Elkhart - Match Report

This was a really tough match for the Bruins. Tough because we were so close to a break through, but nobody seemed quite ready to go and take it with confidence. Against good teams like the Lions, you have to play your tennis confidently, you have to be focused, but most of all, you've got to believe you can do it.

Varsity Recap

The varsity match featured three matches that were relatively straight forward, even if two of them weren't short matches. 

#2D continued their great play from the second half of the Goshen match this weekend. They were looking very energized and in sync, swinging with confident. But actually, the thing that shows this group is really flying is their footwork. When they are moving into the court, when they are on their toes at the net, it is obvious they are doing well. And that's what this whole match looked like. They were the first group off the court, with a win for the Bruins.

Next off the court was Braden. He was fighting hard, but couldn't quite find a consistent strategy to beat his senior opponent. He needed a plan, an identity, that he can get behind. So many great points and shots were played in this match, but we couldn't quite find the winning rhythm.

Josh's match was also pretty simple. Josh was going to put the ball in the court, it came down to whether his opponent would miss or not. Josh is at his best when he digs, puts everything back, and plays excited. That's just what he did today. He even got some big smashes in! In the end, he won a tight second set to seal our second point.

That left two matches left on the court. #1D had come out and played very tight in their first set, then loosened up and played some of their best tennis of the year to seal the second set. They are both aggressive and smart when they play their best. And incredibly focused. Their feet are in rhythm, their shots have flow and margin for error, and their volleys are simple. Their Lion opponents were incredibly consistent, with great hands. When Joseph and Tyson played their best, this match was a delight to watch. That's what we hoped the 3rd set would be.

Theo had forced an unlikely 3rd set. He had a hard time finding the range against his junior opponent at #2S. The first set went by at 6-1. But in the second set, Theo found the strategy that worked. He changed contact points, stayed in rallies, found unique moments to attack the net. In a really tense set, Theo was able to grab a 6-4 win. 

So, two 3rd sets. We needed one. But unfortunately, we couldn't find a way to get either one. Doubles went down early, just by a break, but were always fighting to get it back. And they found themselves often missing too many simple returns. This cost them as they piled up too many errors and got frustrated. They lost the third set. That meant it was down to Theo.

And Theo kept up the valiant fight. Down 5-2 after his opponent played several great games in a row, Theo found a way to get back to 5-4. But, his opponent then served out a great game, giving Theo very few chances. So it wasn't for lack of heart, but lack of our best play in the big moment.

But we're getting there. And the next time we're in the situation, we'll deliver.

JV Recap

The JV match actually started with the #4DJV match, which was Justin's first of the season. We needed their team to play twice, so they got us under way. And for a first match, Justin served well. But following the pattern of #1D, there were too many errors. We'll have to move well to begin matches in order to get off to good starts.

But the next matches we started with great movement. Cameron often has good feet in between shots, but Breece and Matthew at #1DJV and Kameron and Jacob at #2DJV both started off with great energy. With this great energy came great shots. We had a lot of belief, but we were also in the right positions. Because we had great contact points, our shots were causing problems for the JV Lions. Each position got out to an early lead.

But as the matches wore on, Elkhart raised their game. The hit bigger shots, and we found ourselves off balance. Off balance meant shots that were hit late or outside the contact point. And of course, as shots begin to go off course, so does our confidence. Suddenly, shots we were totally in control of (our serves) were giving away free points. In many of the JV matches, we ended up giving back leads to the smooth playing Lions. 

But Cameron did not. In another close and tense match, Cameron gritted it out and pulled away. And so did Jacob Leininger and Tristan Mast. This last match was particularly impressive, because Jacob prefers singles and Tristan is still honing in his shots. But they were able to force errors by moving and swinging confidently through the strike zone.

We were wrapped up with Ian and Obed, who played a highly competitive, high movement match. Obed was all over the net, and Ian continued to have good strokes from the baseline. Unfortunately, they couldn't quite pull out the win.

I was really proud of our attitude to start each JV match. Our next step for the JV is to take disappointment and come back with confidence and movement. We'll do it!

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. Josh's Overhead Smash

Josh is known for making his opponents make shots. But today, he had an opportunity in his second set. In a tight part of the match, his opponent blooped a little shot close to the net. Josh ran forward and got underneath his, snapping his racket up and through the ball. His hard shot ripped through the court and bounced in front of the baseline. It was such a departure from his normal soft shots that it was demoralizing for his opponent. This is one reason that adding variety to our games is important. It makes it difficult for our opponents to figure us out.

2. Obed and Ian's Epic

Obed and Ian played a great match today, but they especially had one epic point. In this point, Ian hit the ball cross court, and his opponent flipped a backhand short. It looked like it would bounce twice, but Obed shuffled sideways and flicked the ball over the net. The Lion net player volleyed it quickly, right back at Obed but Obed reflexed a volley back to him. Then again, but this time Obed's volley went over the net player's head. He retrieved it and sent a ball back to the middle of the court. Obed again cut this off and volleyed the ball to the backhand corner. The Lions ran this down too, and sent a ball to Ian on the baseline. Ian whacked two cross court forehands in a row. It was a long well played point, but unfortunately we ended up just nicking the tape on our final volley. But I loved how ready and intense both Obed and Ian were together throughout the point.

Moments Together

I love home matches, because I feel like I get to watch everyone. Tonight, I loved getting to see moments in everyone's matches. But I also love that you get to watch each other. Tonight, Tristan and Jacob were playing on court 1 while Obed and Ian were on court 2. At the same time, Josiah was all the way down on court 5. I was afraid Josiah would feel forgotten, but a group of 4-5 guys went down to his court to make sure he knew he was important to the team. I love brotherhood like that!

A Prayer

Lord, this season throws all sorts of curveballs. Many things seem kind of uncertain. Let us approach You with certainty of Your love and confidence in us. You believe that we can approach each other with love, with kindness and gentleness. We believe that faith in one another can change the world. Let us reach out as You always have. In Jesus name.

Scores

Varsity: 2-3

#1S - Braden Bohn - 2-6, 2-6 - Spencer Dexter (12)

#2S - Theo Siemens-Rhodes - 1-6, 6-4, 4-6 - Brad Walker (11)

#3S - Josh Cartwright - 6-2, 6-4 - Kameron Kast (11)

#1D - Joseph Mounsithiraj/Tyson Miller - 1-6, 6-4, 2-6 - Josh Reid (12)/Luke Leazenby (12)

#2D - Aaron Shenk/Austin Shenk - 6-1, 6-4 - Frankie Yeakey (12)/Matt DeShone (11)

Junior Varsity: 2-6

#1SJV - Cameron Heinisch - 6-3 - Jesus Hernandez (12)

#2SJV - Ethan Pairitz - 1-6 - Nick Hardy (10)

#3SJV - Josiah Schlabach - 4-6 - Randall Delafuente (11)

#1DJV - Matthew Dyck/Breece Erickson - 3-6 - Grant Brekke (12)/Ethan Leazenby (10)

#2DJV - Kameron Branum/Jacob Shank - 3-6 - Gianni Lucchese (10)/Ben Welmer (11)

#3DJV - Jacob Leininger/Tristan Mast - 6-3 - Sammy Asbury/Kaden Kennedy

#4DJV - Justin Hochstedler/Adam Siemens-Rhodes - 2-6 - Gavin Jommer/Brady Burkhart

#5DJV - Obed Lopez/Ian McHugh - 4-6 - Gavin Jommer/Brady Burkhart