Wednesday Opponent Overview

All Time Record vs. Triton: 9-2

Classic Matches:

Bethany Christian 3, Triton 2; 2003
In my first truly dramatic match as a coach, we took the doubles spots and lost #1 and #3 singles to bring the whole match down to Joel King at #2 singles. He lost the first set, won the second, and then went down 1-5 in the third. And then, the legend of Joel King was born, as he reeled off 6 straight games in a row (screaming "c'mon Joel!" after each point) and riding the positive momentum to a win.

Bethany Christian 3, Triton 2; 2005
One of our many 3-2 matches in 2005, we won the singles with the closest set being 6-2, but lost both the doubles in two sets. A close team match that actually wasn't that close.

Bethany Christian 3, Triton 2; 2009
Seth and Mikey breezed at #2 and #3 singles, but every other position was hotly contested. Ben fought a valiant first set against Montalbano's extreme athleticism, but then tired mentally and physically against an All-District performer. Russell and Nick also fought out a long match, a pressure filled third set saw them fall 6-4, 1-6, 4-6. But at #1 doubles, we managed to take out an All-District team, after losing the first set Austin and Kyle managed to take the match all the way to a third set tiebreak, which they joyously won 7-5 for the third and clinching team point.

Top Players over the Years: Braxton Barton, Kyle Whiteman, Tyler Berger, Brandon Anthony, Ben Montalbano, Bryant Davenport, Darius Stevens

Last Season Result: Bethany Chrisitan 3, Triton 2

Returning Varsity Players:
#3S - Jeff Ross (lost to Mikey Kelly, 2-6, 1-6)
#2D - Josh Shafer (beat Russell Klassen/Nick Rebec, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4)

Top Returning JV Players:
Pete Kauffman (lost to Blake Shetler, 5-8)
Jackson Downing (beat Matt Ebersole, 8-5)
Jordan Everett/Austin Davis (beat Jake Gerig/Evan Grimes, 8-3)
Wil Tettinger/Austin Kanaar (beat Ike Lehman/Ryan Minter, 8-2)

Outlook:
This is always a close match. As you can see, we've had three "3-2" matches with the Trojans in the last 6 years. I expect next year to be much of the same. As far as winners returning, we have a bit of an edge on them, as both Seth Krabill and Kyle Miller won their matches over Triton last year. They also lose much of their lineup (they had 5 seniors), while we retain the majority of ours. The thing that levels this match out even more is they have strong players coming up from the JV. Jordan Everett and Austin Davis will be seniors, and they had some varsity experience through the years. Both Pete Kauffman and Jackson Downing gave good singles matches to Blake and Matt. Bottom line, this is a match that I expect to win, but it certainly won't be easy all the way through.