 100%, his quality of play stayed high. Luke was able to attack the net repeatedly and make great volleys to take the win in quick fashion, which I'm sure pleased him. That way he could go find shade.

Jared Schwartzentruber picked up his third win of the day against another Jimtown junior, Shane Cook. Again, Jared's consistency and timely attacking put off the Jimmies number two player. This match was almost a carbon copy of Jared's Concord match, except that his Jimtown opponent didn't get quite as mad and didn't yell near as much.

Jonny Shenk battled against two opponents, junior Bret Giddings and sun-induced faintness to win his long match. Jonny's strokes tightened up quite a bit in this match as fatigue really set in. After winning the first set 6-4, a weakened Jonny fell behind 4-1 in the second. Then Giddings had physical problems of his own, falling down with a large cramp in his right leg. But Jonny still couldn't come back to take the second set, which forced another tiebreaker. Jonny was the fresher, and still uncramped, in the tiebreaker, and won it in relative ease.

One doubles was the closest, and I'm sure Jeremy will tell you the most frustrating, match of the day. Playing powerful seniors Tyler Wallin and Jake Smith, Jeremy and Johnny took the first set 6-4. In impressive fashion they jumped out to a lead in the second set as well. Serving for the match at 5-4, they took a forty-love lead to ensure triple match point. But a combination of hesitation, tentativeness, and good play by their opponents saw them drop the next five points to lose the game. Buoyed by this comeback, the Jimtown pair began to play excellent tennis with very few mistakes. They ended up taking the match in a tiebreak.

At number two doubles, Mikey Kelly and Daniel Buschert got back to the winning ways they had established at the end of last year. In two quick sets they got a victory over Josh George and Tyler Forgey. The match looked a confident one from the pair, with Mikey serving well and Daniel taking care of groundstrokes and volleys. It is good to see them reunited for a win for me as the coach. I think they'll have a real successful year at two doubles.


Sometimes opponents frustration can be beautiful, and that's what I felt in this match. In a tired match that lacked a lot of forceful winners or creative plays, I thought that Bethany did a great job of playing consistently despite the heat and tiring muscles. This forced Jimtown to make a lot of shots, and they couldn't come up with them in some pressure situations. My favorite example of this came in Luke Hostetter's number one singles match, in the second set. Luke served and Matt Candler returned the ball and the point went on with Luke keeping the ball kind of deep in the court and forcing several returns from the junior. Then Luke sliced the ball deep into Candler left-handed forehand and came to the net. Frustrated at the way the match had been going (he was down 4-1 at this point), tensed by Luke's net approach, and tired from the day, Candler lashed out at his forehand. It went far wide, actually hitting the side fence on the fly. Candler turned and put his head in his hands, while behind him Luke limped back toward the baseline. Hurray for outlasting!

Scores

Luke Hostetter - 6-1, 6-1 - Matt Candler (11)
Jared Schwartzentruber - 6-1, 6-2 - Shane Cook (11)
Jonny Shenk - 6-4, 3-6, (10-5) - Bret Giddings (11)
Johnny Kauffman/Jeremy Thomas - 6-4, 6-7 (4), (5-10) - Jake Smith (12)/Tyler Wallin (12)
Daniel Buschert/Mikey Kelly - 6-1, 6-2 - Josh George (12)/Tyler Forgey (11)