Wednesday Opponent Overview: Fremont

Last Season Review
No rivalry of similar school size has disintegrated as fast as our Fremont match. I asked Dan Bodiker to add them to the 2004 schedule, a year in which they beat us 4-1. Then in 2005, we returned the favor, beating them 3-2. In 2006, we again squeaked by, winning 3-2. Now, for two straight years we have won 5-0, and last year we only lost 5 games total as a varsity. I am hoping to see an upswing in their program which will return this to a competitive match for us. Last season was not that close, unfortunately.

In the rest of their season, they switched around their lineup to try to compete at #1 doubles. As a result, the win-loss record didn't look so good at the end of the season. They finished 8th out of 9 teams in the NECC conference, just below Churubusco and just above Lakeland. I don't know what their final record was, but they were knocked out in the first round of their Sectional, 5-0.

Returning Varsity Players
Ryan Palmerton/Mason Hallman - Our match versus Fremont was Johnny and Jeremy's first match together. They played Palmerton and Hallman and dismantled them 6-0, 6-0. Their games were simply to attackable. They didn't have the passing shots or the lobs to keep Jeremy and Johnny off the nets. Nor did they have the big serves necessary of holding service games. They were not bad players, but didn't match up well against an aggressive team. Later in the year these guys were split up to play some singles, but I don't know how they fared in that realm either. I know they did not make it into the top half of their conference.

Josh Feller - Feller was part of the #2 doubles team that fell to Daniel and Mikey 6-3, 6-0. Similar story to the #1 doubles, except that one of the two players had a hard passing shot that Mikey and Daniel were having trouble volleying at the net. However, I don't remember which player that was. Again, Feller's game, whichever player he was, was not one to be feared.

Adam Stukey - Stukey actually played #1 singles JV against us, but later in the year made several varsity appearances. Against us, he lost 8-2 to Ben Mast. However, he looked like he may have belonged on varsity somewhere. His shots had more bite than some of his teammates, and he seemed to have more confidence, and not the defeatist attitude that some of his teammates played the match with.

Other Possible Varsity Contributors
Tyler Colbart - lost 0-8 to Russell Klassen
Matt Hoff - won 8-5 over Matt Ebersole
Andrew Trombly/Weston Grout - lost 4-8 to Matthew Amstutz/Kyle Miller, then lost 6-1 to Claude Stickler/Misha Rebec
Brant Arnos/Alec Trine - lost 0-8 to Austin Loucks/Nick Rebec, then lost 0-6 to Jake Gerig/Blake Shetler

Outlook
They didn't have a great year last year, and they graduate their #1S, #2S, #3S. Looking objectively, it would follow that this year will also be a struggle for the Eagles. They will need to find some leaders with desire and a willingness to work. As we play them this year, I hope that they are ready and prepared to give us a good test. It's always a long bus ride to Fremont, and here's hoping that the match that follows is worth it. Either way, there will be Pizza King to celebrate.

Blessing
We continue to pray that God will bless this team in many ways throughout this year.