Chapter 5 - vs. Columbia City

Parts 

never meant to touch

are touching. The touch

again, crush and grind,

until I am bright with ache.

from "Tennis Elbow" by Jim Hall

Anyone who says that high level tennis is not a physical game has never played nor watched high level tennis. Watch Rafael Nadal, the strain that he puts on his legs and knees, the way he kisses his biceps after wins. Listen the Novak Djokovic talk about what helped drag him to #1 in the world, the hours of workouts it took, not the hours of hitting. Come and see our own Abe Thorne play tennis.

Over the past few years, this Columbia City match has been close. We lost to 3-2 matches to them and then last year turned it around and won 3-2. In this year's match, we were ahead 3-0 in the varsity match before it even started. Columbia City only had 2 varsity players, and so we had won before we begun.

But there were still many things to be worked through. For example, Abe Thorne was about to play one of his most evenly matched opponents of the season. And Jesse Amstutz looked to have a difficult match as well against a 3 year varsity player. 

Then, the injuries started mounting. We were already thankful to rest Parth, who has been having shoulder difficulties since last year. Two JV guys are out with aches and pains as well (Bryce Miller from a 60 mph ATV crash!) Then, Jesse mentioned that his arm hurt while trying to serve, and he is fearing tennis elbow. Jesse was one of the heroes of last week, grinding out 4 long matches. So we decided to give him a break, and Sol Brenneman unexpectedly took the court in Jesse's place.

Sol played an excellent first set in his opportunity. He attacked, he hit with confidence, he had fun, he made great points. Then the second set began and he quickly fell behind. It looked like it was going to be a third set for Sol, a long night in 90 degree heat, and a position he had not dealt with well on Saturday. 

But Tuesday's Sol was a man of a different mindset. Determined to play "really cool" points, Sol looked loose and fresh headed into the third set. He quickly won the first game, pounding several forehands into the corners. With his attacking, fun-finding attitude, Sol's strokes looked relaxed and well timed. And he won, 6-0 in the third.

Meanwhile, our JV was having a different experience. Instead of grinding, they were flying through their opponents. Byeong picked up his 5th win, 6-0, and Ryan and Ethan won with the same scoreline. Jackson King had yet to pick up a win on the season, but teamed with Brandon Nguyen, they rounded out the JV wins. Jacob Rudy-Froese got his second chance at singles, but became the only JV loss. And all of those JV matches were done, even though they involved the Columbia City players playing twice, before Abe was even done with his first set.

Abe was playing Niko Rongos, a tough sophomore who had beaten Ike Lehman last year in their #2 singles match. It had been a long, draining match in which Ike had fought through cramps near the end. Guess what, history was about to repeat itself. 

In the first set, Rongos controlled the early part of the set before Abe took control near the end. Abe especially established control with long, deep shots. As the tension built, Rongos began to make more errors. However, as the set entered a tiebreak, Rongos loosened and attacked, and the more aggressive player usually wins in tight situations. Rongos took the first set tiebreak and the momentum that went with it.

In the second, Abe looked tired and done. Rongos took advantage of Abe's weak play and errors and took a 4-1 lead. Seth offered simple advice at that changeover. "You're not playing like Abe." Then Abe turned the tide and attacked, moved, hit, yelled. He won five straight games to claim the second and force a third set. 

Starting the third, both players held serve. Then Abe started stretching his calves, and I knew that the physicality of the match was making him begin to cramp. At the start of the next game, it was all too evident. Hitting a first serve, Abe crumpled to the ground head first with severe cramping in both legs. After four or five minutes of stretching, it became obvious that Abe wouldn't be able to continue to the end of the match. He had to default, giving the win to Rongos. It was not the end of the great match that anyone wanted.

As we grind through August, both the mental and the physical have to come together. Sol seemed to get the upper hand on the mental today, but the heat drained Abe. It's just a reminder, everything that we spend our energy on has to be worthwhile because, in the words of poet Jim Hall...

"And every winner I hit,

every exquisite triumph

has made me tender,

put a twinge in my step..."

Let's continue to stay focused as Abe and Sol did today, so that none of these twinges are wasted.

Varsity

#1S - Abraham Thorne - 6-7 (5), 6-4, 1-2 (retired) - Niko Rongos (10)

#2S - Sol Brenneman - 6-1, 3-6, 6-0 - Blake Fearnow (12)

#3S - Justin Zehr - won by default

#1D - Joel Gerig/Hans Miller - won by default

#2D - Parth Patel/Landon Weldy - won by default

Junior Varsity

#1SJV - Byeong Min Lim - 6-0 - McCade Kennedy (10)

#2SJV - Jacob Rudy-Froese - 1-6 - McCade Kennedy (10)

#1DJV - Ryan Duckworth/Ethan Lapp - 6-0 - Matt Kennedy (9)/Dillon Reed (9)

#2DJV - Jackson King/Brandon Nguyen - 6-3 - Matt Kennedy (9)/Dillon Reed (9)

#04 - Changing the Pattern

The last 2 matches of the 2012 season saw the Bruins drop 3-2 decisions, close matches that could have been turned around by one individual's or one doubles team's ability to pull out a couple more big points, stay cool in nervous situations, or simply perform at a high level throughout the match instead of having lulls.

The last 2 matches with Columbia City have seen us drop excruciating 3-2 decisions, close matches that could have been turned around by those very same big pressure performances.

Our unfortunate pattern has been to feel the pressure, tighten up, and lose those tight matches.

But now, we're changing those patterns.

This match saw us play some of our best tennis in pressure situations, pulling out the three crucial matches with three excellent performances.

First, Joel Gerig and Hans Miller got the first point for the Bruins. As #2 doubles was the one spot that the Eagles had taken from Concord, I was a little nervous about this match. Hans and Joel put me at ease early. They really played great tennis, but what impressed me most was the way in which they won. They won by staying on the attack the entire match. They took advantage of good positioning, finished balls at the net, and played solid from the baseline. Their match was the quickest of all five, as they picked up momentum throughout.

Another position that got off to a great start was #1 doubles. We hadn't won any points at #1 doubles yet this year, a pattern which needed to be changed. In the beginning of this match, it was obvious that Himal was hunting for that win. Some, Parth joined him. I wish I had a count of the number of net points that this team putaway during the match. I'm sure the count would reach be above 50. It was remarkable. The first set breezed by as they got a 6-2 set.

In the second, the match stayed tight. It seemed that we were rallying more from the baseline, and having trouble keeping the ball in the court. Still, the Eagles were struggling with errors of their own. The set stayed tight, but Himal and Parth pulled ahead at the end to grab a 5-4 lead. They couldn't finish, then grabbed a 6-5 lead. They couldn't finish, so it went to a tiebreak. In the tiebreak, they denied one set point before having a match point on Parth's serve. Unfortunately, they couldn't convert and soon lost the set to head to a third.

At this point, the pattern of the match was set. We would either hit winners or make errors and the Eagles were playing defensive. We were making slightly more errors than winners in the beginning of the set, and the Eagles grabbed a 4-2 lead. But then, we changed the pattern. We moved quicker at the net, we hit more first serves in, we finished with sharp angles right at the Eagle net players. Soon, it was 4-3, then 4-4, then with two relatively easy games, we'd won 6-4. It was a smoothly, almost nerveless end of the match.

As it turned out, this match sealed the clinching point, because of what happened in Nathan Brendle's match just before.

For two years, Nathan has faced off against classmate Derek Hinen of Columbia City. In 2010, we lost 3-2 to Columbia City with the final, decisive match being Nate's loss to Hinen. Last year, we lost 3-2 as well, with the final match being Nate's 3-set loss to Hinen. This year, Nathan was determined to change that pattern.

But it looked like it might come down to him again. With the other matches ending, Nathan had played a superb first set, sealing it at a comfortable 6-3. In the second set, he built a lead of 4-1, but soon Hinen was really finding his game. Derek Hinen is so quick and athletic, he can track down just about any ball. Last year, his style led him to within 1 match of the Individual State Finals. This match, he really found his form in the middle of the second set. Nathan took a 5-3 lead, but Hinen held tight to close it to 5-4. But with continued patience, Nathan continued to work each point. In the past, Nathan would get to impatient, overswing, and give away free points. In this match, he changed that mental pattern and became stronger as the point went on. The result: a 2-set win in a big, big match!

The other two matches saw us play some good tennis and learn a lot as well, especially about playing consistent players who play without a lot of pace on their shots. Abe Thorne at #3 singles looked like he was cruising to a victory as he took a 5-1 lead in the first set, but then he couldn't seem to find his groove again as senior Drew Benedict barely missed another shot. Abe lost 11 of the last 14 games, struggling to keep positive against the human backboard that Benedict became.

The story was similar for Ike Lehman. He attacked his way to a set lead, then took a 5-2 lead in the second. But the tactics then changed, and Ike struggled against fatigue and tightness to finish overheads and points at the net. Errors compiled as did frustration. The second set was lost in a tiebreak, and then in the third Ike just seemed to run out of gas. It was a gutsy effort, but one that didn't ultimately succeed.

Which was too bad. It would have been good to have a Bruin sweep on this day. But we're beginning to change patterns to our favor, so let's hope this trend continues.

Notes & Stats
- Another changing pattern: In our last 2 matches, we've watched a team member win a third set after the match has already been decided as a loss. In this match, we watched Columbia City win a third set after they'd already lost.

- This marked the first varsity win of the season for two juniors: Joel Gerig and Parth Patel. Nice job guys!

- Like Abe, Ike unfortunately lost 11 of his last 13 games. A pattern that we will change.

- Another interesting stat to keep would have been how many times Parth and Himal hit their opponents at the net. Keep your guard up when these guys are at net!

Scores
#1S - Nathan Brendle - 6-3, 6-4 - Derek Hinen (12)
#2S - Ike Lehman - 7-5, 6-7 (5), 1-6 - Niko Rongos (9)
#3S - Abe Thorne - 5-7, 3-6 - Drew Benedict (12)
#1D - Himal King/Parth Patel - 6-2, 6-7 (7), 6-4 - Mason Coverstone (10)/Blake Fearnow (11)
#2D - Joel Gerig/Hans Miller - 6-4, 6-2 - Daniel Woll (12)/Austin Paul (12)

Columbia City Preview

Details: Tuesday, August 21 at Columbia City

Last Season Review: Last year, we lost 3-2 to Columbia City in excruciating fashion. It came down to the last match left on the court, which we couldn't convert. 

3 Interesting Facts:
#1 - This will be the first of 2 "Eagle" nicknamed teams that we face this week.
#2 - We have never defeated the Columbia City Eagles. In the 2 years that we faced them, each match has finished with us losing 3-2.
#3 - We have 1 common opponent played this season, the Concord Minutemen. We lost 3-2 on Saturday while Columbia City lost 4-1 last Monday.
 
Columbia City Details: From the match reports I can find, it looks like Columbia City is 1-2, having lost to Concord and Warsaw, while defeating Churubusco. Those results don't tell very much about them as a team. Concord and Warsaw are both strong teams, while Churubusco is weak. Their have been some interesting scores within these matches, like #2 singles going to 3 sets with Warsaw and #1 doubles being taken to 3 sets by Churubusco.

Bethany Christian Details: We unfortunately lost a close one to Concord on Saturday. If Abe's tiebreak would have gone his way, we may have found ourselves with our first win of the season. Instead, we sit at 0-3 as a team, with two losses of the 3-2 variety.

Projected Columbia City Lineup:
Individual Record in Parenthesis
#1S - Derek Hinen (1-2)
#2S - Nick Rongos (1-2)
#3S - Drew Benedict (1-1)
#1D - Blake Fearnow/Mason Coverstone (1-1)
#2D - Austin Paul/Daniel Woll (2-1)

Outlook: This is a match of turning the tides. We've lost our last two matches 3-2, to Concord and Goshen. We've lost to Columbia City 3-2 the past two times we've played them. We have yet to record our first team win of the season. This is the match where we've got to play good tennis and change the trends. I get the feeling that Columbia City is a team much like us, trying to figure things out as the season goes. They've tried several different lineups, as have we. They've had some close individual matches, as have we. It's time to be ready for our best match yet. Improving each time.

The Story vs. Columbia City: Match #6

The Lead: "Heartbreak Again"
The dreariness afternoon hung above us ominously as we waited in the dripping rain for the Eagles to arrive. I couldn't help but remember last season, as we drove through the gray to Columbia City for the first time, not knowing what to expect. Three hours later we had driven back, owners of our first loss, 3-2. This year, I hoped we knew what to expect, I hoped we'd come with some fire, I hoped we'd pull out a memorable match.

And it will be memorable, but probably only in disappointment. As a varsity team, this is probably one of the closest team matches ever. 3 matches went into 3 sets. There were 4 tiebreak sets (we won 3 of the 4 tiebreaks, got to like that!)

But when we needed to string points together, it wasn't there. We couldn't get the momentum when we needed it, to pull ahead, to pull back, to win the crucial games. And that mental and physical consistency under pressure will be key heading forward.

The match came down to the 3 singles spots today, as both doubles were decided in two sets. We won the #1 doubles match, the Eagles took #2 doubles. So 2 of 3 singles spots were needed for the win. But all the singles players decided they wanted to play for a really long time, and each match went into three sets. Nate matched up against a player who was quick, got to many balls, but simply took the pace off of everything. Blake seemed to be playing a carbon copy of that same player. And Ike was playing an aggressive player who liked to try to take the net and finish points from there.

Blake took a first set tiebreak, but lost the second. Nate got frustrated and made too many errors in the first set, but came back to storm through the second set, swinging the ball wide and attacking behind these balls. Ike dropped a first set tiebreak, and told me that the second set would not go to a tiebreak. It got close, but he won the set 7-5 behind much more confident strokes.

All of the third sets went back and forth. Nate was the first to finish, as he traded games with junior Derek Hinen until 4-4, where Nate's finishing touch at the net seemed to desert him. Behind a few missed volleys, Hinen took the 5-4 lead and then served out the match to win 6-4.

Which meant we needed Blake and Ike. And Ike was looking good for it. He pushed himself ahead first 2-1, then 3-2, then 4-3. Always close but always keeping his nose in front. Blake and senior Gabe Boles traded service games, but Blake did not seem confident in his strokes despite the close score. Holding a 3-2 lead, Boles finally broke and then held again to go up 5-2 in the set. Blake played an aggressive last game, but couldn't find the winning touch to take it. Boles won 6-2 in the final set, sealing the Eagles final point for victory.

Ike finished up his match, getting his first singles victory of the season. That was a positive end on the night. We'll have to get better at closing these long matches, at finishing and staying aggressive. Ike was able to keep his nerve and do just that, and he ended up a winner. It's a difficult thing to keep mind and body in that aggressive and loose state. Hopefully these heartbreaks are building blocks to some future successes!

The Hidden Narrative
Abe Thorne and Evan Grimes are coming on as a doubles team. After losing their first two matches at Northridge and against Goshen, they are on a 3 match winning streak. It all started in the second set against Goshen, where they finally realized what it really means to be aggressive and active in doubles. From there, they've taken these tendencies and won matches.

Tonight, despite a close scoreline, it always felt like Evan and Abe were in control. They were getting enough of their serves in, they were the team controlling the points (even when they were making the errors). That's what I love to see. The ability to take control of a point and put yourself in the best position possible.

And the winning has come from finishing those points. Putting down overheads, punching volleys in between their opponents, finding the seams for passing shots, and using the tool of the lob. I was quite impressed with the array of weapons from the team tonight, and can't wait to see those continue to develop. Perhaps we'll get a second shot at the Goshen team that taught us so much if Abe and Evan continue to improve!

Other Storylines
- Abe and Evan won in two tiebreak sets. That means they have now played 5 straight tiebreak sets. Also, after losing the first, they've won 4 straight.

- There were 4 tiebreak sets in this match tonight. We also had 4 against Jimtown. This team has a desire for the dramatic, I guess :-)

- For the first time in my 9 years of coaching, I was involved in a match where a line judge was called. It was weird, standing there on the court. But I did get an up close and personal view of Abe and Evan finishing off their second set.

- Wade Troyer won his second straight match at #1 singles JV. He had a chance to close it out 8-0, but felt some compassion and gave up 2 games. This is the second straight year he has defeated Blake Fearnow from Columbia City (who has a simply awesome last name!)

- Speaking of tiebreaks, the JV team match was decided in one. Sol Brenneman and Ryan Duckworth struggled with their own errors throughout the night, but they sealed the JV's second win of the season by defeating Blake Fearnow and David Peterson 7-6. The tiebreak was impressive, as the freshmen gained their composure and won it 7-1!

- Colin Samuel got his first match in tonight, and won a game too! He played a couple of very long, very good points, eventually losing 8-1.

- #2 doubles lost tonight, 6-2, 6-2. But at times, Joel's lefty serve was unreturnable. It was funny to watch the Eagles struggle with the spin of the shot as it curled into their backhands. Also, fun to watch Parth slam down ones that weakly cleared the net. Now, about doing that consistently... :-)

- Tonight was Ike's first varsity singles win! Celebrations are in order!

The Scores
Varsity
#1S - Nate Brendle - 2-6, 6-1, 4-6 - Derek Hinen (11)
#2S - Blake Shetler - 7-6 (4), 2-6, 2-6 - Gabe Boles (12)
#3S - Ike Lehman - 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-3 - Devin Moore (12)
#1D - Evan Grimes/Abe Thorne - 7-6 (5), 7-6 (2) - Ryan Flauding (12)/Dalton VanHouten (10)
#2D - Joel Gerig/Parth Patel -2-6, 2-6 - Matt Rethlake (12)/Brandon Gay (12)

Junior Varsity
#1SJV - Wade Troyer - 8-2 - Blake Fearnow (10)
#2SJV - Colin Samuel - 1-8 - Mason Coverstone (9)
#1DJV - Sol Brenneman/Ryan Duckworth - 7-6 (1) - Blake Fearnow (10)/David Peterson (9)