Middle School Season Review

I always want to acknowledge the next generation coming up at Bethany. They are as much a part of our family as each of us. Especially if we are underclassmen, these middle school students will have a great deal to do with our future success.

So what does that future look like?

Middle School Minute - vs. Westview

Last Thursday, the middle school club traveled to Westview for our last match of the season. We switched up the lineup a bit from our Saturday tournament, and things worked out well. We ended up winning the match 6-3.

There were many highlights of the match. Abe Thorne and Parth Patel formed a powerful and confident #1 doubles team. In the Angola tournament, #1 doubles had defeated this same team 8-6, but today, Abe and Parth won 8-1. And the result was rarely in doubt. Abe and Parth were a great mix of consistency and power, and played comfortably with one another. It was what a doubles match should be.

The other doubles positions played well too. Hans Miller and Jesse Amstutz were playing their first matches of the season, and pulled off an easy win. Landon Weldy teamed with Joseph Mumaw to get his first victory of the season. Justin Zehr also won his first and only match, with an impressive display of skill, especially his forehand skill!

In singles, Isaac Brenneman ran into a very good player, while Sol outlasted a powerful player by taking the net when available. Kyle Snyder only had the opportunity to play in this one match, and he took full advantage of that, winning quite handily. Joel Gerig played his first singles match well, but lost in the end.

It was a beautiful night, and a fun way to end the season. I look forward to seeing many of these players continue in the Bruin tennis program. Summer camps, summer lessons, high school team... I hope many will continue to enjoy the tennis that we offer! If you see them, compliment them on their work and encourage them to keep it going... for a lifetime.

Scores
#1S - Isaac Brenneman - 2-8
#2S - Sol Brenneman - 8-3
#3S - Kyle Snyder - 8-2
#4S - Joel Gerig - 5-8
#1D - Abe Thorne/Parth Patel - 8-1
#2D - Hans Miller/Jesse Amstutz - 8-0
#3D - Joseph Mumaw/Landon Weldy - 8-0
#4D - Brooke Hershberger/Liz DeLeeuw - 6-8
#5D - Justin Zehr/Neel Bhagat - 7-5

Middle School Minute

This weekend, the MS team traveled to my home town of Angola to take part in the 1st annual Angola MS Invitational. We participated with Angola, Westview and Coldwater (MI). It was a beautiful day with perfect temperatures, and after a cold and rainy week, the sun came out on us.

The day was bright, and the tennis was pretty good too. Highlights included Isaac Brenneman defeated a stronger, taller, older player from Coldwater's team. Coldwater's team ended up winning the tournament by winning 6 of the 9 positions that were played. Isaac was the only one of our players to take down the powerhouse school in his position. I was very impressed by his consistent and persistent play in this match. It was right down to the wire, but he pulled it out.

Another highlight for the day was our #3 doubles team, the only ladies that were part of the tennis club this year. Brooke Hershberger and Liz DeLeeuw defeated Angola and Westview to earn a second place finish. That was all the more impressive considering they had only been able to come to one practice this spring due to the MS play!

I also enjoyed a myriad of other things about the day, the instruction and learning Parth got from playing #1 singles. The rapid improvement of Landon Weldy, and what a good match he gave his final opponent. Landon's closest match of the day was against the Coldwater player, losing 5-8. And the Coldwater player won his position!

The best points of the day were often on display at #1 doubles, where Sol Brenneman and Abe Thorne used there athleticism and quickness to attack the net and their opponents. Ethan Miller still has one of the best forehands on the team, and it was good to see him sprinting around the court in his matches. Bryan Nguyen also took second place, getting an 8-0 win over Angola in the process (along with a forfeit from Westview :-)

Cristian Romero found himself in many good matches at #3 singles, and it was good to see him make it through the day without falling asleep :-) Finally, I really enjoyed coaching Joel Gerig and Joseph Mumaw, because they listened to my advice and it worked. I love players who try to do the things they are coached to do, and Joseph and Joel did just that. They were excited and had fun on the court as well, which is what tennis is all about!

Thanks to those of you who participated, it was a lot of fun. I can't wait to do it again next year!

Scores

#1 Singles - Parth Patel
vs. Angola - 2-8
vs. Coldwater - 0-8
vs. Westview - 1-8

#2 Singles - Isaac Brenneman
vs. Angola - 0-8
vs. Coldwater - 8-6
vs. Westview - 8-1

#3 Singles - Cristian Romero
vs. Angola - 2-8
vs. Coldwater - 1-8
vs. Westview - 8-1

#4 Singles - Ethan Miller
vs. Angola - 0-8
vs. Coldwater - 3-8
vs. Westview - 8-4

#5 Singles - Landon Weldy
vs. Angola - 0-8
vs. Coldwater - 5-8
vs. Westview - 4-8

#6 Singles - Bryan Nguyen
vs. Angola - 8-0
vs. Coldwater - 3-8
vs. Westview - forfeit

#1 Doubles - Abe Thorne/Sol Brenneman
vs. Angola - 3-8
vs. Coldwater - 4-8
vs. Westview - 8-6

#2 Doubles - Joel Gerig/Joseph Mumaw
vs. Angola - 2-8
vs. Coldwater - 1-8
vs. Westview - 8-3

#3 Doubles - Brooke Hershberger/Liz DeLeeuw
vs. Angola - 8-6
vs. Coldwater - 2-8
vs. Westview - 8-1

Bethany Christian vs. Northridge (Middle School Match)

It was a really interesting day against Northridge Middle School. We had only two practices and a grand total of zero players who have taken lessons, outside of the one who has come to Bethany's summer "Bright Time" camp. And yet, we had a very successful day on the courts.

The most encouraging matches were turned in by 6th grader Thomas Schlabach and 7th grader Ethan Miller. Both were playing singles, at the #2 singles and #3 singles spots. Both were the only ones to win their first round matches, which pitted the best from Northridge against the best that we had available to play.

I say that we had available to play because a full 16 of our players weren't able to make the trip, as they were participating in the MS drama and had to stay back. It will be exciting to have the full compliment of players soon.

As the day wore on, players got to play second round matches as well, and the wins started to be more regular as players found opponents that they matched up well with. Tanner Fervida and Young Kwang Sun enjoyed a fun second doubles match in which they took a nice lead, only to see it slowly whittled away, before finally overcoming their opponents.

As people got into third match-ups, we began to win quite easily. Almost every player ended up winning one of their matches on the day. That is great, because we fielded a young team made up completely of 6th and 7th graders. There is great potential in a lot of these players, and I can't wait to see them continue tennis!

Scores

#1S - Sol Brenneman (7) - 1-8

#2S - Thomas Schlabach (6) - 8-5

#3S - Ethan Miller (7) - 8-6

#4S - Jack Erlacher (6) - 2-8

#5S - Jack Erlacher (6) - 6-1

#6S - Tanner Fervida (7) - 6-2

#7S - Young Kwang Sun (7) - 6-0

#1D - Trent Yoder (7)/Cristian Romero (7) - 0-8

#2D - Tanner Fervida (7)/Young Kwang Sun (7) - 1-8

#3D - Alex Reinhardt (6)/Ian Bomberger (6) - 0-8

#4D - Neel Bhagat (7)/Aadarsh Patel (6) - 2-8

#5D - Dylan Clark (6)/Elijah Lora (6) - 1-8

#6D - Trent Yoder (7)/Cristian Romero (7) - 8-0

#7D - Tanner Fervida (7)/Young Kwang Sun (7) - 8-5

#8D - Alex Reinhardt (6)/Ian Bomberger (6) - 3-6

#9D - Dylan Clark (6)/Elijah Lora (6) - 3-8

#10D - Neel Bhagat (7)/Aadarsh Patel (6) - 6-0

#11D - Sol Brenneman (7)/Ethan Miller (7) - 6-1

#12D - Trent Yoder (7)/Cristian Romero (7) - 6-2

#13D - Sol Brenneman (7)/Ethan Miller (7) - 6-0

#14D - Alex Reinhardt (6)/Ian Baumgartner (6) - 6-0

#15D - Neel Bhagat (7)/Aadarsh Patel (6) - 5-4

Middle School Minute

Two more sessions of practice yesterday, two more winners to a game, one big match coming tonight.

Practice was alright, but both groups lacked a bit of the energy that we had last week. It seems to have been a long day. We talked about the form of the serve (racquet back, follow through to your target) and played a couple of games. Sol Brenneman and Hans Miller ended up winning our two sessions of "King of the Court."

So that will place them high for the match tonight against Northridge. We play them at 4:30. It will be interesting, because we're missing more than half of our team as they participate in the play. Oh well...

Middle School Minute

Awesome first practice last night. I was really encouraged by the tennis I saw being played by the young Bruin players. There were so many standout moments to share. First of all, I loved the enthusiasm by which people were trying to hit with the right form. I love that people took to heart my encouragement to SWING, not punch. I got a chuckle from those who made fun of people who wouldn't swing. And I liked the way the 6th grade class learned, the 7th grade class played, and the 8th grade class showed what they'd learned.

For brief review, we covered:
1. Forehand form
- proper grip (shaking hands or slightly turned)
- racquet back at about waist height
- swing the racquet through, coming from slightly below the ball to slight above (towel metaphor)
- let your arm naturally flow through the zone and turn over your shoulder

2. Backhand form
- proper grip
- it is a forehand, using the left hand to come through
- racquet back at about waist height
- swing the racquet through, with the left hand being dominant
- let your arms turn over your shoulder in the follow through

After instruction and practice, we played a game: "Beat the Coach." The winner was Jack Erlacher. Jack is a sixth grader and he has tremendous form in his swing. He is steady and makes great contact in the center of his racquet almost every time. Give Jack a high-five/slap on the back for his good performance. In the "drama" practice, Jesse Amstutz won, but he had a little help from one overly aggressive coach. Hmmm.

We finished off by having the competitors from "Beat the Coach" who finished tied for second do a playoff, while the rest practiced vocally encouraging these teammates. Those who had done a great job finishing tied for second were Landon Weldy, Ethan Miller, Sol Brenneman, and Cristian Romero. Their "playoffs" were my favorite part of the practice. It was intense as the 4 in the tie were all competitive and wanted to win. Add onto that everyone standing around and watching them, cheering every time they won or cheering their opponent when they lost. It felt like a real high school tennis match for the brief couple of points. It was really fun!

I'm already looking forward to the next practice, next Monday, April 26. Then a match versus Northridge, well, we'll be ready to do our best! Thanks to all who came out and competed hard!

Middle School Minute

Middle school tennis kicks off tonight at Bethany. It looks like we have about thirty students signed up to play, which should make for an exciting (if not tiring) schedule. I'm really looking forward to seeing which of these players will find a joy and love in tennis that will push them to continue participation in high school. It's all about that love.

So, here is the middle school schedule, starting with the first hours of the season tonight!

Practice
April 19
April 26
April 29
May 4
May 7

Matches
April 27 - at Northridge
May 15 - Angola MS Tournament
May 18 - vs. Goshen

Middle School Minute

Tonight Blue-White middle school match wrapped up the season for the sixth through eighth graders. We played four matches, two against other schools and two against each other. Here was how the scores shook out for the last intrasquad match.

Blue-White Match
Andrew Snyder (White) defeats Isaac Schertz, 9-7
Tyrel Baldridge (White) defeats Tyler Brenneman, 8-5
Lucas Morgan (White) defeats Q Min Kim, 8-2
Cristian Romero (Blue) defeats Christina Juroff, 9-7
Parth Patel (White) defeats Josh Helmuth, 8-0

Ike Lehman/Caleb Morris (Blue) defeats Ryan Minter/Parth Patel, 8-4
Eder Paez/Sol Brenneman (White) defeats Abe Thorne/Isaac Brenneman, 8-5
Landon Weldy/Tanner Fervida (Blue) defeats Joel Gerig/Justin Zehr, 8-7
Julian Philips-Kanagy/Bryan Nguyen (Blue) defeats Wade Troyer/Ethan Miller, 8-5
Lorae Weaver/Santi Migliaro (White) defeats Joseph Mumaw/Leah Gundy, 8-4

There were some excellent matches, very even talents, last night as we played. Andrew Snyder and Isaac Schertz had an amazing, and high level, match. Isaac had the lead 7-5 and needed just one game to seal the victory. All of a sudden, he got a little tight and Andrew reeled off four straight games for the 9-7 victory.

Or there was the Christina Juroff/Cristian Romero match which went back and forth throughout the evening. Christina, who said she couldn't play singles before the match, actually had two chances to send the match into a tiebreak, but couldn't quite pull them off.

And there was the one tiebreak match, in which Landon Weldy and Tanner Fervida pulled out the closest of victories over Joel Gerig and Justin Zehr. It marks the second straight tiebreaker win for the pair, who also defeated their Northridge opponents in tiebreaker fashion.

So, thanks to all the middle schoolers who played. I'd love to see a number of you consider high school tennis in the future. Good job and keep learning!

Middle School Minute

Yes, we've been practicing and playing matches for the past couple weeks in the middle school tennis club. I've been so busy that I've simply not had time to post anything. (Maybe you've noticed).

Anyways, here are the results of our match against Goshen.

Bethany Christian vs. Goshen
Isaac Schertz/Tyrel Baldridge won 8-0
Tyler Brenneman/Sol Brenneman won 8-2
Isaac Brenneman/Cristian Romero won 8-3
Q Min Kim/Eder Paez won 8-0
Christina Juroff/Samantha Horsch won 8-0
Ethan Miller/Justin Zehr won 8-0
Julian Philips-Kanagy/Santi Migliaro won 8-0
Joseph Mumaw/Bryan Nguyen lost 4-6
Christina Juroff/Neel Bhagat won 6-3
Isaac Schertz/Tyrel Baldridge won again 8-0

The Goshen match was the first middle school club match ever for the Bruins, and we played well. We were missing 5 of our top 7 players, but it didn't matter too much in the final scoring. Goshen only had 5 boys players and 7-8 girls players. Most of these players were in 6th grade and experiencing their first go-around with tennis. While many of our players are in similar positions, we have many more 7th and 8th graders competing. So it was a bit uneven, but an inspiring performance nonetheless.

What made me particularly proud was our sportsmanship. Because the other team consisted of many beginners, our players did a great job accomodating them and helping them learn the rules. Special attention should go to Christian Juroff, who played two matches and received special recognition from Goshen's coach for her helpful attitude and comments. She was like a coach on the court, helping her opposition!

Bethany Christian vs. Northridge
Singles
Tyrel Baldridge lost 3-8
Andrew Snyder lost 5-8
Lucas Morgan lost 2-8
Ike Lehman lost 0-8

Doubles
Isaac Schertz/Tyler Brenneman lost 4-8
Caleb Morris/Q Min Kim lost 3-8
Cristian Romero/Sol Brenneman lost 5-8
Eder Paez/Ryan Minter lost 5-8
Ethan Miller/Isaac Brenneman won 8-5
Justin Zehr/Parth Patel won 8-3
Landon Weldy/Tanner Fervida won 9-8
Abe Thorne/Joel Gerig won 8-3
Christina Juroff/Brooke Hershberger won 8-1
Julian Philips-Kanagy/Joseph Mumaw lost 3-8
Maddie Gerig/Sadie Gustafson-Zook lost 4-8
Wade Troyer/Josh Helmuth lost 2-8
Lorae Weaver/Amber Heydon won 8-6
Neel Bhagat/Bryan Nguyen lost 2-8
Leah Gundy/Samantha Horsch lost 3-8
Santi Migliaro/Parth Patel won 8-2
Joseph Mumaw/Justin Zehr lost 2-8

So the final score was 14-7, in favor of Northridge. It was a very different match, as we had all of our players available to play. But Northridge was much better prepared and more practiced. Their top four players were excellent, and you could see that they had dedicated a lot of time to their development. In other words, unlike our top players who are playing for 45 minutes twice a week, they had more practice than that. It was very evident in the consisteny of the players. At the lower levels, our players held our own very well. I was especially pleased to see strong performances from our seventh and sixth graders: Parth Patel with two wins, Ethan, Isaac, Landon and Tanner all pulling off wins at relatively high positions.

So that wraps up the middle school season, but for one match against our own teammates. It's been an enjoyable experience, one that I hope convinces more students to stick with the tennis.

Middle School Minute

Teams were picked today for the Blue-White Matches. They are listed below. Also listed are the positions that each will be playing in the first Blue-White match on Friday. Everyone should get an opportunity to play both singles and doubles throughout the course of the year. Make sure that you plan on being here for your match, after school on Friday!

Blue vs. White

#1 Singles - Ike Lehman (B) vs. Andrew Snyder (W)
#2 Singles - Tyler Brenneman (B) vs. Ryan Minter (W)
#3 Singles - Joseph Mumaw (B) vs. Ethan Miller (W)
#4 Singles - Bryan Nguyen (B) vs. Lorae Weaver (W)
#5 Singles - Leah Gundy (B) vs. Neel Bhagat (W)

#1 Doubles - Isaac Shertz/Caleb Morris (B) vs. Tyrel Baldridge/Lucas Morgan (W)
#2 Doubles - Isaac Brenneman/Landon Weldy (B) vs. Eder Paez/Sol Brenneman (W)
#3 Doubles - Abe Thorne/Josh Helmuth (B) vs. Parth Patel/Joel Gerig (W)
#4 Doubles - Julian Philips Kanagy/Tanner Fervida (B) vs. Wade Troyer/Justin Zehr (W)

Also on the white team is Santi, but because he's injured he is not in the lineup yet.

Middle School Minute

Bethany Christian Middle School tennis started officially for the first time on March 23! We have about 25 middle schoolers testing the waters of tennis. Many are beginners, but several are talented with a lot of promise for high school and beyond.

Yesterday we had our first competition, and as a way of honoring winners, I thought I'd name them here. We played "King of the Courts" and two players tied for the win: Ryan Minter and Caleb Morris.
Today we have practice "Challenge" matches, so tomorrow's middle school minute will look at some of these results.