Match Report #16: Fairfield

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Varsity

The fall winds were blowing in a change of seasons during this match. Every now and then, the wind would grab the dry leaves from the trees and swirl them through the air. They would find the holes in the fences and come scrambling across the courts. The scratch and skitter of the leaves reminded me of our shoes squeaking across the same lines, as we tried to find holes in the Falcons impressive tennis defenses. In the end, in this changing of season, we played our closest match of the season. Everything came down to tight sets, and we couldn't quite find the finishing touches in enough matches. We've got a few dry leaves to rake out of our games, then we may find our way through these close matches.

And literally every single match was close. The first match off the courts was #3S, where Ethan lost a close one 6-3, 6-3. But in this match, both sets were poised with just a break of serve. The 4-3 games were critical in each set, and in each set Ethan had chances to even the match at 4-4. Double faults cost him at this point, but other than that Ethan played a lot of winning tennis. His groundstrokes went through stretches where he was hitting winners and commanding play. Sustaining that without error is key to Ethan's continued growth.

#1D and #1S were similar stories, to each other and to Ethan. Both positions stayed tight all the way through the match. Cameron hung close, breaking serve several times in the first set before falling. But man, did he ever play well. Cameron was able to utilize the net effectively in this match, and his approach balls were particularly effective. His opponent was so consistent and moved the ball really well. It was an aesthetically pleasing match to watch, because both were moving and hitting and slicing and attacking. It really was a match of what tennis can be. Again, Cameron just couldn't quite break through at the end of sets.

Matthew and Austin had that same "end of sets" problem. In the first set, they had the lead for most of the set, but became timid in the face of Fairfield's very solid net play. This led to a stretch of unconvincing tennis by the Bruins, uncertain and doubting our swings and volleys. Credit to Matthew and Austin though, they swung through that. Fighting off match points on Austin's service game in the second set, they came back from 4-1 down to level the match at 5-5. Playing much better tennis at this point, they saw the Falcons raise their game and capture the final 2 games to end the match. It was a great fightback, but like Ethan, we've got to find ways to extend our best stretches of play.

So, with the first 3 matches off the court, we had lost the match 3-0. Which was too bad, because the other two matches were ones we were leading after winning close first sets. Both #2S and #2D had really fought through the first sets, and played their best tennis when things got tight. Noah had found a weakness and attacked it. Breece and Jacob had focused on their movement and readiness. And these simple focuses had allowed them to finish out sets. 

In their second sets, their opponents picked up some great shots. We lost the simple focuses and began to get tight and show frustration. The visual signs of frustration only loosened our opponents up more, and soon Noah found himself down 5-1 and #2D had lost the second set. 

From there however, we became more loose. Noah tightened up his errors and attitude and came back, one point at a time. As his comeback got closer and closer, his opponent made some nervous errors. This allowed Noah to take the match into a tiebreak. Even the tiebreak stayed close, lasting over ten minutes and going past the normal ending score. However, when his opponent lifted a forehand long, Noah had won in two sets.

#2D had a great third set. It was one of those magic moments when both teams are playing close to their best. And it was close the whole time, no one really ever jumping out to a huge lead. Despite starting nervously, the Bruins were able to loosen up their movement. This led to some of the most outstanding, scrambling points of the day - from both teams - where we had people falling down, clattering into the fence, swinging over their heads and still getting the ball back in. It really was eye-catching tennis. In the end, the Bruins were able to come back from a 5-4 deficit to take the set 7-5. In the last game, there were some crazy points, one of which I will highlight below.  Some of the fans remarked afterward how fun the match had been, and I found that I agreed. Win or lose, this was some really fun tennis!

And so, we brought the final score to a 3-2 loss. The Falcons have been a good team all year, a team that we may have to compete with again when the Sectional comes around. This match reminds me that close matches are so much fun, playing an opponent who makes you play your best to win is such an opportunity, one that we were glad to have tonight.

JV Recap

Yep, the JV matches were pretty much as close as the varsity. Outside of a couple of singles matches that got away from us, every JV set was closely contended. And again, we got to see some beautiful points, plays, and comebacks!

Tristan got off to a good start, swinging well. He was in every game and even had crazy points where the ball bounced twice, or his overhead landed on his own side and his opponent kept playing (even though Tristan did give him the point). #1DJV of Josiah and Jacob played with their normal blend of amazing tennis, especially at the net. So many good volleys from that group today.

But the first win came from #2SJV, Ian. He had wanted a try at a singles match after playing doubles most of the year. And he confidently controlled the court, getting many balls back and continuing to look like a more and more powerful player as well. His match got real tight in the end, he went down 6-7, then up 8-7, before he was able to finish it out. But his scrambling style worked really well in sealing the win in this match.

Actually, scrambling was something that it felt like we were doing in a lot of the matches tonight, which really made the matches fun. Justin and Adam had a match where they were volleying, running down lobs and playing long groundstroke rallies. Adam's volleys were running the opponents all over the court as well. At #3S, Keagan had the best groundstrokes, but was having to scramble as well as his opponent's shots landed short in the court and made him come forward. Emerson and Jacoby got down 1-6 in their pro set, but suddenly found a comeback as they scrambled the ball away from the net player, and aggressive went for their shots. They had so much joy in their comeback.

I loved to see us scrambling around the court, being confident, giving ourselves a chance. I can't wait to get back out to practice with each of these guys and continue to see them getting better!

Moments of Joy
These are going to be moments that I saw in the match that were fun, beautiful and memorable! Again, just from what I happened to see :-)

Ethan turn around flick of a backhand

In the second set, trailing 1-0, Ethan approached the net and got lobbed over. He sprinted back, kind of taking a weird angle at the ball, but getting back as fast as he could. For whatever reason, he was on the backhand side of the ball, but kind of facing the fence. So he made a backhand flick, slapping the ball back across the net and putting his unexpecting opponent in a bad position. He had been in the middle of the court, expecting a weak return, not the low flick Ethan had delivered. It was another amazing piece of scrambling in this match, and really ignited Ethan to win the next two games.

Emerson's spinning lob retrieval

In Emerson and Jacoby's match, we were not getting enough balls in and not being aggressive enough. Fairfield was driving us off the net and controlling it themselves. Down 6-1, Emerson got lobbed over and ran back to get it. In one spinning motion at about 3/4 court, he spun in a circle and ripped a backhand past the net person. Fairfield was so surprised to see the shot they didn't even move as it bounced past them for a winner.

Breece and Jacob's epic point

Up 6-5 and serving for the match, Jacob and Breece saw their game go to deuce. At deuce, a lob flopped up in an awkward spot behind our #2D. It looked like it was going to be a clean winner, because there was no way that Jacob could get to it. But Breece scooped it up with an amazing flick of his forehand. He then was able to slide to the other side of the court and keep another ball in. After all this hustle, the next lob hung up to Jacob's overhead side, and he gladly finished it through the court, giving us a match point. It was such an exciting point, matched by the crowd's reaction and Breece running up to give Jacob a hug :-)

Moments of Encouragement
This segment is where I'll highlight ways that we built each other up during the match or the lead up to it.

Jacoby and Emerson's belief

Emerson and Jacoby looked tired and scared being down 1-6. They looked like they didn't really think they could come back. They were all frowns and frustration. But suddenly, they won a game and got a flicker of belief in their eyes. Then they were bouncing, hitting, high fiving. Then they won another and they were laughing and chatting and running to the change over together. This is so much of what good doubles looks like, when you begin to help each other believe. That is the type of encouragement we need!

Moment of Intention

This is a space where I will offer a short prayer for the team.

Dear Lord, I pray for this team as we finish off the season. Let us approach each day with joy. Let us move toward You and toward each other. May we fan into flame the gifts that you have given us. I am overjoyed at the way we have built this season. Let us walk into the end of the season with confidence and peace. In Jesus name, amen.

Scores

Varsity

#1S - Cameron Heinisch - 3-6, 4-6 - Garrett Stoltzfus (9)

#2S - Noah Schrock - 6-4, 7-6 (7) - Cooper Lecount (10)

#3S - Ethan Pairitz - 3-6, 3-6 - Seth Yoder (11)

#1D - Austin Shenk/Matthew Dyck - 4-6, 5-7 - Noah Hostetler (12)/Brandon Kauffman (11)

#2D - Jacob Leininger/Breece Erickson - 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 - Mick Moore (11)/Luke Holsopple (11)

Junior Varsity

#1SJV - Tristan Mast - 2-8 - Chase Buckholtz (10)

#2SJV - Ian McHugh - 9-7 - Evan Mathews (11)

#3SJV - Keagan Meyer - 1-8 - Brady Cripe (12)

#4SJV - Josiah Schlabach - 4-6 - Caleb Miller (11)

#1DJV - Josiah Schlabach/Jacob Shank - 4-8 - Collin Troyer (12)/Keegan Pressler (12)

#2DJV - Justin Hochstedler/Adam Siemens-Rhodes - 4-8 - Garrett Dunlap (12)/Noah Mast (10)

#3DJV - Jacoby Reinhardt/Emerson Landis - 6-8 - Colten Troyer (11)/Ryan Yoder (11)

#4DJV - Jacob Shank/Justin Hochstedler - 9-7 - Nate Bailey (9)/Brockton Miller (9)