Wednesday Opponent Overview

All Time Record vs. NorthWood: 7-11

Classic Matches:

Bethany Christian 3, NorthWood 2; 2005
In a match that was one of my all-time favorites, including a dramatic #1 doubles win, the most amazing point that I can remember (Alex Bullard hitting the ball back in the court as he fell out the door of the court!) we pulled off a huge victory for the Bethany program to build on.

Bethany Christian 2, NorthWood 3; 2007
Awesome match in which we ended up a Maple City Racquet Club, needing to win the last two matches to win the match. Jonny Shenk smashed his racquet against the wall in frustration, didn't break it, then won his match. Daniel and Mikey didn't, but they were just saving their magic for Sectional time.

Bethany Christian 2, NorthWood 3; 2007 Sectional Final
Again, we couldn't overcome the Panthers by a single point. NorthWood won the first 3 matches off the courts, turning over #3 singles and #1 doubles from the early September match. But we won the last two matches coming off the courts, giving us hope and determination for 2008.

Bethany Christian 3, NorthWood 2; 2008
The match was fairly predictable yet really unpredictable. Preston Swain took #1 singles for them, but we won #3 singles and #2 doubles easily. It came down to #1 doubles or #2 singles. Johnny and Jeremy went to a third set tiebreak, only to fall, but Jared turned into the aggressor in his match and wrapped it up with a late 3rd set surge.

Bethany Christian 4, NorthWood 1; 2008 Sectional Final
After our nail-biting Fairfield comeback, we calmed down and played our best tennis of the season. Jared didn't even go 3 sets, Johnny and Jeremy won in 2 sets as well, and Luke gave Preston his best match of the season, extending it to a 3rd even though he eventually lost. First Sectional title came back home to Bethany with us!

Top Players over the Years: Evan Atkinson, Thom Kurtz, Preston Swain, Ben Baker, Austin Hostetter, Jay Sheets, Adam Mast, Chad Hostetter, Adam Hostetter

Last Season Result: Bethany Christian 5, NorthWood 0

Returning Varsity Players:
#2S - Corey Diener (lost to Seth Krabill, 0-6, 0-6)
#3S - Ben Zercher (lost to Mikey Kelly, 2-6, 0-6)
#1D - Jayson Linhart/Tyler Rhoades (lost to Austin Loucks/Kyle Miller, 1-6, 3-6)
#2D - Shawn Stahley/Brennan Angle (lost to Russell Klassen/Nick Rebec, 1-6, 0-6)

Top Returning JV Players:
None.

Outlook:
The Panthers will come back more experienced this year. And we have to play them at their imposing stadium, nestled behind the football field. Still, we should have enough returning firepower as well to win the match this next year. In two years, when these players are juniors and seniors, that may be another story.