BC v. Prairie Heights

On a windy day in the fields of Lagrange county, the Bruin tennis teams picked up victories over the home team, Prairie Heights Panthers. As the Panthers deal with an inexperienced varsity, we were able to pick up a pretty simple victory.

We struggled in this match, as the weather and the style of play of our opponents both sapped our energy and focus. Far from the crisp tennis we played in winning the Concord Tourney at the weekend, we looked a bit lazy at times (as a team) in our match today. But we were able to pick it up at the right moments to secure easy wins.

Blake Shetler looked particularly impressive in his #3 singles match. He was consistently attacking the net, and several times he had beautiful hard slice approaches followed by booming overheads that flew over the fence (after they bounced in of course!) His serve is also coming along and becoming a true weapon. He is one of the players who I truly see getting better as the season progresses.

Ben Mast is another player who is showing his focus. He posted another 6-0, 6-0 victory, giving him 3 now on the season. His opponent, Torin Kellett, simply committed too many errors and gave Ben many opportunities to attack weakly hit shots that got caught up in the wind.

At #1 doubles, the Panthers came out sporting wooden rackets, which you don't see every day. They were able to win a game in each set, but the consistent presence of a Bruin player lurking at the net forced too many errors for them to compete throughout the match. While we weren't the sharpest, we still had good net play.

#2 doubles was a similar story. In the wind, Russell and Evan used many of their "safe" shots instead of powering through the Panthers, but even at that, they made their presence felt at the net. Many times Russell quickly hit a volley through the court, and he ended the match with a powerful forehand down the line. Good stuff to see from a doubles team.

Playing #2 singles tonight was Nate Brendle, up one spot from his normal #3 singles while Seth Krabill rested a slightly sore knee. Nate struggled with himself during the evening, trying to find his serve in the wind. But when he got his serve in, he won the points. Despite dominating the match off the ground, Nate gave away several service games on aggressive errors. But as has been his calling card much of the season, he found his form in the second set and rolled through 4 straight games to seal the victory.

The JV played well tonight also. Josh Helmuth picked up a singles win, defeating his freshman counterpart. Then Andrew Snyder was able to win against the same opponent. Wade and Himal used their placement drills from practice and the consistency that they've been working on to take an 8-1 victory at #1 doubles JV.

Overall, it wasn't the best night for Bruin tennis. But we did pick up the win. We'll take it and learn from it. We still struggle with our focus at times, something we'll have to pick up in practice. We want that focus to define us, that we are always players with positive energy and positive focus. That mental part of the game will take us far.

Varsity
#1S - Ben Mast - 6-0, 6-0 - Torin Kellett (12)
#2S - Nate Brendle - 6-3, 6-2 - Brad Hughes (12)
#3S - Blake Shetler - 6-1, 6-0 - Nathan Clark (10)
#1D - Kyle Miller/Matt Ebersole - 6-1, 6-1 - Danny Hamm (12)/Tyler Carbone (11)
#2D - Russell Klassen/Evan Grimes - 6-2, 6-0 - Brodie Rice (12)/Donald Cook (11)

Junior Varsity
#1SJV - Josh Helmuth - 8-4 - Justin Clark (9)
#2SJV - Andrew Snyder - 6-0 - Justin Clark (9)
#1DJV - Wade Troyer/Himal King - 8-1 - Tyler Wheaton (9)/Ben Paxson (9)