#19 - The Regular Season's End

The last Monday of the regular season, we traditionally host the Cadets of The Howe School. This year, we were planning on the same. But in the morning, things got turned around and we were headed to Howe for the first time to play. We'd been warned of horrible courts with gaping cracks, with weeds growing as high as your knees. But, nonetheless, we headed out to our last regular season match.


When we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised. The courts were beautiful! And there were 6, which meant that the match might move even faster than we'd originally expected. And certainly, as the matches started, it looked like they'd move quickly.


At #1 singles, #3 singles, and #1 doubles, the Bruins were breezing through the first sets without losing points (for the most part). Sol and Justin simply had too good of groundstrokes for their opponents, and Landon and Wade were taking care of their opponents from the net. At #2 singles, Tristan lost the first game but recovered to win the next 2. And #2 doubles were up 4-1. It looked like a good, quick win for us.


And the success, continued right on through the match for #1, #3, and #1 doubles. Without losing a game, those 3 positions were done in about 40 minutes. Their opponents were gracious in defeat, with a great deal of laughing and volunteering to play again going on. But in very little time, we had sealed the varsity win, #13 on the season for us.

But two varsity matches were still going. Tristan, looking half asleep, had lost the first set 6-4. And #2 doubles, Neel Bhagat and Ethan Lapp, were ahead in the second set after winning the first. Tristan's opponent was causing him all sorts of trouble. He was hitting the ball back every single time and just waiting for Tristan to make an error. At times, he would hit beautiful lobs over Tristan's head as Tristan tried to attack the net. Like often happens when we play this type of opponent, Tristan was getting frustrated. So like the beginning of the season, we talked about the necessity of letting bad shots go and instead getting excited about good ones. Trailing 2-5 in the second set, Tristan began little fist pumps. No shouts of joy, no screamed "C'mon," just a little energy. His feet began to pick up, his shots began to gain pace and placement, and suddenly he was playing great and his opponent could not stay in the match. Tristan won 10 of the next 11 games to close out a third set win.

Unfortunately it was not that easy for the #2 doubles team. They got very nervous and pushed the ball all the way through their second set tiebreak. In the third set, they were still nervous, but were playing well enough to stay close in the set. Trailing 4-3, I let them know that the key to winning tight matches is to continue to stay loose and aggressive. So hit through the ball. That is what they did, and in the next 3 games they only lost 4 points total. That gave them a close third set win, and the team a 5-0 victory.

In JV, Noah Hochstetler and Jack Erlacher both took home 8-0 victories. Roberto Ramos also captured a singles victory in his first singles match of the season. Paul Krabill got his first win of the year as he took on a chattering doubles combo from Howe with senior Wade Troyer. This gave Paul one more win in his freshman year than Wade got :-) We had a delicious meal, and then headed home, with the JV and the regular season complete.

Scores
Varsity
#1S - Sol Brenneman - 6-0, 6-0
#2S - Tristan Clark - 4-6, 7-5, 6-2
#3S - Justin Zehr - 6-0, 6-0
#1D - Wade Troyer/Landon Weldy - 6-0, 6-0
#2D - Neel Bhagat/Ethan Lapp - 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-4

JV
#1SJV - Noah Hochstetler - 8-0
#2SJV - Jack Erlacher - 8-0
#3SJV - Roberto Ramos - 8-6
#1DJV - Delan Schrock/Jacob Rudy-Froese - 1-8
#2DJV - Wade Troyer/Paul Krabill - 8-4

Bethany Christian vs. Howe Military

It was an interesting last varsity match of the year, as we ended up rounding out our schedule with Howe Military. We were supposed to have one more varsity and JV match, but Tippecanoe Valley canceled, and so this was the end of the regular season.

In an annual tradition, we did not play all of our varsity regulars against Howe, despite the fact that they are a varsity team. It is a match in which we want to give people who have not played many matches a chance to play, and a match where our JV usually stacks up competitively against their varsity. So we threw out a little different lineup, and allowed many players to get some varsity experience.

Blake Shetler stepped out of his new #3 singles role and played #1 singles against junior Briham Yang. Blake has continued to develop his match strategy throughout the year, with "ninja" training from coach Andrew Lanctot, and his new skills were on full display tonight. I liked to see his aggression despite a player who hits the ball hard. Blake also had his serves on, and finished with a handful of aces.

#2 singles was Matt Ebersole, playing his first varsity match. He struggled a bit in the first set to find the pace of the match, but in the second set Matt really got it going. I've been saying most of the year that the main thing that hampers Matt is his footwork. In this match, he moved beautifully, running down balls and impressively choosing the smart shot most of the time. He rolled through the second set for a straight sets win.

Ike Lehman also got the call for singles, and played against an opponent with impressive strokes, but inconsistent placement of those strokes. Ike is another player who has shown rapid improvement throughout the year, and I can't wait to see what next year holds for him as he keeps playing throughout the offseason. He has become so much more consistent on his serve and forehand, and while they are not weapons yet they are reliable. He also has the tenacity to run balls down and make his opponent hit one more shot. Ike won this match and showed that he is going to be an asset for the Bruins for the next several years.

#1 doubles saw our seniors, Jake Gerig and Claude Stickler, team up together for the last time in Bruins uniforms. I am so proud of them, sticking with tennis for four years, and improving as they did so. There opponents weren't quite up to their level, and from the very beginning of the match, Howe Militay's players acted as if they knew they were in for some trouble. The match was played with a lot of laughter and a very light spirit, which I think was fun for the seniors. They won easily in their last match, the first varsity victory in his career for Claude.

#2 doubles was a much younger pair, Ryan Minter and Evan Grimes. In this match we were "introduced" to the athletic prowess that Evan possesses. He was all over the court making leaping, stretching, aggressive plays. He did a great job playing for his partner and covering Ryan's occasional mistakes and miscues. Ryan has done a great job developing his strokes, but still has the net game and his net presence to work on. But that is what the long offseason is for!

So we won the varsity match 5-0, and the JV match was a chance for the freshman and new players to show off their work. Wade Troyer played #1 JV, and played and excellent match. I never would have thought he would get to the point he has, with very good hand-eye coordination and ability to move to the ball quickly. He held in close in his match despite facing a 4-7 deficit at one point. He pulled the match back but still lost 6-8.

Josh Helmuth played #2S, and his match had the same theme as Wade's. I am encouraged to see Josh play because he cares a lot about doing the right thing and not making silly mistakes. He made just a couple too many errors to finish his match with a win, losing 6-8.

Himal King had the unfortunate responsibility of playing one of the better players from Howe, and he saw himself lose 0-8. Himal is another player who has developed great hand-eye coordination, but hasn't quite figured out how to speedily move about the court to get to the good shots of his opponents.

Evan Eby and Han Gil Lee teamed up for our only JV win. They fell behind quickly, but Han Gil figured out how to dominate the net after the opening games. Propelled by his new found net game and Evan Eby's consistent groundstrokes, #1 doubles was able to turn the deficit into a tight 8-6 victory. It was good to see both of these guys pick up wins, especially Evan after the work that he has put in throughout the season.

So, a 5-0 varsity accomplishment leaving us at 13-7 on the season. A 3-1 JV defeat ended the JV schedule at 5-8. Everyone got to play, and it will be a good way for these players to enter the offseason. A lot of work needs to be done, but some of these players may find themselves playing for a Sectional crown next year (or this year!)

Scores

Varsity
#1S - Blake Shetler - 6-1, 6-1 - Briham Yang (11)
#2S - Matt Ebersole - 6-4, 6-1 - Kun Lai (11)
#3S - Ike Lehman - 6-2, 6-3 - Zach Mellen (10)
#1D - Claude Stickler/Jake Gerig - 6-1, 6-1 - Ryan Patterson (11)/Justin Taylor (10)
#2D - Evan Grimes/Ryan Minter - 6-1, 6-3 - Eddie Hayes (11)/Jacob Riddle (12)

Junior Varsity
#1SJV - Wade Troyer - 6-8 - Robert Wira (9)
#2SJV - Josh Helmuth - 6-8 - Tyler Miller (10)
#3SJV - Himal King - 0-8
#1DJV - Evan Eby/Han Gil Lee - 8-6 - Nick Molner (11)/Alec Hill (10)

Monday Morning Match Memories

MMMM #12: My Favorite Howe Military Memories

It's a strange match that we have every year. Our JV team plays against the varsity of Howe Military. We usually follow it up with a raucous night of making tennis videos while I go find out who our Sectional opponent is. So today, in honor of this overlooked match, my 10 favorite Howe Military moments.

#10: People getting their first varsity wins.
We always play Howe's varsity with our JV players (a tradition that I enjoyed at Angola as well). Because of this, most of our players end up playing their first varsity match against Howe. It's always fun to look at the varsity records, near the bottom of the list and see all the 1-0 and 2-0 records because they've won against Howe.

#09: Padding our win-loss record in down years.
Some years, we have not had the maximum amount of matches allowed for a varsity program due to rain outs, or poor scheduling on our end, or teams that didn't have enough players, or teams that canceled tournaments without telling any of the other teams involved in the tournament (I'm looking at you Lakeland). Anyways, in those years I get to count the Howe win as one that goes on the varsity record, even though we play them with the jivvies. It always makes us look better than we actually are, kind of like saying the Michigan style would have made us 17-0-1 or whatever that was.

#08: Justin Gregor playing #2 singles on varsity!
That's right, in Gregor's sophomore year Howe Military didn't even have enough players to play 2 JV matches. So their coach made their #2 singles player play again. His lucky opponent. Justin Gregor and all of his tennis talents and abilities! After getting wiped out in his first match by Mikey Kelly (6-0, 6-1) he went back on the court and beat Justin (6-0). Weird day, but awesome opportunity for Justin.

#07: People winning their matches 6-0, 6-0.
6-0, 6-0 doesn't happen all that much over the course of a season. It's really a special scoreline and takes a ton of concentration and focus to complete, even against tragic opponents. I like players having the challenge of winning 6-0, 6-0. It tells me who can focus through times that are boring and uninteresting and still play their best. Those same people will then play their best under pressure as well, because they have the mental skills to concentrate and call on their best practices.

#06: Weston and Will Troyer playing together.
#2 doubles, on senior night, 2007. Weston got his first varsity match and the brothers played awesome together, picking up a win. It was fun to watch them play together, to dominate the net, to see their parents watching them together. Happy senior night for Weston too, I hope.

#05: Joe Friesen loses!
In 2004, we had a varsity match rescheduled for the same night as the Howe Military match. So the JV stayed here, and finished their match before I got back with the varsity. When I came inside to go to my mailbox where the scores had been left, I saw that Joe Friesen score was written as if he had lost. I automatically assumed it had been written wrong, and reported the score to the paper as 5-0 for us. However, the next day, it turned out Joe had lost for real. I was kind of shocked, as everyone else had won fairly easily.

#04: Austin Loucks unending set.
As we waited to go for Night Out, Austin played #3 singles and won his first set 6-2. Then his opponent played an excellent second set, taking the lead 6-5 at the end. Austin forced a tiebreak, and while we all waited around, the tiebreak went back and forth, back and forth. Everyone was anxious to leave, but we were all waiting on Austin. Finally, he won, 10-8 in the tiebreak. Everyone was mad at him for getting so nervous, and yet glad he had actually won without going to a third set.

#03: Justin Gregor and Evan Grimes wanting to finish their match in the rain.
Yea, this past year Justin and Evan were the last match on, and it started to get dark and rain a bit. We called everyone off the courts so that they wouldn't get hurt and so that Howe could head home. But no, Evan, Justin and their opponents had other ideas. Both teams agreed they'd keep playing through the rain. Finally, with the score 5-4 in favor of Bethany, we convinced them to stop. Since they were leading, I officially counted it as a win. So nice job, way to desire to finish it out.

#02: Joel's first serve against the girls.
In 2003 we didn't have enough players for a JV, so Joel King volunteered to play down against Howe. He played a regular varsity match in doubles with Jordan Kauffman, then played another doubles match against a Howe JV team. The second match was against two female players. They didn't much looked like they cared to be on the court. After warming up without hardly getting a racket on the ball, the girls said they were ready to start. Joel served first and hit a gentle second serve down the T. The Howe Military player didn't move at all, just watched it go by without moving a muscle, then said, "Ummm, yea, that was good." That pretty told the story of the match.

#01: My golden set in Sectional 1997.
#1 has nothing to do with Bethany. As a junior at Angola, we drew Howe Military in the first round of the Sectional. In my match, I was able to win the first set without losing a set. Actually, I was up 6-0, 3-0 before I lost a point. It was incredible and I don't even know if I could do that again now.

Anyways, just some thoughts on a different match than the others I've been writing about. Have fun reminiscing about your good old days playing our fun friends from the Military Institute.

Howe Military Match Report

16-0, now with two wins over varsity teams. The JV continues to roll along this season, right towards the finish line. One match to go, one match until team perfection.

Too be honest, this match was rather a mismatch at the varsity level. Ben Mast and Seth Krabill had won 6-0, 6-0 before I even got back from practicing with the varsity. Matthew Amstutz was also off the courts already with a 6-1, 6-1 win. So, by the time the varsity finished practice, the JV match was officially clinched.

I got back in time to watch a bit of the doubles. One doubles of Russell Klassen and Kyle Miller claimed to be playing poorly, but their scoreline was similar to the other matches. They did seem to be a bit off, but this could be attributed to playing a different type of opponent than on Friday at Penn. It is sometimes hard to adjust between a hard hitting opponent and one who has significantly less power. Austin Loucks and Claude Stickler seemed to be dealing with the same thing at number two doubles.

This was another win for the JV, and everybody got to play, which is important as well. And then we went and did tennis videos, which is important as well. Hopefully, the JV will stay perfect for the season tomorrow when we face Tippecanoe Valley.

Scores

JV (against Howe's varsity)
Ben Mast - 6-0, 6-0 - Kevin Massoser (12)
Seth Krabill - 6-0, 6-0 - Greg Abbott (10)
Matthew Amstutz - 6-1, 6-1 - Chris Hunter (12)
Russell Klassen/Kyle Miller - 6-1, 6-2 - Jon Patterson (12)/Derk Haldewang (9)
Austin Loucks/Claude Stickler - 6-1, 6-3 - Austin Webb (11)/Kyle Boyles (9)

C Team (against Howe's JV)
Blake Shetler - 8-3 - Joe Pierson (11)
Matt Ebersole - 6-8 - Kyle Dostie-First (10)
Nick Rebec/Misha Rebec - 8-0 - Jacob Riddle (11)/Tyler Miller (9)
Justin Gregor/Evan Grimes - leading 5-4 - Nick Molnar (10)/Michael Kunz (9)

Bethany Christian vs. Howe Military {Match Report}

It was Bethany's senior night, and Weston Troyer did it up right!

Playing against Howe Military's varsity, Weston Troyer ended his Bethany tennis career with a win. Playing with his brother Will at #2 doubles, Weston dominated play with his sweet net game, massive overheads, and big serves. Right from the first point, which Weston nailed with a huge slam, it was easy to see this was going to be a great match for the Bruin senior. With large groups of fans cheering he and Will on, Weston rose to the occasion to grab his first and only victory as a member of the Bruin varsity.

At the rest of the positions, the younger players took care of their business as well. Ben Mast handled #1 singles easily, trying to play a more attacking game he watched as Howe's Tom Jarkewicz made too many mistakes to overcome. It was the same for Kyle Miller and Seth Krabill playing #1 doubles. Hoards of mistakes from their opponents was the name of the game, and only some less than gentle prodding from the coaches even made Seth and Kyle play aggressively, for they weren't going to need to in order to win. To their credit, they picked up the aggressive play and played a much more fun second set.

#2 singles was a position that made the Bruins work, but in the end Russell was able to outhustle Wildcat junior Kevin Mammoser. Russell staked himself to a lead in both sets by controlling the attacking play of Mammoser with good passing shots and lobs. Russell seemed to tire at the end of the second set, as Mammoser became more consistent and made Russell play longer points, but Klassen was able to close out the match.

The closest match of the day came at #3 singles, where an attacking and aggressive Austin Loucks raced through a relatively easy first set, then found himself in a fight for the second. With the entire team looking on, Austin had to deny senior Will Pearce one match point before cashing in on his third. Both opponents played a very consistent tiebreaker to end the second set, and Austin was glad to not have his teammates angry with him for delaying the end of this match.

Scores
------------------------------
Bethany --- Score --- Howe Military

#1S - Ben Mast (9) --- 6-0, 6-0 --- Tom Jarkewicz (12)
#2S - Russell Klassen (9) --- 6-2, 6-2 --- Kevin Mammoser (11)
#3S - Austin Loucks (10) --- 6-1, 7-6 (8) --- Will Pearce (12)
#1D - Kyle Miller (9)/Seth Krabill (9) --- 6-1, 6-0 --- Graham McLaren (11)/Austin Noel (11)
#2D - Weston Troyer (12)/Will Troyer (11) --- 6-2, 6-4 --- Kyle Sass (11)/Greg Abbott (9)

JV
#1S - Jared Christophel (11) --- 8-0 --- Kyle Dostie-First (9)