Westview Match Report

Friday night we won the insanely close match, Saturday morning we dropped one. All that you need to hear about this match can be summed up by this: We played extremely well against a very good team, but lost 2-3 with losing two third set tiebreaks.

At number two doubles, Daniel and Mikey continued their domination. Playing against a very different style, they were able to make the adjustments necessary to take the win. Westview duo of Alejandro Matin and Mitch Miller began to throw up high lobs in order to deal with the net attacking prowess of the Bruin team. While making some great overheads, Daniel and Mikey also used calm and powerful groundstrokes to drive the Warriors further and further back into the court until a final volley or (as on the last point) a drop shot overhead ended the rally.

At number one doubles, Johnny and Jeremy struggled to find a solid rhythm as the excellent play of the Warrior doubles team often kept them in baseline rallies instead of net battles like the Bruins would prefer. This Warrior team was one of the better teams we've seen this year, with smooth groundstrokes and timely attacks. They simply came out and played a better match. Johnny and Jeremy made several charges and put together a couple of good games in a row, but couldn't find the sustainable formula to crack through for a win.

Jonny Shenk again cruised through number three singles. I'll just take this time to point out that aside from Andre Moore from Concord, Jonny has not lost at the number three position this year. Oh by the way, Moore is undefeated at his three position all year. So, it's an understatement to say Jonny is doing well this season. In this match he took care of a younger opponent, Nick Pfenning, in a similar style to most of his matches. Consistent groundstrokes and powerful passing shots or delicate lobs, that is the order of Jonny's game. It is hard for many opponent's to find a kink in Jonny's armor when he is full of energy and playing well. It was good to get the solid win from Jonny at this spot.

Jared Schwartzentruber started slowly in his match. Sophomore Steve Blinco kept the ball deceptively low to the ground and ran down every single shot that Jared hit, no matter how good that shot was. Jared lost the first set, but in the second set found himself stepping up into every shot and forcing many more errors from Blinco, as well as finishing points at the net better. Jared showed that he could be the better player in this match in the second set, winning it 6-0. This sent the match into a third set tiebreak. Jared seemed to have the momentum and I felt pretty solid about his chances in the breaker, but Blinco picked his game back up to the first set level. Taking a little lead, Blinco built it little by little until he was up 8-4. Then Jared closed it down, playing some wonderful points to get to 8-7. A nice play by Blinco made it 9-7, and then on match point Jared hit a very good approach shot and came to the net. Blinco attempted to pass him down the line but hit the top of the net. However, it bounced up over Jared's racket and Jared could not adjust in time. It was a really unfortunate way to end the match.

Meanwhile, Luke was battling intensely with senior Steffen Good at number one singles. In a back and forth match, the first set had entered a tiebreak just as Jared had entered his third set tiebreak. Luke fought back and forth with Good as the Westview number one blasted forehand after forehand and Luke continued to put the ball back. But the attacking nature of the Warrior player gave him the first set in the tiebreak. Luke's persistence paid off in the second set however, as Luke took control of the match by holding onto his serve and finding the one break of serve he needed to win the set 6-3. This sent the match into a tiebreak. Good led almost the entire tiebreak. 1-0, then Luke tied it 1-1. 2-1 then Luke tied it 2-2. All the way to 8-8. In these points, Luke chased down shot after shot, forced Good to attack, hit passing shots, watched errors fly long, saw a second serve hit over the top of the fence, and on and on. It was a great match-up. Finally, with Good leading 9-8, Good approached wide to Luke's forehand with a bullet of a shot. Luke slid to get to it but could not put it back in play.

I can't say how proud I was of the way Luke played in his match. That what makes it all the harder to swallow. If he had played bad it would almost be easier to move on, but honestly, I somehow feel like we deserved to win this match. And yet we didn't. These are the frustrating emotions that tennis season make us deal with. And they are life's emotions as well. That's what I love about tennis, about sports in general. It's real.


There were moments of beauty in so many matches. To be honest, I'm writing this on Monday morning and having trouble remembering anything specific. Two points I do remember... Mikey's finishing touch at two doubles. It was a long point in which Westview lobbed and lobbed and lobbed again. Daniel was deep returning the lobs with good groundstrokes, forehands mainly and after one particularly good shot he came to the net. Westview's next lob was a little short and Mikey called Daniel off, then moved forward to smash it. Except he didn't, he dinked it barely over the net for the winning point.

The other point I remember is not anything specific, but it was in Luke's tiebreak, in the third set. Luke ran down several big shots, and eventually hit a passing shot that Good could not deal with and hit into the net. Luke got pumped and punched the air with emotion as the crowd erupted. It was an awesome experience.

Scores

Luke Hostetter - 6-7 (3), 6-3, 8-10 - Steffen Good (12)
Jared Schwartzentruber - 2-6, 6-0, 7-10 - Steve Blinco (10)
Jonny Shenk - 6-2, 6-0 - Nick Pfenning (10)
Johnny Kauffman/Jeremy Thomas - 2-6, 2-6 - Zack Lee (12)/Zac Mishler (10)
Daniel Buschert/Mikey Kelly - 6-2, 6-3 - Alejandro Matin (11)/Mitch Miller (12)