Fremont - Match Report

Varsity Recap
This match followed a pattern of many of our matches lately. We have been coming out really slow. At most of our varsity positions, we lost the first game tonight and played very tentatively. We need to come out of the warm up with a little more fire. Crucially, we lost this match 3-2, and at all three positions that we lost we went down 3-0 to start the match. That's a tough hole to dig out of and makes the whole match feel a little panicky.

We settled down at most positions. At #1D and #3S, we actually came back and took early leads. After dropping the first game, Tyson and Joseph settled into a nice first set rhythm. Their only struggle was sometimes on the serve, as the Eagles hit some nice low returns. But they were able to take the first set comfortably.

Cameron was in a tight match at #3S. He was able to keep a bit of a lead all through the first set, but played very consistent and opportunistic tennis. He kept a lot of balls back and then looked for his spots to be aggressive with passing shots, net attacks, drop volleys and all other varieties of shots. He pushed his first set into a tiebreak as he battled back and forth with his senior opponent.

At #2D, Aaron and Austin recovered from their 3-0 hole to also force a first set tiebreak. As their tiebreak began, Cameron was in the middle of his. I found myself running back and forth, trying to keep score and desperately hoping that we could stay confident and aggressive in the breakers. Cameron kept himself pumped up with heartfelt fist pumps and c'mons. Aaron and Austin got a bit tentative at points, but kept it close. In the end, it came right down to the closest tiebreaks can be. Cameron won his final two points, but #2D lost their last two. We had split the tiebreaks.

But we needed both matches. Braden was playing a second year #1S player who worked fabulously hard on every point, and swung with such confidence through his shots. The Eagle junior seemed to have answers to whatever Braden tried to throw at him. Braden was still struggling with his serve as well, and the lack of free points from that certainly put him in tough positions. In the end, Braden suffered a pretty heavy defeat.

Theo also suffered defeat, but in a match he kept figuring out as it went along. The early 3-0 hole hurt him a lot, because he started to figure things out after that but it was too late for the first set. In the second set, he started finding ways of attacking the big hitting Eagle junior at #2S. He dealt with the pace much better and picked places to attack the net. Unfortunately for the Bruins, Fremont made adjustments too. In the end, Theo's loss put us down 2-0.

At #1D, Joseph and Tyson lost a bit of their rhythm and started slow in the second set. But after a quick pep talk, they eased back into their regular ways. They turned a second set deficit into three quick games, and won the second set to seal the first point for the Bruins.

Cameron became more comfortable as his match wore on. Though it stayed close, he was able to extend his lead a bit more. Instead of going to a tiebreak, he was able to finish the second set at 6-3 and pull out a victory. It was a gritty win, and one I was so proud of. Cameron has the spirit of a fighter, one who believes that they can always pull it out. I appreciate that!

And so, we needed #2D to come back. But their opponents were too consistent, and we made too many errors. Our net player often left too much space between themselves and the net, and because of that we hit too many balls into the net. As fate would have it, that's exactly how the match ended, a volley that fell short into the net. 

Fremont had won 3-2. They have a really good team this year and it was good competition for us. Even though we didn't have our best day, they deserved the win. They showed great energy, and importantly, great consistency. They made us hit a lot of balls, and we made too many mistakes. So, we know again what we need to focus on!

JV Recap
On the other side, the JV played fantastic matches pretty much up and down the line! The Bruins ended up taking a 6-3 victory over the JV Eagles, with some of our guys playing their best tennis of the season.

Josh Cartwright led the JV tonight with a quick win. He played great tennis, forcing errors and moving all around the court. He got out to a big lead and frustrated his opponent, playing his traditional consistent style. Ethan Pairitz followed suit, playing both #2S and #4S for us tonight as the Eagles had one more player than us. In both singles matches, Ethan's movement was top notch. His split steps and adjustment steps allowed him to take his normal swings, and he really was in charge of his singles points, moving his opponents all across the court. He was able to come away with two great wins in this match.

Jacob Leininger continued the singles success for us, with consistent shots that were always just a couple more than his competitor. Both players seemed to be struggling a bit with the wind, framing a lot of shots, but Jacob kept putting himself in position to succeed. He outlasted. And in the last singles match, Obed got to play his first match of his Bruin career. With the support of the team, Obed played some wonderful points. He was great touch and can get many shots back, but couldn't quite find enough to win his first game.

In the doubles, we played well but couldn't find the consistent finishing shots. Breece and Matthew seemed just a bit off all night, missing some easy returns and approach shots that would have put them in good positions. They competed well against opponents that have played varsity positions against us before. Kameron and Josiah were all over the court tonight, playing with passion and hustle. They couldn't quite find the shots to put away the tiebreak, making some little mistakes under pressure while their opponents came up with some unbelievable lobs and saves in the late games.

Jacob and Tristan played very simply, using their strengths of serves, forehands and volleys. They got out to a big lead with consistent tennis, and then started to slip a little toward the end. Still, they closed it off and picked up another win for the Bruins. Finally, the freshman duo of Adam and Ian played #4DJV, and they looked great as well. Adam has improved tremendously in the start of the season, becoming a consistent player. Ian struggled at first with his serve, but his groundstrokes and good touch at the net paid off well.

In the end, all the freshman grabbed victories tonight to lead the way. It was good to see the young guys do so well. And the older JV players led with hustle and heart. Continuing in those things will make us a stronger team!

Moments of Joy
This will be a section where I highlight some of my favorite individual moments from the match. Just points that I noticed that were really well played or exemplify what we are trying to teach.

1. Cameron's Tiebreak

Pressure situations are something new to many on this team. In pressure situations, confidence and energy are important. Tonight, Cameron brought both of those to his tiebreak. His shouts of "C'mon!" and fist pumps are the things that I love to see. He was engaged and focused. He believed he could pull it out... and he did!

2. Ethan's Inside-Out Forehand

Ethan was moving with very quick feet in this match. That allowed him to hit one of the most tactically helpful shots in tennis, inside-out forehands. The inside-out forehand takes the ball from most players strength (forehand) and directs it to the other player's weakness (backhand). Ethan had many points tonight where he slide quickly to his left and got a forehand, powering it cross court. It was a testament to what focused footwork can do!

3. Leininger Gets to the Right Spots

Jacob Leininger wasn't always hitting clean winners tonight, but he was moving to the right spots. In his match, he had a point that he played perfectly. A deep forehand that he hit cross court, forcing his opponent to scramble. An approach shot low over the net and into the open court of the backhand. Then, importantly, he didn't wait for the volley to come to him. He moved up to the net, probably only a foot behind it to take the volley - which he totally framed! But because of his positioning, because he had closed in to the net, the ball still fell in for a winner. Positioning, moving up to the ball, matters.


Moments Together
Josh and Cameron have been competing all season for the #3S spot on the varsity. Tonight, they played right next to each other. Throughout his whole match, Josh was cheering on Cameron. And Cameron was cheering right back. After the matches ended, they gathered together to talk about their matches, laughing and telling stories. They were each complimenting one another on how well they had played. That's what being a true teammate is about.

Prayer
Lord, tonight was a tiring night. A long drive, a long match, a late night getting home. Joys to be sure, but also knowing that we have things that we need to change. That's so much like our lives. They can be tiring, long days, many things to get done. So much makes us smile, but so much we know we should be doing better. Especially when it comes to loving others. As the season goes on, let our tennis improve. But more importantly, let us become more aware of supporting each other. May we become aware of supporting others as well, offering graceful words and listening ears to our classmates, siblings, parents, opponents and more. As our team verse says, may our gentleness be evident to all, because You are near. In the name of Jesus, amen!

Scores
Varsity: 2-3
#1S - Braden Bohn - 1-6, 0-6 - Ethan Bock (11) 
#2S - Theo Siemens-Rhodes - 0-6, 3-6 - Nick Miller (11)
#3S - Cameron Heinisch - 7-6 (6), 6-3 - Evan Towns (12)
#1D - Joseph Mounsithiraj/Tyson Miller - 6-3, 6-4 - Nick Rutherford (12)/Sam Verdin (11)
#2D - Aaron Shenk/Austin Shenk - 6-7 (5), 1-6 - Josh Sherbondy (11)/Isaac Hirschy (11)

Junior Varsity: 6-3

#1SJV - Josh Cartwright - 8-1 - Conner Trobaugh (10)

#2SJV - Ethan Pairitz - 8-3 - Aiden Dornbush (9)

#3SJV - Jacob Leininger - 8-4 - Braiden Gaskill (10)

#4SJV - Ethan Pairitz - 6-4 - Luke Campbell (9)

#5SJV - Obed Lopez - 0-8 - Andrew McCantarfer (9)

#1DJV - Matthew Dyck/Breece Erickson - 4-8 - Alex Chilenski (11)/Lukas Berlew (11)

#2DJV - Kameron Branum/Josiah Schlabach - 7-8 (1) - Brody Foulk (9)/Jeremy Rode (10)

#3DJV - Jacob Shank/Tristan Mast - 8-5 - Dylan Fansler (9)/McClain McCurdy (9)

#4DJV - Ian McHugh/Adam Siemens-Rhodes - 8-2 - Austin Gaskill (9)/Corbin McCullough (9)