Wabash Invitational Results

It seems that the moments that I am most proud of my team are also the moments in which we have the most disappointment. I wish that the mix could be different in this case, but after this tournament I was so proud to coach this group of guys. We worked hard, we played our best, played well under pressure and prepared ourselves for Sectional. Unfortunately, we lost a chance to win the whole tournament as well. But there were so many positives in what were some of our best played matches of the season.

We played our first match of the day against the Taylor Titans. Taylor is down near Kokomo, and on the season their team was 7-4. So this was a team that had a similar record to ours, and they gave us a really good match. They reminded me a lot of Triton, who we had barely beaten 3-2 earlier this season.

The Titans were young at their singles positions, but they have several players with a bright future. Junior #1 Matt Brankle played with a lot of heart, running down many of Seth's attacking shots with spot perfect lobs. But Seth controlled his frustration at the long points that he had to play and increased the velocity on his overheads and putaways and beat the counter-punching junior 6-3, 6-1.

The next two Titans were freshman, and Ben Mast played a great match against occasionally inconsistent Logan Barnes. Barnes had all the talent, but couldn't quite finish points against Ben. Ben used nice approaches and well-placed balls to frustrate Barnes and won in two good sets. Blake was less fortunate, as freshman Drew Hansen worked him back and forth across the court. Hansen was one of the better #3 singles players we've seen this season, and Blake stayed right with him in the first set. Blake simply was not able to stay attacking against Hansen, as his passing shot and lob kept Blake away from the net.

In doubles, Kyle and Austin played against lobbers. The Titans #1 doubles team was fast and accurate. They ran down almost all of Kyle and Austin's shots and put them up high into the air. Much like #1 singles, Austin and Kyle had to be ready to play longer points than they were used to. And they had to hit a lot of overheads. After some simple instructions as to where to hit their shots, the Bruins were able to stay aggressive and put pressure on. They finished the match out in two close sets over athletic opponents.

#2 doubles used this match as a launching point for a great day. They started out playing aggressive and well, attacking from the net and from the baseline and taking a 4-1 lead. Then, as has been the pattern much of the season, they let the Titans sneak back into the match. In a back-and-forth tense end to the first set, Russell and Nick lost in the first of many tiebreakers on the day. But they didn't get down. In what was a super important mental match, Russell and Nick stayed positive and attacked in the second set. We've been talking about how we respond to difficult situations, and Russell and Nick made me proud by their response in this match. They went back to attacking ways, hitting people on groundstrokes and cutting off volleys, and won the second set. Using the momentum they created, they entered the third set super-tiebreaker confident, and without much stress they won.

And so we won our first match 4-1, setting a good tone for the rest of the day. Most of the matches were close, and that prepared us for Sectional. What was awesome was that we were able to find success in these close matches, especially at the doubles positions over competent and experienced opponents. I was psyched to see us start on a good foot over a good team.

Scores

#1S - Seth Krabill - 6-3, 6-1 - Matt Brankle (11)
#2S - Ben Mast - 6-1, 6-1 - Logan Barnes (9)
#3S - Blake Shetler - 4-6, 1-6 - Drew Hansen (9)
#1D - Austin Loucks/Kyle Miller - 7-5, 6-4 - Matt Petty (12)/Reomey Northington (12)
#2D - Nick Rebec/Russell Klassen - 6-7 (3), 6-3, (10-7) - Cody Hinton (12)/Nathan Gotshall (9)


So before we had even wrapped up the victory over Taylor, Ben and Seth were back on to start our second match against Wabash. Last year we had defeated the Apaches at all 5 positions to win the Wayne Tennis Invitational. However, we were a quite different team, and they returned a number of their varsity players. On the season, they entered this match at 10-2.

Seth breezed through his match against frustrated senior Zach Sailors. Seth attacked smoothly and set up his points well. Sailors couldn't keep up with the pace Seth created and the points that Seth finished. From beginning to end, Seth dominated and looked like the confident player that his record shows he is throughout the year.

Ben breezed too, through the first set. He was playing sophomore Justin Middleton, a player with a 16-2 record on the season. Last year Ben had been able to defeat Middleton at the Wayne Invitational, and after taking the first set, Ben seemed to relax a little. At that point, Middleton picked up his game and began to control the points. With low shots over the net, Middleton began to be aggressor and Ben fell into defensive mood. Suddenly, Middleton had a chance to win the second set and send the match to a ten-point tiebreak. Ben tightened up a lot, and couldn't find the aggression to control the match. In the tiebreak, Middleton won a tight match 10-8.

In the #3 singles match, Misha Rebec took to the court. Senior Wesley Kosel was able to dictate this match right from the beginning. He had a huge forehand that accounted for many winners throughout the course of the match, and ran Misha back and forth. He made errors, but Misha had trouble keeping the point going long enough to force those errors. I liked the fact that Misha was able to stay in the match when he got down 5-0 in the second set, and really began to pick up his play despite the big hole that he was in. Unfortunately, it was a little too deep of a hole. Misha's loss meant that we'd need both the doubles in order to win the match.

And we got a great effort from both teams. Russell and Nick simply played their best match of the season, attacking, slamming, hitting the net man, serving their opponents off the court, doing everything they would need to in order to put pressure upon their Apache opponents. Not only did they jump out to a comfortable lead in the first set, they sustained their play throughout the match to win 6-3, 6-2.

#1 doubles was a match that Austin and Kyle knew they'd have to play well to win right from the beginning. So they came out and played well right from the beginning. The match went back and forth some, but Austin and Kyle were able to impose their will on the serve and from the baseline and push the Apaches off the net. They jumped out with their stellar play and took the first set. But seniors of Wabash were not done. They got on a roll in the second set and began to take the net with incredible power and passion. Kyle and Austin didn't seem to have an answer for this. They played well, but the roll was too difficult to stop. They lost the second set, and then the third set super-tiebreaker as well.

And so we ended with a disappointing 3-2 loss. All the more disappointing because two of the matches were lost in the third set super-tiebreakers. Much like the Westview match last year, it felt so close to our grasp, and one that we could think about for a long time. But we weren't going to get the chance, as we moved right into the match against Eastern...

Scores

#1S - Seth Krabill - 6-1, 6-0 - Zach Sailors (12)
#2S - Ben Mast - 6-2, 3-6, (8-10) - Justin Middleton (10)
#3S - Misha Rebec - 1-6, 2-6 - Wesley Kosel (12)
#1D - Austin Loucks/Kyle Miller - 7-5, 1-6, (4-10) - Ryan Richman (12)/Ethan Powell (12)
#2D - Nick Rebec/Russell Klassen - 6-3, 6-2 - Trevor Patton (11)/David Driscoll (9)


This was our best match of the season, no doubts about it. Right up and down the line we played incredible tennis against a team that has lost only once this year. We played aggressive, kept our cool under pressure, responded to coaching... and yet we still lost. It was excruciating.

At #1 singles, Seth played senior Jody Remsberger. Seth played one of his best matches of the season, defending against Remsberger's big serve and then running the senior around the court. His attacking shots were so on, and he thoroughly frustrated his opponent. When the big points came, Seth looked confident and in control, and there was just a presence and belief that shown through. And he won the big points, pulled out the big games, and hence he won the close match.

#2 singles was another great match, where Ben Mast played senior Dylan Buck. Buck was aggressive from the opening, looking to serve big, hit big, and end points at the net. This put pressure upon Ben, but he continued to handle it well and keep the match close. After losing the first set though, Ben's belief and competitiveness seemed to wane. But a brief pep talk, and I was encouraged by Ben's response. He dug his heels in and began to attack with forehands crosscourt, down-the-line and stellar lobs and passing shots. He never let a ball fall with giving an effort... and slowing he clawed back into the match. However, Buck was a talented opponent. Despite Ben's great play, Buck was able to pull out a tight final game for the victory.

#3 singles was my favorite match of the day. Blake and I set the plan before the match: Aggressive and attacking, getting to the net and playing loose all day. And Blake executed it well, leading by a game or two for most of the first set. But right at the end, Blake got a bit tight and opponent Connor Young took advantage. He turned Blake's 6-5 first set lead into a 7-6 tiebreak win for himself. Blake took the first set loss hard, and slumped to a 1-4 deficit in the second set. At this point, I told Blake how I saw him coming back into the match, and how I believed it was going to happen. And it did. Blake responded aggressively and dominated the rest of the match. My dad, who had come to watch, mentioned that Blake turned into a completely different player, confident, aggressive, and undefeatable. Blake rolled through the super-tiebreaker as well, giving the Bruins their 2nd point of the day.

So we needed one of the doubles matches. At this point, we also figured out that a victory over Eastern would give us 1st place at the tournament as well, based on the tiebreaker system.

But the chances seemed slim at #1 doubles. They faced an undefeated team in senior Brandon Hainlan and junior Noel Horvath. But like the rest of the day, they didn't back down from the challenge. Instead, they came out on fire and took a 4-1 lead in the first set. They played unbelievable tennis, both aggressive at the baseline and really controlling the net. But like a great team does, Hainlan and Horvath stayed calm and pulled a couple games back at a time. The Comets took the lead 6-5 in the second set, and I thought that Kyle and Austin might not be able to recover. But they did, and they forced the tiebreaker. But early in the tiebreaker, the Comets were able to finish off points and take a big lead. They won the first set and their level of play got even better. Kyle and Austin had trouble maintaining the their high level of play and attacking, and the Comets finished the match in the second set. I was still proud of the energy and belief that Austin and Kyle brought to the match, and if they do that again at Sectional, they will surprise teams.

So the match came down to #2 doubles, Russell Klassen and Nick Rebec. They had played great all day and kept it going right into this match. But their opponents were up to the challenge. Back and forth, back and forth went the first set. Russell and Nick continued their strong play from the baseline, ripping short balls through their opponents and staying in crosscourt rallies. Russell did a great job picking times to cut the ball at the net. The first set went into a tiebreaker (the 3rd first set tiebreaker of our match against Eastern!) Much like #1 doubles, Russell and Nick fell behind too far in the beginning of the breaker and couldn't recover. But to their credit, they didn't get down. Instead, they went right to work in the second set. They held the lead for most of the set, until they lost 2 games to go down 5-4. Nick served out a great game under pressure to bring in back to 5-5, but they couldn't find the answer against the Comets serve. Unfortunately, they couldn't take the second set to a tiebreaker too, and they lost 5-7.

It was great to see us play so well in a big match. Under pressure, Blake responded well, Ben responded well, Nick and Russell responded well, Kyle and Austin responded well, and Seth controlled it well the whole time. When we got down, not one player quit on the match. In many cases, we were able to get back into the match. Now I see us converting our chances and winning these matches, just in time for Sectional.

Scores

#1S - Seth Krabill - 7-5, 7-5 - Jody Remberger (12)
#2S - Ben Mast - 4-6, 5-7 - Dylan Buck (12)
#3S - Blake Shetler - 6-7 (4), 7-5, (10-7) - Connor Young (9)
#1D - Austin Loucks/Kyle Miller - 6-7 (2), 1-6 - Brandon Hainlan (12)/Noel Horvath (11)
#2D - Nick Rebec/Russell Klassen - 6-7 (3), 5-7 - Evan Cass (12)/Adam McKinney (11)