Bethany Christian vs. Concord

So, much like we thought, our day at the Concord Invitational started with a match against Concord. It's a tough way to start a long day and a tough way to wake up in the morning. But we started out of the gate pretty well.

Well, at least our tennis game did. Our actual start to the day was a little rough. In what seems to be an annual tradition of sorts, the bus gave us all sorts of problems as we left from the school. First the parking brake had been left on, and so when I tried to release it, it stuck. So there we were, pullled off to the side on SR 15, trying to pry the pedal forward with a tire iron. Finally, I found a random wire and pushed on it, and off we went.

With a bit of a late start, we arrived, found out our first opponent and warmed up. As we took to the courts, I wasn't sure how much confidence we would come out with, but the beginning of the matches pretty much told the story of the day.

At #1 doubles, I decided to see how Mikey and Kyle would fair against a much stronger team than the Goshen team they dismantled on Thursday. Little did I know that Concord would be the best doubles team we will see this season. Matt Schoeffler and Jared Queener wasted little time taking a lead on the Bruins, and from the first point I knew we were up against formidable competition. Kyle boomed a serve out wide, and Schoeffler simply slid over and cracked a forehand at a severe angle for an outright winner. Nothing Kyle could do about it. Mikey and Kyle fought hard most of the match, but they were up against big forehands and big volleys and experience. It affected them, and they certainly didn't play as well as Thursday. Against such a good team, it might not have mattered anyway, but they fell in this match, 1-6, 2-6.

#2 doubles didn't fair any better. Russell Klassen and Austin Loucks had also pulled out a victory Thursday, looking good at times and falling short at others. In their match Saturday, against seniors Cory Swaller and Michael Ciesielski, they looked good through most of the match. It didn't matter. Ciesielski had played #2 doubles last season, and last year had Concord had been one of only 2 teams to take a victory over our 20-2 #2 doubles team. This year, he and Swaller looked even better than their doubles team last year. They also ripped forehands, like the whole Minutemen squad, and their pace never really gave Russell and Austin a chance to gain a foothold in the match. Only on Austin's serve did we seem to start points on even ground with the Minutemen, as Austin was doing a great job there. We had points here and there where we challenged and were aggressive, but all in all, Swaller and Ciesielski were more talented.

Nick Rebec took another shot at #3 singles, this time against Concord's coach's son, sophomore Jason Denton. Nick played 100 times better against the young Minuteman. His strokes were more consistent, deeper in the court, and he was able to attack the net. His increased level of play was enough to enable him to win 1 game. Denton had good foot speed and great hands, and most importantly of all made very few mistakes.

As the match wore on, #3S, #2D, and #1D were on about the same pace of match. Within seconds of each other, all of these matches finished, and that meant that we had lost the match, already down 3-0. But two matches were on the courts still, and in those matches the script was very different.

At #2 singles, Seth Krabill was engaged in a powerful match against senior Andre Moore. Moore had dominated the area at #3 singles last fall, and moved up due to some lineup shifting. Seth had not lost a match since his freshman year of high school, going undefeated on the JV last year and notching two victories this season. And Seth was not going away lightly in this match either. He came out confidently and took the lead early, really controlling points and getting Moore to move back and forth and make many errors. But Moore finally got his flat forehand going, and then the match featured some epic points. Both players pounded away at the ball and most points would end with one player stretching for the others brilliant shot. However, Seth never backed down from this challenge. He held the lead at 6-5 in the first set, but couldn't close it out. When Moore tied the match, he began a stretch of play that I have not seen the like of this season. He won the tiebreaker and then the first 5 games of the second set, completely pounding every shot and leaving Seth hustling back and forth on the baseline. But Seth never gave in. Slowly, Moore's form started to crack and Seth picked up his game. He took advantage of everything Moore gave him and brought the match back to 4-5. If he could tie it up, we would have a brand new ballgame, as Moore would have to deal with the crushing disappointment of losing a 5-0 second set lead. Unfortunately, Seth couldn't quite get there, as Moore ended the match with a crushing forehand up the line.

Ben's match at #1 singles was also impressive. He knew that Andre Ziebold had a big forehand, so he hit it into Andre's backhand all the time. And I mean, pretty much all the time. His reward? He won the first set 6-4. Actually, it wasn't just that he was hitting it into Andre's backhand. It was also that he was killing the ball and playing very confidently. Ben has several nice weapons, and can hit for winners when he needs to. It makes him a very dangerous player against people who are "better" than him. In the second set, Andre began to get his feet under him, and attacked back. He ran around the backhand and hit the forehand big, like he can. Ben got on his heels some during the second set, but still competed incredibly well. The match then went into the third set super tiebreaker. In the breaker, points went back and forth, and it was a close competition. At 8-7, Ziebold took the point to put some pressure on Ben. Facing match point, Ben played aggressively but watched a forehand fly agonizingly long.

So, it was an interesting way to start the day. We pushed a great team at the top two positions. In the end, this match showed us something important for the continuity of the program. It isn't necessarily how good you are at the top of the lineup that makes you a great team. It's how good you are at the bottom. Concord is going to be a state ranked team at some point this year, and it isn't because they have the best players in the state. It's because they worked hard from top to bottom and have 7 great players. Much like last year for us, Concord is a deep team. That's got to be our goal by the end of this season, and even as we work forward into next year. Develop all the way through!


With five losses, it could be hard to find moments to celebrate. But not in this match. We played many good points, worthy of beauty. But more than just points, I have to give the moment of beauty award to Ben Mast. Not just for one point, but for the way he played his whole match. It is one thing to have a strategy. What was beautiful about Ben's match was that he relaxed and executed his strategy to perfection. For a good part of the match, he pounded on every forehand, pulled every backhand crosscourt and played to Andre Ziebold's weaknesses. It was beautiful to watch those forehand winners down the line and crosscourt and the concern on Ziebold's face. Relaxing and executing may be the toughest thing in tennis, but it is beautiful when it happens.

Scores

#1S - Ben Mast - 6-4, 3-6, (7-10) - Andre Ziebold (12)
#2S - Seth Krabill - 6-7 (4), 4-6 - Andre Moore (12)
#3S - Nick Rebec - 0-6, 1-6 - Jason Denton (10)
#1D - Mikey Kelly/Kyle Miller - 1-6, 2-6 - Jared Queener (12)/Matt Schoeffler (12)
#2D - Austin Loucks/Russell Klassen - 1-6, 0-6 - Michael Ciesielski (12)/Cory Swaller (12)