Fairfield Sectional Match Report

This match did not start out so hot. And I mean that literally, it was about 35 degrees when we started warming up. And I mean that figuratively, as the pressure of the moment and the attacking play of the Falcons both surprised us and threw our games into disarray. But at the end of the day, when the pressured mounted the most and we found ourselves in real trouble, we came back to play the type of tennis we've played all year and were blessed with the ability to pull it out.

Two weeks ago, on senior night, we beat Fairfield 5-0. That night felt great, but I knew even then that it might set us up for failure in this match. Last year, we had lost to the Falcons 0-5, then come back to defeat them in the first round of sectionals 3-2. I was scared of the reverse happening, that they would have nothing to lose and would play great tennis, and that we would have something to lose and play tight tennis. I was right to be scared.

At the beginning of the match it didn't look too dire. Luke jumped out to an early lead at number one, Jared jumped out to an early lead at number two, and Mikey and Daniel took the lead at number three. Number one doubles and number three singles were very close, but it looked like we might comfortably win three matches. While I wasn't pleased about dropping the the points at one doubles and three singles, I also knew that in sectionals, it's all about just getting the win.

Luke Hostetter played fantastic against sophomore number one Wyatt Stutzman. Controlling many of the points Luke moved Stutzman back and forth across the court with precision, working the ball until Stutzman put it out of play. This steady match strategy saw Luke take control of the match as well. He sailed through both sets and took a solid 6-1, 6-2 victory.

The other number one spot, Johnny Kauffman and Jeremy Thomas, struggled mightily to find some consistent attacking. There opponents, juniors Josh Beck and Derick Troeger, played a great match, with a lot of consistency that forced Johnny and Jeremy to be powerful and precise with their finishing skills. Johnny and Jeremy often found themselves retreating from the net after lobs and groundstroked more than they would have liked to. Beck and Troeger took advantage of the lobs to move into good net position as well, and unfortunately deflated the Bruin team with good attacking shots when unexpected. Johnny and Jeremy were unable to upend the energy of the confident Falcon team, and fell 4-6, 2-6.

At three singles, Fairfield had a position that just came out swinging. Malachi Randolph played one of the best matches I've seen all year from a three singles player and just stroked the ball all around the court. He also put the pressure on Jonny Shenk by attacking the net when he had the chance. Jonny lost the first set 3-6. In the second he mounted a charge. Down 1-4, he pulled the score back to 4-5 with a combination of great passing shots and errors from Randolph as he got tight at the opportunity to close out the match. However, after a long game, Randolph was able to close out the match 3-6, 4-6.

That left the Falcons with two wins, Bruins only one. We had to have the two positions that were left on the courts. Fortunately, they were the positions that have been the strongest, record wise, for us all season. Unfortunately, they were playing opponents who were on their games, while they were fighting nerves and tension.

Jared Schwartzentruber had continued his stellar play of late in taking the first set 6-3 from senior Brock Bechtel. In the second set, Bechtel began to pick up his attacking play and really hit through his forehand. Jared struggled with footwork and consistency, often taking Bechtel's hard hit forehands too late and dropping them in the net or having them fly just long. Soon Jared found himself down 2-5. After a quick pep talk, the rhythm of the game changed. Jared began to be the aggressor (a must in closing out matches) and this turned the entire look of the match. Jared pulled back to 5-5 and there was a close game at 5-5. Then a score disagreement happened. Jared lost a point and Bechtel claimed it was the end of the game. Jared had believed that the loss sent the game back to deuce. Jared was certain of his call, but couldn't remember how the points had gone. Bechtel had called out 40-15 and then 40-30, and believed that since Jared played the points he agreed with the score. Eventually Jared conceded, but had to deal with believing he was correct. With the score now 5-6, Jared lost the second set, and headed to a third. Meanwhile...

Two doubles had also closed out their first set 6-3. They then took a 3-2 lead in the second before frustration and an interesting doubles strategy from the Falcons began to tear at them. The Falcons decided to abandon hope of taking the net and have one of their players back at all times ready to simply lob the ball into the air and hope for the Bruins to make errors. And errors we did make. A simple fact of tennis is that you will make errors when going for aggressive shots. But the Mikey and Daniel were already feeling pressure, and therefore didn't deal with the errors well. As the frustration mounted, confidence dwindled, and the Falcons were able to seal the second set 6-4.

The third set started in a bright way for the Bruins, winning the first game and settling the nerves for Bruins fans and coaches. What happened next would put everybody back on edge. The same strategy for the Falcons, put the ball in the air and let them make mistakes. The same results as the end of the second set, as Fairfield reeled off 5 straight games to take a 5-1 lead in the third and deciding set. A win at two doubles would seal the team match for Fairfield.

I must admit, it was at this point that Renae, our high school math teacher, passed by and asked how I was doing. I turned to her and said, "I think we're about to see a lot of people crying." She asked if that included me. I said, "Yep."

But I was a little premature in my tear prediction. Somehow, Mikey and Daniel loosened up. They won the next game at love to make the score 2-5. They won the next game at love to make the score 3-5. They won the next game at love and it was 4-5. All the sudden the Bruins had momentum. Another game in which they didn't face a game and match point and it was tied at 5-5. It looked like we were going to roll into the lead. We didn't. Fairfield rallied and took the next game, and we found ourselves looking at the end of the match once again. But an extremely well played service game that went to deuce found the match set for a tiebreaker.

Mikey's booming serve opened the tiebreaker for a 1-0 Bruins lead. Two points for the Falcons gave them the 2-1 advantage. Then a Daniel overhead put us at 2-2. Then things started happening. Daniel and Mikey loosened up again, and played aggressive, and won four straight points. Now we had a match point. It was a long way back from being down 1-5 in the third. After Mikey tried to win it with two big serves, he was able to instead end it on a stretching, well placed, cross-court lob. Tiebreak heros for the Bruins, disappointment for the Falcons.

Now the match was 2-2 and we raced down to see how Jared was getting on in the third set. As we settled in, Jared switched sides, and switched the scoreboard. 5-0 in his favor. After a somewhat tense game, Jared finished out the match, and the team match, sealing victory for the Bruins.

It was exhausted and unbelievable. And it felt like a blessing to be done and to move on. We now know what it means when people say tournament time isn't for winning pretty, but just to survive and advance. On a cold, cold day we survived and moved on to the afternoon. I've got to give a lot of credit to Fairfield, they played excellent. I gave a sigh of relief, it was good to be back in the sectional final.


Jared had a point that I believed summed up this whole match for us. He attacked the net with a great cross-court approach and found himself with an overhead. He pounded the overhead deep and then high into Brock Bechtel's court. This was like the way we started the match, winning the first set at three positions. But Bechtel climbed the fence and through up another lob. Jared hit this with another overhead. But Bechtel got this one back to and actually over Jared's head. This was just like the match in which the Falcons would not quit or give up (and they lobbed a lot too). Finally, it looked like Bechtel had gotten the upper hand as Jared dropped the ball short and Bechtel ripped an approach into Jared's backhand corner. This was like how the Bruin's backs were against the wall in many matches. But boom, Jared slammed a backhand cross-court and just inside the line that Bechtel just watched fly by. It landed in and Jared sealed the point, just like how we were able to pull it out.

Scores

Luke Hostetter - 6-1, 6-2 - Wyatt Stutzman (10)
Jared Schwartzentruber - 6-3, 5-7, 6-0 - Brock Bechtel (12)
Jonny Shenk - 3-6, 4-6 - Malachi Randolph (10)
Johnny Kauffman/Jeremy Thomas - 4-6, 2-6 - Josh Beck (11)/Derick Troeger (11)
Daniel Buschert/Mikey Kelly - 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (3) - Jordan Garber (12)/Derek Thwaits (11)