Wednesday Opponent Overview: Goshen

Last Season Review
Goshen ended their team season last year in the first round of Sectional. A 3-2 loss to Jimtown saw them finish at 6-10 on the season. In the Northern Lakes Conference tourney, they were able to finish 6th, but had one position that finished as champions. That position was #1 doubles, where seniors Ryan Wengerd and Mac Hussey powered their way to a conference and Sectional title. Hussey and Wengerd had started the season at #1S and #2S respectively, but after an unsuccessful team start joined to become an All-District doubles team. Besides their 1st place finish, the rest of the varsity finished 6th, 7th, 5th and 5th in the NLC Championships. In the Sectional, Goshen was able to capture #2S and #1D, but lost the other three spots in their elimination. Beyond the two seniors, the team had been extremely young, with only one junior and many freshman and sophomores. It was a tough season record wise, but valuable experience was gained.

Returning Varsity Players
Andy Van Klaveren - Van Klaveren started the season playing #3 singles, as the Redskins tried to work out their lineup to figure out the best way to compete. When we played them, Van Klaveren took on Jonny Shenk. The match consisted of a close first set which Van Klaveren won 7-5. Then Jonny began to play the smaggressive style of tennis that won him 17 matches on the season, and won the last two sets 6-0, 6-0. Van Klaveren later shifted to #1 singles when Hussey and Wengerd were joined at #1 doubles. While he faced very stiff competition in the Northern Lakes Conference and didn't get too many wins, the experience of playing stars like Deon Shafer and Preston Swain will certainly have Andy better prepared for this season. I expect that Van Klaveren will be one of the better players in the Sectional this season.

Stefan Baumgartner - Another player affected by the lineup shuffling, Stefan played #1 doubles against us in early August and then finished the season with a run playing #2 singles. He also faced up against Seth Krabill during the summer season. Seth won in a long, close match. During the season, Stefan and Jonny Tan pushed Mikey Kelly and Jeremy Thomas in the first set, as Mikey played his first match returning from hand surgery. Stefan was definitely the most consistent player of the two, and had been two years ago when he pushed us to three sets in the Sectional semi-final. Another player that I lose specifics of when watching play doubles, I expect that, similarly to Andy Van Klaveren, this end of the season experience will make him a solid #2 singles player this year. He is also a good example of the type of player that we will have to be better than if we want to win big matches, or compete for the Sectional.

Seth Koble - A freshman last year, Koble was thrust into the varsity spotlight from the beginning of the season. The season saw him improve, and also shift from #2 doubles to #3 singles. Like many of the singles players at Goshen, Koble struggled with the stiff competition of the NLC. But by the NLC tournament, he was able to take home 5th place.

Jonny Tan - A sophomore playing his first year of varsity, Tan started at #1 doubles and ended the season at #2 doubles. Against us, Mikey and Jeremy had a difficult time finding Tan and Baumgartner's weaknesses. In that match, I felt like Tan lacked a real weapon with which to attack, but did everything else well. I didn't get to see many of the matches throughout the rest of the year, so I'm not sure how his game progressed. With new partner Collin Erickson, he was able to capture fifth at the NLC Championships.

Paul Johnson - Johnson played #2 doubles at the beginning of the season, and lost with Seth Koble to Daniel Buschert and Seth Krabill. By the NLC Championships, he was no longer representing the varsity. In that match, Koble and Johnson had put up little resistance. But then again, Daniel did win 20 matches at his position, so it may have had a little to do with that.

Collin Erickson - I never got to see Collin Erickson play this season, and so I don't know really anything about him other than that he partnered Jonny Tan in the NLC Championships. They did well enough to finish higher than NorthWood, Wawasee, and Memorial.

Other Possible 2009 Varsity Contributors

Nick Dandino - lost 0-6, 0-6 to Ben Mast
Alex Johnson - lost 0-8 to Matthew Amstutz, defeated Matt Ebersole 8-3

Outlook
The key question for Goshen will be what did last year's experience mean for the underclassmen. It could have provided them with a valuable look at what it means to be an excellent player, and therefore motivated them to work to reach that level. Also, it could have been demoralizing and undermined their will to work and desire to achieve. I know that Andy Van Klaveren has been hitting at Maple City Racquet Club, so for at least one of these contributors, last season is pushing his desire to succeed. However, it will take the whole team working hard for them to be successful. Coach Scott Miller is a great coach, and so one would think that this team will rally around and improve this year.

Blessing
I don't want to sound pompous or whatever, offering a blessing for every team and trying to guess what they will need prayer for. But I do want to keep in mind that we will for the good of all people. So, I'm going to start leaving this section blank, and allowing us as players or coaches to fill in our own prayers of goodwill and blessing for each team.