Moments of Beauty: Northridge

Moment of Beauty #1: Byeong Min Lim

Our only varsity winner, Byeong receives a "Beauty Ball" because of his best point of attack. Early in the match, we realized that the odds were not in Byeong's favor if he simply played defense from the back of the court. He needed to find ways to move forward and attack. And so near the end of the first set, Byeong swung a low driven shot wide off the court to his opponent's forehand side. As the Northridge player scooped to pick the ball up, Byeong moved forward toward the net. As the ball floated toward the middle of the court, Byeong moved to his right to ready for an aggressive shot. He took a swinging volley then out of the air, his movement carrying him to the perfect spot to direct the ball quickly past his opponent's backhand side. It was a moment of beauty for sure.

Moment of Beauty #2: Caleb Shenk and Jacob Woolace

Sometimes, we play opponents that are not as talented as we are. In those matches, it can be tough to stay focused. Our opponents hit balls out early, miss a lot of serves, and generally keep us off balance as to when a good serve or backhand is coming. So, I have to award this "Beauty" to our two freshman, who won a 6-0 match over that inconsistent type of opponent. What was beautiful was Jacob and Caleb's continual focus and preparation. No matter how slow the point, no matter how far the last ball went out, they stayed ready. Nowhere was this more evident than on Northridge's serve when Caleb and Jacob were leading 3-0. Despite some serves landing near the baseline, Caleb and Jacob were able to be ready for the serves that came blistering in. In two points in a row, they were able to attack with big forehands off these serves and win the point. Because they were ready. Readiness and "focused intensity" is beautiful!