The Story - Prologue - Scrimmage vs. Angola

Video Highlights

The Varsity Story
The varsity scrimmage kicked off the final segment of the preseason for the Bruins. It was great to finally got to play another team, rather than just practicing against one another. 

Each of the Bruins players got good work in during the scrimmage. The scrimmage format is three different time measured segments. The singles positions had really good battles against three players who were really similar to them. Judah had some of the longest points I've ever seen, long rallies trading groundstrokes and trying to find a way to the net or put their opponents into bad positions on the court. Elias also had long point trading consistent strokes, but Elias kept finding the depth and variety to pull out the final points of the games. Aaron's match had a lot more spin and speed, but Aaron had just a bit more consistency. The singles players did a good job throughout each of the rounds building on their strengths.

In all, the singles players ended up 6-3 in the nine segments played. But the doubles squads did even better. Ethan and Malachi continued using their strengths of speed and net play. Even at that, it was their positioning, consistency and touch that made the difference. They seemed to grow stronger through the segments, playing their best at the end against probably the best competition.

#2D rotated their partners somewhat, but again it was the consistency that ruled the day. Simple shots through the middle of the court were having a great effect, and often setting them up to finish at the net. It was really fun to watch them build cohesion and good play.

The JV Story
Angola didn't have a ton of JV players, so our team rotating around so that everyone got a chance to play. In the first round, Isaya played stellar singles. His pace on serve was really difficult for his opponent to return and he moved effortlessly to retrieve a lot of shots in the match. Josiah and Ender scratched out a win in doubles, taking advantage of weaker blooped shots and putting many away from the net. Jordan continued the Isaya theme in his one JV segment, and Eli pulled out a big victory as well. Ayden played with effort but saw his match end in a tie. 

In the final segment, Sam, Ethan and Josiah all got a chance to play some singles. No one pulled out a win, but each got to play a lot of shots. That's the beauty of singles, every time you have to play the shot, which means you get a lot of practice. We'll hope that what we saw tonight will help these guys learn and grow and be ready for the next match.

In all, the JV pulled out wins in 4 of the 7 segments played!

Who Can Focus in the Moment? 

Moments of Wise Play

Judah was struggling early in the match to find a way through his very talented opponent. After 3 games he was down 3-0. He was getting frustrated, but he calmed himself down and thought about what he could do. Over the next 5 games, he increased his variety and made his opponent hit shots from all over the court. Over the next five games, he held about even and was really making the match into a tussle. It was a great job "coming back at it." It is totally worth celebrating that adjustment, determination, and faithfulness to a task.

Who Can Have Peace in the Match? 

Moments of Belonging and Encouragement

JV Rotation

Because Angola didn't have the largest squad, our JV each only got to play one round of the three. But there were no complaints. Ayden even offered to sit out the first round, and then he circled the courts taking video so I could make the highlight reel. It was cool to see a bunch of guys make sure that everyone got an equal shot. And then some of the best tennis was played between those players who were sitting out the round. They both were understanding and growing in their games. What a blessing! It gives me peace of mind to have such generous players.

Who Can Have Joy for the Season? 

Moments for Celebration

Pizza King

One way that we celebrate each year at tennis camp and after this scrimmage is by eating at Pizza King. Some may not know, but this is because my wife and I used to eat at Pizza King after high school basketball and football games when we went to Angola High School, and my basketball team used to eat there together before EVERY game. So Pizza King is a special place to me, and it's become that way for the Bethany tennis team. We chatted and ate and had great discussions and took our traditional picture to celebrate the group we are forming together. Funnily enough, one of the Angola players was actually there to take the picture for us. We are grateful for that!

Over All This is Christ's Love for Us

Moment of Prayer

God, we are grateful that You always love us and support us. We are grateful that You are near to us, and that You have created life in ways that let us rejoice and enjoy. Tonight, the rain held off until just after our match. The temperature was perfect for outdoor activity. No one was injured or strained. It was an easy and gracious way to start competing. We are grateful for that. We are grateful for each other. Thank You for all the gifts. May we continue to see You in what happens this season and school year.

Scores
Segment #1
#1S - Judah Miller - 1-4 - Evan Kolar (9)
#2S - Elias Magatti - 4-2 - Keith Lucernas (12)
#3S - Aaron Hochstetler - 6-2 - Ethan Golliff (11)
#1D - Ethan Claassen/Malachi Yoder - 8-2 - Yhuan Mina (11)/Cayden Baron (9)
#2D - Lucas Bateman/Jordan Hochstedler - 8-3 - Myles Lang (12)/Alex Sanchez (11)
#1SJV - Isaya Magatti - 6-1 - Carter Vonderau (11)

#1DJV - Ender Finnigan/Josiah Aguilar Clark - 5-3 - Caleb Dinning (10)/Bode Boyer (10)

Segment #2
#1S - Judah Miller - 1-2 - Evan Kolar (9)
#2S - Elias Magatti - 5-1 - Ethan Golliff (11)
#3S - Aaron Hochstetler - 1-3 - Keith Lucernas (12)
#1D - Ethan Claassen/Malachi Yoder - 5-2 - Myles Lang (12)/Alex Sanchez (11)
#2D - Lucas Bateman/Isaya Magatti - 1-3 - Yhuan Mina (11)/Cayden Baron (9)
#1SJV - Jordan Hochstedler - 9-1 - Carter Vonderau (11)

#2SJV - Eli Steiner - 5-1 - Caleb Dinning (10)

#3SJV - Ayden Lehman - 3-3 - Bode Boyer (10)

Segment #3
#1S - Judah Miller - 6-0 - Yhuan Mina (11)
#2S - Elias Magatti - 4-1 - Myles Lang (12)
#3S - Aaron Hochstetler - 4-1 - Alex Sanchez (11)
#1D - Ethan Claassen/Malachi Yoder - 4-0 - Evan Kolar (9)/Cayden Baron (9)
#2D - Lucas Bateman/Jordan Hochstedler - 4-1 - Keith Lucernas (12)/Ethan Golliff (11)
#1SJV - Sam Brenneman - 1-3 - Carter Vonderau (11)

#2SJV - Josiah Shue - 1-4 - Caleb Dinning (10)

#3SJV - Ethan Miller - 1-4 - Bode Boyer (10)

Season Opening Match - Scrimmage vs. Angola

 Enjoy highlights and some commentary on our season opening scrimmage!

Scores

Varsity - Segment 1

#1S - Gideon Miller - 6-1, 0-1 - Haven Stockamp (12)

#2S - Judah Miller - 3-6 - Aiden Buchanan (12)

#3S - Ethan Claassen - 3-5 - Cooper Bacon (12)

#1D - Malachi Yoder/Dominic Ramer - 6-1 - Yuan Mina Carlo (10)/Ethan Gollif (10)

#2D - Isaya Magatti/Aaron Hochstetler - 3-4 - Keith Lucernis (11)/Alex Berry (12)

Junior Varsity - Segment 1

#1SJV - Elias Magatti - 5-1 - Myles Lang (11)

#2SJV - Lucas Bateman - 6-1 - Urban Fletcher (11)

#1DJV - Silas Martin/Josiah Aguilar Clark - 7-1 - Alex Sanchez (10)/Caden Enyeart (12)

#2DJV - Eli Steiner/Sam Brenneman - 5-2 - Carter Vonderau (10)/Marcus Hicks (12)

Varsity - Segment 2

#1S - Judah Miller - 4-2 - Haven Stockamp (12)

#2S - Ethan Claassen - 3-6 - Aiden Buchanan (12)

#3S - Elias Magatti - 1-4 - Cooper Bacon (12)

#1D - Malachi Yoder/Isaya Magatti - 2-2 - Yuan Mina Carlo (10)/Ethan Gollif (10)

#2D - Dominic Ramer/Lucas Bateman - 0-5 - Keith Lucernis (11)/Alex Berry (12)

Junior Varsity - Segment 2

#1SJV - Josiah Aguilar Clark - 3-1 - Myles Lang (11)

#2SJV - Eli Steiner - 3-3 - Urban Fletcher (11)

#1DJV - Silas Martin/Aaron Hochstetler - 8-0 - Alex Sanchez (10)/Caden Enyeart (12)

#2DJV - Ayden Lehman/Sam Brenneman - 6-2 - Carter Vonderau (10)/Marcus Hicks (12)

Varsity - Segment 3

#1S - Judah Miller - 6-0 - Haven Stockamp (12)

#2S - Gideon Miller - 3-2 - Aiden Buchanan (12)

#3S - Isaya Magatti - 0-5 - Cooper Bacon (12)

#1D - Malachi Yoder/Ethan Claassen - 6-0 - Yuan Mina Carlo (10)/Ethan Gollif (10)

#2D - Dominic Ramer/Aaron Hochstetler - 2-2 - Keith Lucernis (11)/Alex Berry (12)

Junior Varsity - Segment 3

#1SJV - Lucas Bateman - 6-0 - Myles Lang (11)

#2SJV - Ethan Miller - ? 

#1DJV - Silas Martin/Elias Magatti - 4-3 - Alex Sanchez (10)/Caden Enyeart (12)

#2DJV - Ayden Lehman/Josiah Aguilar Clark - 4-1 - Carter Vonderau (10)/Marcus Hicks (12)

Angola - Scrimmage

Photos
Click here to see photos from the match
Photo credit to Josiah Schlabach

Recap
It was a really great night. The rain that was predicted moved off. The sun was out. The temperature was perfect. We were excited to play.

The scrimmage format is three rounds of play, where we shuffle the lineup in between each round. In the first round of play, our entire team looked a little tight. It was understandable after such a long bus ride, but still a little disappointing. I have waited 10 months to see this team play, and I wanted to see us playing with the confidence I'd envisioned.

There were many bright spots in that first round, including the fight that we showed at all the varsity positions. Despite everything, we were making the effort. In many of the JV matches, we started off really well. Cameron and Austin took a decisive victory, and Aaron started quickly, getting a 4-0 lead. In fact, we ended up winning 3 of the segments on the JV.

We gathered, we talked. I encourage the team to move from their heads to their feet. There's no way that we can always shut down our inner critic, but maybe we can move it's attention to our movement. Then we can start to feel the flow. And in the second round, that was much more what we did. I started to feel an aura of confidence, none more than from Will and Tyson as they began to take the net and dominate their match from there. Other highlights included watching Caleb emerge from a funk to take control, watching Cameron play some great singles points, watching Nathan's super long deuce battle at #3 singles.

Then we entered the 3rd segment, and that was where the character of this team really shone through. I felt like that segment was everybody's best of the night. Will and Joseph played simple doubles to a 6-1 set win, Tyson and Nathan led their match with great serving and net play, Caleb took a 6-1 set. On the JV side, Austin approached and volleyed and overheaded a great 5-2 win. Josh had a 5-1 lead by winning the big points. Jacob and Matthew looked joyous playing their match together. I could write every name down because we played so well!

And all this happened when we could have been at our most tired. But instead, we were playing with the most joy. This is what we are after. Determination, yes. Perseverance, yes. Joy, yes and yes and yes!

You are accepted.
Before this match even began, I was confident in you. I loved my conversations this week with the team. When it rained on Wednesday, and I was angry because we didn't get enough challenges in, and I didn't have a clear picture of who would play doubles together. In that time, I had four different players come to me and tell me that they would play doubles with whoever I put them with and they'd be happy. It's that kind of acceptance that I love.

You are sustained.
As followers of Christ, we are accepted and that sustains us. But it also means that we get to live life in joy. Our next devotional will focus on that, but each match I'm going to use this space to highlight moments of joy that can sustain us through the difficult parts of our season, the memories of the good! If you didn't get to see or experience these moments, ask those who did :-)

Tonight, we can be sustained by these moments of joy...
1. Aggressive play from the varsity doubles.
I loved to watch our varsity doubles take control of the net. It's point #2 in "Simple Doubles." And when we got there, we dominated. Will hit several people with quick volleys they couldn't react to, Tyson slammed a ball over the fence, and Joseph hit the "Down-the-middle-solves-the-riddle" volleys so many times. There is joy in aggressive but simple doubles play.

2. Jacob Shank and Josiah Schlabach's feet movement.
During the last segment, when people get tired and the night gets long, I looked down to the lower courts and saw Jacob and Josiah dancing. Okay, not really dancing, but moving their feet in getting ready for their point. They were matched up against a good Angola team, but they were determined to be in the point. Throughout the night, I was disappointed with our focus and movement when we were return. But these guys had great movement. It was a joy!

3. A simple and beautiful point from Braden.
I saw lots of great points throughout the team. Those moments of beauty inspire me and keep me going. Josh digging out an approach shot, Nathan or Austin with an overhead, Caleb picking up and approach and attacking. But Braden had a point in his last match that I loved, because it shows me his maturation as a player. He rallied 3-4 balls back with his opponent, deep in the court and moving his opponent around. He is good at this and it was the strength of his game last year. But then the ball fell short. Braden moved up and whipped a deep shot down the middle, slightly to his opponent's backhand side. Then he moved toward the net. His opponent was flat-footed, and attempted a half-lob, half-passing shot that sailed long. Braden's pressure had created a situation for an error. Last year, Braden would never have approached. We are growing, and that joy is sustaining.

You are significant.
You are significant in the ways that your greatest joy meets the world's greatest need. It flows out of your acceptance. So in this space, I want to highlight ways that guys use their God-given gifts to serve someone, whether team or opponent's.

Tonight, I have to highlight Josiah's laugh. It is his great joy, it is unique and it is loud. And while we were at Pizza King, it was sounding again and again. This team needed that. We can be a bunch of dedicated guys, really serious about getting better and doing things right. But we need to be reminded of the joy of tennis. The joy of friendship. The joy of acceptance. The joy of swinging at a moving target. The joy of pizza. Tonight, gathered together at one of our favorite traditions, Josiah's laugh gave us that joyful start to the season.



You have achieved.
You played with joy tonight. That was an achievement.
You won more matches than you lost. That was an achievement.
Your work in practice matched how you played in the match. That was an achievement.

Prayer
God, as we kick off this season, help us to stay committed to receiving our acceptance from you. Let us not be deceived by the backward pattern of trying to achieve in order to be accepted. Let us live out of your love, and our love for each other. Thanks!

Scores
Session 1
#1S - Caleb Shenk - 5-5 - Hayden Boyer (12)
#2S - Braden Bohn - 5-3 - Ted Brandon (12)
#3S - Josh Cartwright - 3-3 - Jacob Pontorno (10)
#1D - Nathan Oostland/Tyson Miller - 1-6, 1-2 - Isaac Wyatt (12)/Brad Boyd (11)
#2D - Will Nisley/Joseph Mounsithiraj - 5-4 - Jaeger Berquist (12)/Marcus Miller (12)
#1SJV - Aaron Shenk - 4-4 - Trevyn Towers (11)
#2SJV - Theo Siemens-Rhodes - 5-3 - Connor Libey (10)
#1DJV - Austin Shenk/Cameron Heinisch - 6-1 - Aiden Koch (10)/Tyler Walker (11)
#2DJV - Chris Craw/Kameron Branum - 4-3 - Lucas Nelson (11)/North Contrin (10)
#3DJV - Xudong Sun/Jim Lyu - 2-4 - Thomas Newburg (9)/Jack Smith (9)

Session 2
#1S - Braden Bohn - 3-4 - Hayden Boyer (12)
#2S - Caleb Shenk - 4-2 - Isaac Wyatt (12)
#3S - Nathan Oostland - 2-2 - Ted Brandon (12)
#1D - Will Nisley/Tyson Miller - 3-2 - Brad Boyd (11)/Marcus Miller (12)
#2D - Joseph Mounsithiraj/Theo Siemens-Rhodes - 2-2 - Jaeger Berquist (12)/Jacob Pontorno (10)
#1SJV - Josh Cartwright - 4-3 - Connor Libey (10)
#2SJV - Cameron Heinisch - 4-1 - Lucas Nelson (11)
#1DJV - Chris Craw/Matthew Dyck - 2-3 - North Coltrin (10)/Thomas Newburg (9)
#2DJV - Jacob Leininger/Breece Erickson - 2-3 - Aiden Koch (10)/Trevyn Towers (11)
#3DJV - Kameron Branum/Jacob Shank - 2-1 - Tyler Walker (11)/Jack Smith (9)

Session 3
#1S - Caleb Shenk - 6-1 - Hayden Boyer (12)
#2S - Braden Bohn - 4-3 - Jacob Pontorno (10)
#3S - Aaron Shenk - 3-4 - Ted Brandon (12)
#1D - Nathan Oostland/Tyson Miller - 3-3 - Isaac Wyatt (12)/Marcus Miller (12)
#2D - Will Nisley/Joseph Mounsithiraj - 6-1, 0-2 - Jaeger Bergquist (12)/Brad Boyd (12)
#1SJV - Josh Cartwright - 5-1 - Trevyn Towers (11)
#2SJV - Austin Shenk - 5-3 - Aiden Koch (10)
#1DJV - Chris Craw/Breece Erickson - 2-6 - Jack Smith (9)/Tyler Walker (11)
#2DJV - Matthew Dyck/Jacob Leininger - 4-2 - Connor Libey (10)/Lucas Nelson (11)
#3DJV - Jacob Shank/Josiah Schlabach - 3-3 - Thomas Newburg (9)/North Coltrin (10)

Scrimmage v. Angola

More photos: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10156732411056289&id=127715966288

Last night, we took the long and detouring drive over to one of our favorite places as a tennis team, the magical world of Angola. Angola is my alma mater, it's where we have our tennis camp, and is home to the best Pizza King in the world.

It is also home to the Angola Hornets, and we scrimmaged their tennis team last night. Angola is a very solid program, a powerhouse in their own conference year after year, and usually a challenger for the Regional title. They are usually ranked in the northeast district of the state, but this year they have graduated 6 of their 7 varsity players are rebuilding a little bit.

Of course, we're a bit in that mode as well. Admittedly, we have more player returning, but most of our guys played at lower varsity positions last year or only got a few matches. So, it was interesting to watch these matches last night. Playing a solid program like this is always a great test.

And there were some really positive signs in the match, including Liam's first round win at #1S, Philip's aggressive second round play at #3S, Jonah and Tyson's grit in their #2D, and Joseph and Chris playing an impressive first round set. Those were some of the highlights, but each player had moments and places where they shined. Braden had excellent serves, Nathan hit some killer returns, Theo moved well in doubles, and Caleb hit some great volleys. And there were more beyond that.

After two rounds of play, we unfortunately got caught in last night's thunderstorm. So we packed up the bus and headed out to get some pizza. Which was great. My dad even joined us in team time.

IT WAS ENOUGH
It was enough tonight to see that you cared. Some of you got frustrated, some of you got really tired, some of you looked a little lost. But all of those things show that you care. That means that inside of you is the motivation to get better. When we get frustrated, tired, or lost it is a bittersweet invitation to response. We can lean into grace and choose to move toward improvement without condemning ourselves, or we can choose the voice of shame, the voice of the lies, saying that we are only as good as what we've accomplished. But you only even stand at that choice if you care. If was enough tonight to see that each of us care.

YOU ARE BROTHERS
You are brothers. I saw that tonight in the way we huddled together on the bus ride home, marveling at lightning like I've never seen been. Listening to Theo's phone as it played all sorts of garbled music. Returning the a peaceful place after matches that we weren't all happy with. The bus, and the eating together, helped us put the tennis back into a true perspective. Fun, but not the ultimate prize. This team, these people, they are the best thing about tennis.

I AM GRATEFUL
I am grateful for...
- no injuries tonight.
- getting home safely through the storm.
- how beautiful and effortless Liam's game looks when he's engaged.
- Chris' attacking forehand.
- hearing the squeak of doubles players shoes on the court.
- a team that laughs on the bus together.
- that you guys listen to my stories of old teams.
- that the seniors always save a place for me at the table.

A PRAYER
God, above all, help us to rest in Your truth. Thank You for saving me a seat at Your table to, and one for everyone else that You are reaching out to. May we reach back toward You. May we experience Your grace. May we extend it to one another.

Bethany Christian vs. Angola (Scrimmage)

Look at our beautiful team. Brilliant blue jerseys and smiling faces. So wonderful.

Well, we got our first chance to stain our jerseys with real sweat on Thursday night. And we got that chance against stiff opposition. My alum mater, the Angola Hornets, rolled into town with a strong team who are the defending DeKalb Sectional champions and Homestead Regional runner's up. The strength of their lineup lies in their singles players, 2008 all-district player Josh Quandt, 2007 all-district player Nick Burlingame, and a strong #3 singles player in Brian Beinz. But the whole team was powerful and proficient.

Which isn't to say that we went down to losses at all positions. I was proud that we more than held our own. Instead of laying out an overall description of the match, I'm going to pick my top five matches from the night, and highlight those individually. Then at the end I'll give some overall descriptors.

#1D - Mikey Kelly/Kyle Miller defeated Gavin Bush/Matt Julien, 6-4
In this match, I was really proud of the way that Mikey and Kyle dealt with poor play on their part. This was a segment in which Angola played their regular lineup, so Gavin and Matt will probably end up at #1D together. At the beginning of the session, they played several great games to take a 2-0 lead. Mikey was really hitting his serve well, and both he and Kyle were putting balls away at the net. In the middle, Kyle first began to miss some sitters at the net, and then Mikey joined in. At one point the pair trailed 4-3. Sometimes this can be crushing, to lose a lead when you are playing poorly, but Kyle and Mikey instead focused on closing the net more and finishing points. This allowed them to win three games in a row and close out the session at 6-4.

#1S - Ben Mast defeated Brian Bienz, 5-4
In one segment, moved their regular lineup so that their singles players could face different opponents. Bienz, normally #3, moved up to play Ben, our normal #1. This put a very peculiar kind of pressure on Ben, he was "supposed" to win. It was obvious that he was tight at the beginning of the match. But we need players this year who find a way to stay positive despite nerves, bad starts, bad play, and intense pressure. Because staying positive allows you to win. And Ben, despite not playing his best game, was able to find a way to win. He put effort in, he stayed with each point, and he was able to win. What I am really concerned about though was the attitude that it took to fight the self-imposed pressure, and I'm glad he found it.

#1S JV - Matt Ebersole lost to Scott Moberg, 3-4
Before this match started, Mike Kelly (Mikey's dad), said that they had watched Moberg play in the doubles segment, and that he was really good, too good to be on JV. Well, this would be Matt's first match at that level and he held in there. At multiple points in this match, Matt held the lead. In the end, he couldn't pull out the last game for a 4-3 "win." But I was more impressed at the way that his skills have improved over the summer from taking lessons, and now he is applying that in matches. Matt has a load of potential, and as he works hard to go with it, good things will happen.

#1D - Mikey Kelly/Seth Krabill tie Josh Quandt/Nick Burlingame, 4-4
In this match, Seth and Mikey faced two All-District players. And what did they do? Jumped out to a 3-0 lead with some of the most attacking and sound doubles strategy possible. They were not afraid or disheartened by having to face two very solid players. No, they were energized and attacked the challenge. Why don't I see this more across the board from our team? We're supposed to lose, so what! Let's go show them how good we can be! Now, Quandt and Burlingame recovered from their early hole and made the match very close... but what a good match Seth and Mikey played. They would probably tell you they had chances to win it outright and were disappointed to tie. But I was impressed with their energy and confident attitude.

#4D JV - Himal King/Wade Troyer defeated Jack Wagner/Colt Ridenour, 5-3
At the other end of the doubles lineup, Himal and Wade played their first interscholastic high school match today. What made me put this match in here was that they both wanted to win and were energized by their good shots. Many beginners get so down on themselves as they make a myriad of mistakes that they forget to celebrate their good shots. Himal was constantly loving it when he or Wade would hit a winning shot, saying "yes" and clenching his fist. Wade was also all smiles. I should add that Evan Eby did the same in the tiebreakers segment. I love to see people rejoicing in the good, instead of sulking over the bad.

So, I was happy with:
1. Our mentally recovery from bad play.
2. Our mental strength in the face of pressure.
3. Our work from the summer paying off as we work hard now.
4. Our confidence and aggression in the face of difficulty.
5. Our celebration of the good!

So that is my celebration of the Scrimmage. Much more happened, some good, some bad, some revealing. But it is a great starting point and chance to learn! Thanks to all the parents who came to watch us get started. We can't wait to play again Tuesday!

Bethany Christian vs. Angola - Scrimmage

What a strange night it was.

The first big event was the mini-bus. Driving to the match with assistant coach Andrew Lanctot, the team had a close encounter with a bale of straw. A mammoth bale of straw that jumped off a truck, ripped up the side mirror, dented the driver's door, and put three large ripples in the roof of the bus. Recognizing God's protection, nobody was hurt in the accident, which certainly could have been worse. Have you ever seen those straw bales in the fields, they are massive. A lot of damage could have been done if the bus would have hit it straight on.

So the match got off to a distracting start, which is never good for this scrimmage. Because it is not a normal match, there is a really weird format to follow. First everyone plays a 30 minute block of singles, then everyone plays a 30 minute block of doubles, then we play regular varsity and JV lineups for 20 minutes. We had to quickly stretch and then be ready to begin play, because waiting for the police to file the accident report had put us an hour behind schedule.

After a round of rousing introductions though, we were off. It was a shaky start as people were finding their feet a little bit, and probably feeling a bit rushed. Luke and Jared got off to very good starts, taking early leads at one and two singles. Jonny battled but to little avail against Angola's number three player, who had actually played number one singles for them the past two seasons. His play seemed to indicate that he would be number one again this year before too long.

In other single matches, Matthew, Seth and Ben all began slowly in tight matches. They all played decently, but by their own admission had better matches in them. The final scores didn't look all that bad, but we are trying to push ourselves towards excellence. The bright side was that our goal of excellence is able to be clarified, and now moved towards.

Daniel and Jeremy had big wins, and Mikey and Kyle both dropped close matches. Austin, Blake, Matt, and Jake traveled to another set of courts, and all played very good matches according to the reports. Austin and Matt pulled out wins, while Blake was just starting to play well when time was called.

Then doubles was scheduled to start, but not before some major drama. Angola had a player who felt as though he had been treated unfairly, so in the middle of the scrimmage, he quit the team. This threw the Hornet team into a bit of confusion, and delayed the beginning of the doubles segment again.

When it did begin, we were able to comfortably win 6 of the 7 matches. The only match we dropped was the #1 match, where Angola paired their top two players against our #1 doubles team of Jared and Jeremy. Still, we only lost by a point. It was in these doubles matches where we played some of our best tennis, but also began to be distracted. It is a trait that hopefully will not carry on to the season, for we do not want to take on the mindset of our opponents but instead think and act in our own minds.

The final segment was a bit of a wash. Most matches were ties, as one team won the first tiebreak and the other team won the next. Luke did look very comfortable and in charge in his 10-point tiebreak, and #1 doubles pulled a sweep as well.

As with most matches, there was good and there was bad. What made this match hard was that there was also the utterly distracting. Hopefully we are becoming better players for dealing with it, and moving on to our next practices and matches!

Scores
Singles
Luke Hostetter - 6-2 - Josh Quandt (11)
Jared Schwartzentruber - 7-4 - Ben Hoffman (12)
Jonny Shenk - 0-11 - Nick Burlingame (11)
Seth Krabill - 5-6 - Brian Bienz (10)
Ben Mast - 6-6 - Taylor Zank (12)
Matthew Amstutz - 4-8 - David Johnson (12)
Daniel Buschert - 7-3 - Justin Elston (11)
Jeremy Thomas - 10-1 - Kevin Heierman (12)
Kyle Miller - 4-5 - Gavin Bush (11)
Mikey Kelly - 3-8 - Jeremy Snyder (11)
Austin Loucks - 7-2 - John Shumaker (12)
Blake Shetler - 2-6 - Scott Moberg (10)
Matt Ebersole - 7-2 - Drew Rowe (10)
Jake Gerig - 3-5 - Unknown

Doubles
Jared/Jeremy - 4-5 - Quandt/Hoffman
Daniel/Ben - 7-5 - Johnson/Zank
Seth/Matthew - 6-5 - Bienz/Shumaker
Luke/Kyle - 8-2 - Heierman/Unknown ?
Jonny/Austin - 7-4 - Lamont/Lehman
Mikey/Matt - 7-5 - Hottell/Warren
Jake/Blake - 7-4 - Simmons/Tribble

Lineups - Tiebreaks
Luke - 4-7, 10-2 - Quandt
Jonny - 8-10, 7-5 - Hoffman
Ben - 6-8, 12-10 - Bienz
Jared/Jeremy - 7-4, 10-5 - Johnson/Zank
Daniel/Seth - 7-1, 6-10 - Heierman/Snyder
Matthew - 7-4, 10-6 - Unknown?
Mikey - 7-2, 7-2, 7-10 - Shumaker
Matt - lost - Moberg
Austin/Kyle - 7-5, 7-2, 7-5 - Elston/Bush
Jake/Blake - 4-7, 7-1, 5-10 - Wagner/Lamont

Blue vs. White

In a vicious inter-squad scrimmage, the valiant Blue team fell to the scandalous White team by a score of 4-1.

#1 singles, Luke Hostennis defeated Coach, though Coach's obviously ailing back and lack of true playing experience in the recent past prevented him from hitting his booming 140 mph (maybe a little exaggeration) serve. Luke outlasted the Coach long into the third set, where Coach's groundstrokes failed him, much to the delight of the White team.

#2 singles, Magic Racket Man defeated The Fly in a close second set. With hard attacking strokes, the Magic Racket Man sent The Fly from corner to corner, but there was no way to prevent eventual defeat. Though The Fly held the advantage in the second set, the Magic Racket Man battled his way to the straight set victory.

#3 singles, The Giraffe knocked his way to victory over the first of our No Names. The Giraffe was gracefully awkward as normal in pulling off one of the easiest wins of the day.

#1 doubles saw The Snakemaster and The Turtle square off against Angel and Monkey Mikey. In a heated match with furious groundstrokes, volleys, and overheads. Snakemaster and Turtle smashed their way to a two set win.

#2 doubles was where The Shark was lurking, taking down the Little Red One and Awestin. Though the Little Red One tried to distract the competition with skimpy apparel and bulging biceps, The Shark was on the prowl for victory and pounded his forehands past the disappointed losers.

Thanks for all who participating in the inaugural Blue-White Scrimmage. I hope to see this tradition continue in the future years.

Scores
---------------------------------
White --- Score --- Blue

#1S - Luke Hostennis --- 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 --- Coach
#2S - Magic Racket Man --- 6-1, 7-4 --- The Fly
#3S - No Name Yet #1 --- 1-6, 3-6 --- The Giraffe
#1D - Snakemaster/Turtle --- 6-2, 6-2 --- Angel/Monkey Mikey
#2D - Shark/No Name Yet #2 --- 6-1, 6-3 --- Little Red One/Awestin