Sectional Draw

Wednesday, October 1 at 4:30

- Goshen v. NorthWood

Thursday, October 2 at 4:30

- Bethany Christian v. Jimtown

- Goshen/NorthWood winner v. Fairfield

Friday, October 3 at 4:30

- Sectional Championship

If there is rain any scheduled day, the complete schedule moves back one day. If needed, there may be more than one match played on Saturday. 

This is the best time of the year!

Of Interest...

The new district rankings came out this week, I have posted them below:

So that's fun! Doesn't mean too much to us as Goshen is still ranked above us and we will probably have to play them in Sectional. That gives us something to shoot for. But this is a nice reward for a long season (and off-season) of hard work. Good job Bruin tennis! Congratulations on this recognition!

Letters from Wabash

BETHANY CHRISTIAN BRUINS - 2014 WABASH INVITATIONAL CHAMPIONS

Dear Team,
Thus ends our regular season. And it was a day where we all played well and experienced good success throughout. Typically this tournament is one where all the teams are close in their talent levels and performance levels. Scores are typically 3-2 or 4-1 at best. But this was the one year where our team was at a different level. The other teams had talent, but were mostly inexperienced. You performed with talent and experience and looked like a well-oiled team.

Each match was a different type of trial. Against Taylor, they were an athletic team that hit a lot of balls back in the court. This always presents a difficult challenge because it means that we have to stay confident and finish points. Early in the season, this type of match would have given us fits. But we've grown and stayed focused even when matches were tight early on. All the singles endured close first sets, but then widened the lead and finished confidently in the second set except #1S, which stayed close throughout. But even in that match, Jesse continued to learn about belief.

In the Wabash match, we encountered a team that was loose, playing for fun because they had nothing to lose. Sometimes that can make a team lose focus, but in this match we stayed calm, had fun, and finished the matches with as little drama as possible.

And in the Eastern match, we played against a team that was inconsistent. They hit amazing shots on one point, and then the next might hit it into the net. Often, this causes teams to get lazy and not play their own style of play, to just push the ball in and wait for a mistake. We didn't. We continued to attack, to stay on our toes.

Each team presented a different challenge, and each challenge we were able to meet. I was thankful for the team attitude and encouragement throughout. I was thankful for the high fives and the smiles throughout the day. We need to bring the joy that we give to each other to the next challenges as well! Great job champions!

Dear JV guys,
Thanks for your voices and encouragement and for coming along with us to this match. It's always good to have a couple of you come along and see that it's not so scary, what you are going to be doing next year. And it's good to have as many brothers around as we can. And yes, you do deserve to be there and celebrate the trophy with us. We do all these things together. Without you, we'd be missing a part of our team. You've pushed us, and practiced with us, and prayed with us. So thanks for coming and being positive!

Dear Jeff Miller (and other parents),
Congratulations, you get an award today! As nominated by Pat Duckworth, you get the "Servanthood Award" for being Landon's personal assistant and carrying around his chair and crutches all day. In reality, I'm so thankful to all the parents. The players were remarking how much better quality our food is than other teams, with stromboli, chocolate-chip banana bread and muffins, fruit and M&M bars. And your support is always beloved as well. Thanks for being a wonderful support group, for your sons and for our team.

Dear Sol,
You get the "Not Savage Moment of Beauty" for today. In playing your first match, you hit an excellent ball that forced your opponent back to the net where he got to the ball but hit it way up in the air and then slipped and fell down. You waited on the ball to come down and bounce, and then felt bad that he slipped and hit the ball right back to him. In giving him the extra time, he stood up, got back into the point and eventually won it. While you may not have won the point, and while in tennis we want to take advantage of things like this, I'm actually glad to see that your compassion towards people creeps through. That's better in the long run. And it is the long run that we are aiming for.

Dear God,
I could go on and on about the tennis played today. It was fun. I could go on and on about the beauty of the day, because the sun was shining and it was great. But my moment of beauty was really in the early mist of the morning, when I got up to pray. I've been praying much the same thing for my tennis brothers throughout the season, and this morning, I found that most of my prayers have been answered in clear ways. I pray now that you continue to fill us with confidence, goodness, and joy. Continue Your Spirit's work in our hearts, molding us more like You. Use tennis however You want to bring us closer and closer, revealing Your presence to us. Through Jesus we pray, amen.

Moment of Sheer Beauty
Our player of sheer beauty from the preseason, Hans Miller has had many moments worthy of the award again this season. But today I saw his smile return in a way that we hadn't seen in about a week. My favorite tennis expression of that was the way he used his forehand return in the match versus Eastern. When he would get a short serve, Hans would take aim either cross-court to set he and Simon up and the net or down-the-line to win the point outright. From the first game, I knew that this was going to be a good match when he hit the first ball hard at the net man for a volley error and the next ball Hans placed in the doubles alley for a passing shot. It great to see Hans doing what he does!

Moment of Savage Beauty
Ethan Lapp has come to own this part of tennis more and more as the season has progressed. Early in the year, he was more comfortable playing baseline tennis, playing very consistent singles. Then he was called on to play doubles. My prayer for him has been, since before the season, that he would become a confident contributor wherever he was called upon. Doubles requires that net presence, that attacking power. Ethan has developed that. Today we saw it in several ways. First, his serve. He's put more pop on his serve that slides low over the net. It's a true weapon that can set up lots of Ryan's super slams. Even better though have been his slams. Today, in the first match against Taylor, he had a net set up and put it toward the Titan net player. It was hit with such pace and force that he couldn't get out of the way, jumping straight up into the air. As he tried to get out of the way, Ethan's slam pegged his foot. He wasn't hurt. It wasn't vicious. But it was the right play and executed with power.

SCORES

Bethany Christian 4, Taylor 1
#1S - Jesse Amstutz - 4-6, 4-6 - Camden Kimbler (11)
#2S - Byeong Min Lim - 6-3, 6-1 - Cole Schroder (11)
#3S - Sol Brenneman - 6-2, 6-3 - Bailey Owens (9)
#1D - Hans Miller/Simon Hurst - 6-1, 6-3 - Conner Leicht (11)/Wynn Takacs (9)
#2D - Ryan Duckworth/Ethan Lapp - 6-1, 6-1 - Colton Kimbler (9)/Peyton Tracy (9)

Bethany Christian 5, Wabash 0
#1S - Jesse Amstutz - 6-1, 6-1 - Kody Fuller (12)
#2S - Byeong Min Lim - 6-1, 6-1 - Taylor Vigar (11)
#3S - Sol Brenneman - 6-2, 6-2 - Luke Mattern (9)
#1D - Hans Miller/Simon Hurst - 6-2, 6-0 - Aaron Hartley (12)/Cal Stone (10)
#2D - Ryan Duckworth/Ethan Lapp - 6-0, 6-1 - Adam Driscoll (11)/Aidan Benysh (9)

Bethany Christian 5, Eastern 0
#1S - Jesse Amstutz - 6-0, 6-1 - Ryan Manfred
#2S - Byeong Min Lim - 6-1, 6-1 - Daniel Pugh
#3S - Sol Brenneman - 6-1, 6-0 - Isaac Beachey
#1D - Hans Miller/Simon Hurst - 6-1, 6-0 - Jacob Kinder/Jake Hartman
#2D - Ryan Duckworth/Ethan Lapp - 6-1, 6-1 - Sam Rocchio/Manny Moreno

Letters from Bremen

Dear Team,
Let me start by saying good job! We've raised our record to 13-2 and the JV to 15-1-1. We took care of business on a night that always feels a little odd. It is the last competition for us in a long stretch. Do you realize that over the last 8 days we've played 8 matches? So if you felt a little competition weary in your play last night, that's probably why!

Of course, let's think about what we've done in those 8 matches. Both varsity and JV picked up 5 dual wins. The varsity won a team championship at Merrillville and 3 individual titles, while the JV picked up a 3rd place in the Fremont Invite - where Jacob Gonsalves got 2nd. That's a pretty impressive stretch! In fact, it's close to perfect.

All I've been asking this season is that we focus on how we want to play and get better. I think this part of the season says that we did. In our 5 dual matches, we defeated 4 teams with winning records. Between the matches and the tourney, the varsity team bested two district ranked opponents (Elkhart Central and then Centerville at Merrillville). No one on the varsity has a losing record. The JV team has at least two players who have broken the record for most JV wins in a season (set just last year by Ethan Lapp).

And while that's been awesome, the wear and tear showed a little bit last night. I'd say that at each position, we didn't quite play "how we want to." Still, it was a good showing. We won the matches we needed to in order to get the wins and we didn't make it a nerve-wracking ending in doing so. We sang Sarasponda in a most unorderly and out-of-tune fashion and drove away from Bremen with a win.

Dear Jesse,
Excellent match tonight. As I told you in the hallway at school, this was a good victory over a good opponent. I'm most proud of the way that you were able to keep your calm in the third set. After not playing your best and battling negativity in the second set, he won the first game of the third. And yet you didn't get too far down. Bremen's coach shouted to his player in starting the second game of the set that it was a big game. He was right, after that second game lasted 10 minutes, you won it. Then you turned around and quickly won the 3rd game to take a 2-1 lead. And 10 minutes later, the whole match was over. You seized momentum did a great job.

I don't think I've ever really complimented you enough for the way you've handled the #1S position this year. You now have more wins than Abe piled up last year, with at least 3 matches to go. And Abe was a solid #1. You are more than solid, you are good. I'm glad your hard work got paid off last night. I think there may be even better things ahead.

Dear Byeong,
Good recovery, but from now on, let's keep track of the score better :-) Same could be said for Sol and Jesse, who both lost track of the score at points tonight. Honestly though, that was a weird situation in the middle of your match, and I'm sure it was hard to handle. You felt like you had won a set, and then all the sudden it was back to 5-3 in the first, and you had to win it all over again. Great job getting in control of your emotions again, and then finishing things out with 7 straight games. These "mental wins" should serve as a good memory bank if you are under pressure again. You've done it under pressure before, remember how well you can play in these situations and play with confidence when they come again.

Dear Lucas,
The last two singles matches have really shown your potential. I've been so impressed at the way you work points, finding angles, forcing short balls. You play with a natural tactician's skill and eye. That's what I love about you as a coach: you think like a coach. Your ball hitting skills have gotten so much better this year too. I can't wait to teach you the other skills and watch you grow even more.

Dear God,
Breathe your joy into us. Revive us with Your Spirit. Bring us back to where we started this year, yearning for sheer and savage joy!

Moment of Sheer Beauty
Best point of this team match occurred in the third set of Jesse's #1S match. It may have been the single point that changed the whole complexion of his match. With Krent Hueni leading 1-0, 30-30 in the game, Jesse and Hueni played one of the longest points that I've seen all year. Back and forth the ball went, both players sticking to the baseline, both players hitting the ball deep, both players staying safe. During the point, Sol turned to me and said this could be a long third set with points like this. I said it could be, or Jesse might get aggressive. Just as I said that, Jesse stepped close to the baseline and hit hard forehand into Hueni's backhand. Hueni gave a ball that bounced weakly by the service line and Jesse struck it into the forehand corner with authority. Hueni hustled over and tried another deep groundstroke, but the pace, speed and placement of Jesse's shot were just enough to help push his ball inches long. Jesse went on to win that game, and the next 5 after.

Moment of Savage Beauty
No shot in anyone's arsenal makes opponents more frustrated than Byeong's drop volley. He hits them into the corner and then gives them no chance to get back. In this match, Byeong's match got tight at 5-4. But in that final game to grab the set, his opponent got frazzled as Byeong put together an excellent series of points. The final point came from hitting deep to the backhand and then finishing with a simple forehand drop volley. It was savage because there was nothing his opponent could do. Sometimes that's the beauty, a perfectly played point that therefore frustrates your opponent because they couldn't play it any better, but still lost the point.

SCORES

Varsity
#1S - Jesse Amstutz - 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 - Krent Hueni (12)
#2S - Byeong Min Lim - 6-4, 6-0 - Bryce Devine (11)
#3S - Sol Brennenam - 6-4, 6-0 - Zac Burkholder (9)
#1D - Hans Miller/Simon Hurst - 5-7, 5-7 - Austin Ingle (12)/Tommy Foster (11)
#2D - Ryan Duckworth/Ethan Lapp - 6-2, 6-0 - Ryker Hand (11)/Chandler Snyder (10)

Junior Varsity
#1SJV - Jacob Gonsalves - 5-8 - Bryce Sterling (9)
#2SJV - Jackson King - 8-3 - Jake Strehler (9)
#3SJV - Lucas Brownsberger-Keyes - 8-0 - Evan Reed (10)
#1DJV - Lane Miller/Brandon Nguyen - 8-4 - Josh Ukinski (11)/Bryce Tolle (9)
#2DJV - Dustin Miller/Jonathan Yousey - 8-1 - Brian Cruz (9)/Jordan Thornton (9)
#3DJV - Daniel Robles/Joel Yoder - 6-8 - Hudson Thornton (10)/Seth Stine (9)

Letters from Fairfield

Dear Team,
I really am getting to the point where I don't know what to say. We get better at each match. We've begun to pull out the tight matches. We are continuing to do well on the JV level. We're starting to make "playing the way that we want to play" our routine.

I guess again on this Monday night I was reminded how far we've come as a team, even within this season. #2D played with aggression and confidence through its whole match. Sol was able to rebound from a poorly played set with a well-played set. #1D got a little tight but were able to have fun in getting through the tiebreak, and clinching the match for us. We have really good tennis players who are playing really good tennis.

I loved everybody standing around and cheering for Sol. I loved everybody cheering for Daniel. I loved all the encouragement and cheers going up for Jacob Gonsalves. These guys, varsity or JV, these people, your brothers, are the ones that matter. We're getting better at tennis, and I hope that we don't lose sight of the fact that the tennis is still secondary, or even lower. The tennis is fun. That's all it is.

But I have to admit, the tennis was fun tonight. Good job team, it's been a while (5 years) since we can say we were victorious over the Fairfield Falcons. And we did it tonight with little doubt. Nice job Bruins!

Dear Sarasponda,
You never really get old. I'm always excited each and every time we gather on the bus or the courts to burst out in our victory song. No matter how poorly sang or overly fast the melody becomes, I can't be involved in singing without smiling. Sometimes I even want to dance. Maybe you deserve a moment of beauty all to yourself :-)

Dear JV Team,
I really, truly missed watching you over the weekend. You are a talented group of individuals, and last night I was treated to some of your amazing shots and talents. First of all, there is the way that you interact (especially as doubles teams). Every doubles team that we put out there seems to be amazingly positive with one another. That is awesome! Maybe you are taking after Hans and watching the way our doubles wins leader acts on the court. I hope so. But I saw it last night again in all three doubles matches. Joy in the good points. Encouragement in the ones that didn't go like we planned. And fun!

And some of the strokes you guys have right now, at singles and doubles, are simply remarkable. Your strengths are growing into varsity level weapons - Jonathan's volley putaways, Lucas's mid-court groundstrokes, Dustin's forehand, Jacob's divebombing forehands, Daniel's hustle, Brandon's serves, Lane's net play, Jackson's accuracy, and Joel's laser groundstrokes. These things will probably always be the foundation of your best play. Grow in them, gain confidence, smile every time you get to use them. And I'll smile when we continue to have fun and play well!

Dear Byeong,
I often don't include you here because you have handled your matches really well this year. But last night it was interesting to come to the fence and hear you complain about pain in your wrist. I knew that you were struggling, but didn't want to default your match. I asked if you could play and you said you thought so, it wasn't too bad. As I walked away, I prayed for you. I prayed that it would stop hurting you and that you'd be able to play how you wanted to. After the match, I asked if you needed ice. And you replied, "No, it just stopped hurting after we talked." I just wanted to tell you this story :-)

Dear Dustin,
I'm sorry you didn't play how you wanted to play last night. And I'm happy that is what you were upset about. It shows that you have a growth mindset, and that's the way to be a successful person at whatever we do. But don't forget the other part, which is that you have to give yourself permission to make mistakes as you grow. Which might mean that you make many mistakes, which may mean that you lose matches, even though you are trying really hard. I was really proud of your attitude last night. And don't forget that we all love you, no matter what happens on the court :-)

Dear God,
It was a fun match tonight. The fall air was beautiful. The sun going down, the shadows across the courts, the bright yellow balls flying through the air. And we won. It all seems to be perfect. And all good and perfect gifts come from You. God, as we progress through the season, give us the help of Your Spirit to review actions and attitudes. Help us understand our motivations, and bring our hearts more and more in line with Yours. A simple way of praying might be this: Your will be done, Your kingdom come. In Jesus name, Amen.

Moment of Sheer Beauty
For the moments of beauty tonight, let's celebrate the JV. Above, I talked about all the wonderful memories I'm building about the way that this JV team plays. My favorite moment of the night came from Jackson King. Sherry Good has described him as an artist on the tennis court, and I like that description. A flick of the wrist here, a carve and slice there, and he's creating a masterpiece. Tonight, he volleyed well and returned well and was fun to watch. The best was when he carved a backhand down the line, leaving his racket hanging up in the air after finishing the stroke. It zipped past the net player and landed just inches inside the baseline and the sideline. A beautiful stroke!

Moment of Savage Beauty
Continuing in celebrating my underclassmen, Lucas Brownsberger-Keyes dominated tonight. What impressed me was how many balls in his match he was able to hit clean winners on. Lucas played picture perfect singles. Deep balls to begin the rally which put his opponent on the defensive. Then his opponent would leave a ball short in the court, which Lucas would step forward and attack. The attack balls didn't get overhit, but were strategically struck to the side of the court that was most open or led to the most advantage. If his opponent hustled down one of these well-placed approaches, Lucas just dropped the volleys at the furthest point away from the opponent. It was savage, but surgically savage. Calculated and powerful, and one of my favorite matches to watch on the evening.

SCORES

Varsity
#1S - Jesse Amstutz - 0-6, 1-6 - Adam Yoder (12)
#2S - Byeong Min Lim - 6-1, 6-2 - Landyn Nunemaker (12)
#3S - Sol Brenneman - 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 - Clayton Bender (10)
#1D - Hans Miller/Simon Hurst - 6-1, 7-6 (2) - Nathan Azzarito (12)/Joseph Line (12)
#2D - Ryan Duckworth/Ethan Lapp - 6-2, 6-1 - Andrew Hoover (12)/Isaac Miller (10)

Junior Varsity
#1SJV - Jacob Gonsalves - 7-9 - Aaron Miller (11)
#2SJV - Daniel Robles - 8-3 - Jesse Grimm (10)
#3SJV - Dustin Miller - 1-8 - Mitchell Yoder (10)
#4SJV - Lucas Brownsberger-Keyes - 8-0 - Tucker Miller (9)
#1DJV - Lane Miller/Brandon Nguyen - 8-3 - Joel Kropf (10)/Aaron Skibbe (10)
#2DJV - Jackson King/Jonathan Yousey - 8-2 - Joey Gibson (10)/Dylan Kaufman (9)
#3DJV - Dustin Miller/Joel Yoder - 8-1 - Jarin Bontrager (9)/Jediah Corbin (9)

Letters from Merrillville

BETHANY CHRISTIAN BRUINS - 2014 MERRILLVILLE INVITATIONAL CHAMPIONS

Dear Team,
As so often happens at these tournaments, this day had a little bit of everything. I told you at the beginning of the day that the fun of this type of tournament, one where there are separate draws for each position, is the element of unpredictability. You never know what is going to happen. And boy, were we right.

When we got to the tournament, we were one of the first teams there. We jogged and stretched and I loaded the doubles players, coach Landon and coach Daniel into the bus and we drove to the doubles site. And no one was there. And three of the six courts were missing nets. So we drove back to the main site. When we got there the tournament director said we'd just be using one site today. Hmm, unpredictable. But awesome! We love having the whole team together in one spot.

But then another change. Instead of 2 out of 3 sets, we were going to play 2 out of 3 mini sets. So each set would now be played to 4 games instead of 6. We play these at practice sometimes for challenge matches, because they are a bit shorter. With the threat of rain, the tournament director asked the coaches to shorten, and the coaches had voted yes.

That meant that we would have a lot more pressure to get off to good starts. We wouldn't be able to warm our way into each set. And the next unpredictable element was the draw. We got great draws at #1S and #2S, even getting the bye at #2S, and #3S draw wasn't bad. But the #1D draw was difficult. The three best doubles teams at the tournament were drawn into the same side of the bracket, and we had to play the best team first.

Unpredictable. Unpredictable. Unpredictable. But taking inspiration from my brother's blog, I talked to you all about only thinking and taking care of what you can control.

I was excited about how you did that. The day proceeded in interesting fashion, but I'll cover that in my letter to each position. For now, let me recount the overview of how you played. Jesse finished at 2nd in #1S, an excellent result for #1S. Byeong won the #2S bracket. Sol finished 3rd at #3S. Hans and Simon overcame their difficult draw, and pulled out 2 close wins followed by a great win in the final. Ryan and Ethan played dominant through the draw, winning the #2D bracket. That gave us the tournament win as the team!

Dear Hans and Simon,
Check out this fun headline from the Elkhart Truth: "Miller/Hurst duo helps Bethany tennis win Merrillville Invite." Okay, so the little article doesn't reveal too much about how the day went, but it's interesting that it picks out you guys to highlight, without even knowing that it was actually true. That first victory over Centerville set the team tone for the day, and was an important win in separating us from the 2nd place Bulldogs. If they would have won that matchup, they would have won the tournament. And the crazy thing is that you didn't even play your best. But you had fun, played great doubles, and came out of the day as champions. As important as your first match was, your last match was the most fun. Triton had their best players matched up against you at #1D, and they were playing with complete freedom and no pressure - and you wrecked them. It wasn't even close. What an awesome testament to the great doubles you are playing right now. I can't wait to see you grow throughout the end of the season, and see what that brings. Congrats champs!

Dear Byeong,
What a wait, right? You had the bye in the first round and had to wait almost 3 hours to play your first match. And what did you do when you finally got out there, probably playing the second best player at your position from Centerville? You got a golden mini-set! You won four straight games without even losing a point! 16 straight! Which is crazy. And even in the second mini-set, when he started to be a bit more consistent and you missed more shots, you still found a way to pull it together and finish the job. Ever since you identified your focal point - moving your feet, having consistency, and being accurate with where you put the ball - it seems like the only person who can beat you is Jesse. I've loved watching your improvement, and was glad to see that Landon didn't have to replace you in today's tournament! Congrats on your championship too!

Dear Ryan and Ethan,
Speaking of golden mini-sets and improvements, you guys had both. Against Merrillville in the second round you dominated to the tune of a perfect mini-set. In fact, in the first two rounds you posted perfect looking scorelines of 4-0, 4-0 and then 4-0, 4-0. That first clean match was especially impressive as it came against a Triton team that had taken 3 sets to beat during the regular season. In the final, I saw the relaxed and confident tennis I always hope to see from you despite your opponent. You were having fun (and so were they!) Bring that type of fun and relaxation to even the big matches. Today was what tennis is all about for you guys. Congrats to you champs!

Dear Jesse.
I appreciate your ability to fight through adversity. I appreciate your attempts to figure things out. I hope you had a break through in the championship, of what it means to "feel." One of the beautiful things about this tournament is that I got to see what we do when we aren't playing our best. It truly reveals a lot about our character in how we deal with adversity. And I was glad to see your perseverance in the second round against Merrillville. You cruised through the first set, and then all the sudden he raised his game in the second and yours dropped off a bit. "Let's go Bucs!" was his rallying cry and it could have been intimidating. But you kept your cool. Despite going down 4-3 in the set and then 4-2 in the tiebreaker, you played smart and forced yourself to stay aggressive. Awesome. Congrats!

Dear Sol,
There's no magic potion. It's an every match choice to prepare your attitude and your game to play your best. Even then, you might have to swing through when you aren't playing your best. You did a great job coming back from some rough play in the semi-final to play some great tennis in the 3rd place match. I can't wait to see you put the new learning into action this week, but congrats on your 2 tournament wins!

Dear Daniel,
Well, I thought there would be two sites and that you would be our doubles coach. There was just one site and we were all together, but as a doubles coach I'd say you did well, because we won both flights of doubles! It was so much fun to reminisce with you, to think about previous seasons and what would have happened if this team played your team, or if your team played Seth's team and even more. There is little that warms my heart more than seeing my brothers in the BC tennis family come back and participate again as they grow into their adulthoods. This season you've been a huge help. Thanks, hope you had fun with us. And thanks for all the pictures!

Dear Landon,
Thanks for your presence. You are a huge part of the brotherhood of this team. We are not the same team without you being with us. We all wish you were able to play. But we certainly love the fact that you travel with us, eat with us, joke with us, help encourage and coach us. We love you! Thanks for being a part of this championship!

Dear God,
Thanks for this day. I love these guys and who You are forming them into. I want Your joy deep inside their hearts, but because of You. Not because of winning tennis tournaments. But I love the way tennis can be a form of revelation for us all. Send Your Spirit to us, always drawing back to You as the source of revelation. Thanks again!

Moment of Sheer Beauty
Honestly, the moment of sheer beauty from today's tourney didn't come in the form of a single point. It came when we won all of the first round matches. In a tournament like this, the draw is important. And the first round is extremely important. If you get out of the first round with a win, then you can advance to the championship, or at very least get to play for third. The points earned and lost in the first round are very often the difference in the final scores. So when #1D got out of their close match, and then Jesse finished off the first round with a 4-0, 4-0 win, well, that was the moment that brightened my day.

Moment of Savage Beauty
We are playing aggressive. I love that I cannot ever pick a point for this award. There was the whole way that Sol played his third match. Ruthless and aggressive. Or Byeong's Nadal-like passing shot in his match against Centerville. Or Simon's kneeling, falling backward overhead off of Triton's attempt to put him away in the final. But let's go with Ryan Duckworth's championship point forehand. Holding the advantage, Ryan got a high bouncing ball near the net on the left side. Ryan swung for a big forehand, but sent the ball almost sideways off to the right of the court. With huge topspin the ball landed inside the sideline and bounced into Byeong's court. His opponents just stared stunned at him. It was a great, unpredictable moment, like the ones we celebrated all day!

SCORES
#1S - Jesse Amstutz - 2nd
def. Brett Sabo, Highland, 4-0, 4-0
def. Montriel Shell, Merrillville, 4-0, 5-4 (4)
lost to Brady Wagenknecht, Centerville, 0-6, 3-6

#2S - Byeong Min Lim - 1st
def. Justyn North, Centerville, 4-0, 4-0
def. Tyler Joseph, Portage, 6-0, 6-3

#3S - Sol Brenneman - 3rd
def. Cal Heinisch, Wawasee, 4-0, 4-2
lost to Nolan Witte, Centerville, 0-4, 2-4
def. Kody Sorenson, Portage, 4-0, 4-0

#1D - Hans Miller/Simon Hurst - 1st
def. Skylar Benedict/Craig Lair, Centerville, 5-4 (5), 4-2
def. Kody McGuire/Trevor Alexander, Portage, 4-1, 4-2
def. Jared Fisher/Austin Sellers, Triton, 6-2, 6-1

#2D - Ryan Duckworth/Ethan Lapp - 1st
def. Ben Waggoner/Spencer Glingle, Triton, 4-0, 4-0
def. Derel Shell/Alonso Brown, Merrillville, 4-0, 4-0
def. Tyler Butustak/Nick Donshach, 6-2, 6-2

Senior Statement #5: Landon Weldy

Landon to me exemplifies faithfulness through struggle. His freshman season was a general success with a winning JV record and even getting a varsity win. Sophomore year however, was a struggle as he ended with a losing record. Junior year Landon broke into the varsity with 8 straight wins before hitting a tough patch in the middle of the season. And this year started rough and is stalled right now because of injury.

So Landon has each year faced difficulty, but he is a true example of never letting go of what is important. He fixes his eyes on what is good, what God is doing, and makes it through. His hope, his faithfulness, have always been rewarded. But even more importantly than that, his faithfulness to the team and to God have always been rewarding to others. As we discuss God at tennis camp, his thoughts have encouraged others to stay faithful to Jesus. As we struggle to improve in tennis, his faithful practice example and encouragement have pushed others to get better.

This is a beautiful testament to the way that Landon lives. He has a natural leadership about him that flows out of his character. People trust that Landon will always be there. I pray that Landon will continue to be faithful, eyes fixed on Jesus, and that he will encourage many with his example in life.

Hebrews 12
And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Previous Senior Statements
Ryan Duckworth
Sol Brenneman
Hans Miller
Jesse Amstutz

Letters from Elkhart Central

Background,
I realize that most days I've just been writing letters and not really describing what happened in the match. This was a really good story that I want to tell a little bit.

Elkhart Central came into this evening as the 5th ranked team in District 2. District 2 covers the northeast corner of the state, from south of Fort Wayne to all of the Elkhart county schools. So, that's a fancy way of saying they are a very good team. Going into the match, I knew that we had a good opportunity.

The matches started out very tense. Every position was close except for Sol's #3S match (that would change :-). We held slight leads at #2S and #1D and were down slightly at #2D and #1S. All of sudden, Byeong broke through and took a 3-2 lead into a 5-2 lead at #2S. His strokes and especially his accuracy began to break his opponent, who became more and more frustrated as the match progressed. Byeong took the first set and Elkhart's #2 could never really mount a challenge in the 2nd set.

The same pattern then followed at #1D. Holding a 4-3 lead we turned 2 games in a row to take the set. All of a sudden the floodgates opened and Hans and Simon were putting away volleys and gaining lots of points off errors. In the second set, the Blazers could not really fight back and we actually won the second set 6-0. So the Bruins had two points and needed only one more.

Except that the other positions had gone the other way. Jesse had lost the first set and now found himself down 1-4 in the second. Ryan and Ethan had lost a very tight first set 4-6, but now were down 1-5 in the second. Sol had won the first easily but now was down 2-5 in the second. These final matches made me very proud however.

Jesse turned off the voices in his head and played confident tennis. He turned his 1-4 deficit into a tight second set, getting to 4-5. At 4-5 he had some openings to get the match back to 5-5, but couldn't convert. Central finished it at 6-4 in the second set, but Jesse fought back and didn't give up. And speaking of not giving up, #2D found their game before it was too late. They came back from 1-5 between great net and baseline play, behind confident play, and tied the match at 5-5. Despite their comeback, the Blazers regrouped and won the set. Still, I can't say how proud it made me to watch #2D not throw in the towel, but instead return to how they wanted to play.

Speaking of playing how he wanted to, Sol had gut check time. He entered a third set with the knowledge that it all came down to him. And went down 2-0 to a free swinging competitor in Curtis Hill (who also played a great match under pressure). Despite this, Sol just played every point. Focusing on how he was playing, he got 3 games in a row to take the 3-2 lead. It went back and forth on serve until Sol led 5-4. With great aggression, he built himself an advantage. Twice Curtis Hill denied Sol's match points but Sol stayed aggressive in the deuces and never let Hill get an advantage. In the end, Hill unfortunately double-faulted for Sol to win the match.

It was a fun varsity match. It was intense. It had nerves. I was proud of how we pushed through! Now onto the letters...

Dear Team,
That was the best victory of the season. We played aggressive, we played well, we kept our nerve under pressure, we fought back when we were down, and we even learned and grew in the middle of our matches. I was really proud of the attitude that I saw from the whole team.

I was talking to several of the parents during Sol's final match, who were saying how intense this was, coming down to the last match on the courts. What I told them was that win or lose, 5 years from now Sol will look back at this match and remember how awesome it was. Especially if he plays how he wants to play. These are the types of matches that we play for, because they are so much fun.

And so I was feeling very conflicted at the end of Sol's match. I was very intense, because I'm a competitor and want to win. But underneath that I was very relaxed. I had already gotten out of the night what I wanted to see from it - our good attitude, our fight, and growth. It was fun, it enabled me to smile and stand back and take in the beauty of that last match. All of you guys there watching, all of their team watching, two #3S players pounding the ball back and forth(!).  It was such a high quality match. And I was actually happy.

The funny thing is that for as well as tonight went, for as much as we grew and learned and performed under the pressure - we still didn't play our best. Up and down the line from JV to varsity, there were things to improve. And yet we fought through, didn't get down, relaxed and dealt with the point in front of us.

Good job team. What a fun match that was!

Dear Sol,
It's funny the way that God helps us grow. On Tuesday, at Blackhawk, I'm sure that you didn't want to play a tight second set. I'm sure you didn't want to get tied up at 5-5. But then you relaxed, pulled through, hit aggressive and won 8 points in a row.

How well that served you tonight. In the third set, you played the way you want to play. You looked pumped up, but at the same time you looked relaxed and focused on just the next point. As a result, you played some of the best tennis I've ever seen at #3 singles. Well stroked, well attacked, well executed. Remember this feeling. It was epic!

Dear Curtis Hill,
All that I just said about Sol, I could say about you. You were an awesome competitor, you kept your cool, and you played with aggression under pressure. You are the type of player I admire. I loved that you had so much positive self-talk going on in between points. You kept your composure and you attacked every point. I loved it. Thanks for an awesome match.

Dear Jesse, Ryan, and Ethan,
In matches against good teams, it's easy to get discouraged when things don't go our way. In your matches tonight, you all experienced things not going your way. But then you breathed deeply, cleared your thoughts, and came back. So often, the scores of close matches will read like this: 6-4, 6-0 or 7-6, 6-1. That's because when the first set and first games of the second are lost, the losing player becomes despondent and gives in. I was so proud of you for fighting your frustration, letting go of your fear, and getting back to your best tennis. Great job.

Dear Jacob,
Before your match, I told you that you were going to win. I confess, I knew nothing about your opponent. I had no idea if he'd be awesome or awful. Turned out he was pretty good. But what I do know is you, and you are awesome. Never forget that you are a great player. Let that motivate your play.

Dear Lane and Brandon,
These things happen. You won your first and then lost the second to a weaker team. Learn from Sol, Ryan, Jesse, Ethan and more tonight. When you get tight, remember what it feels like to play your best. Take a deep breath, then go play the next point. And the next point only. Then do it all over again. I love watching you play your best. Go to your next match and find your joy in your next point.

Dear God,
You are a God of wonder. And I realized this night that I need to stare into that even more. The sunset tonight was a gorgeous orange over the cornfields that are in the midst of harvest right now. That was wonderful. The apples are bright and green and red and ready to be snapped into, which was wonderful, driving past the orchards tonight. Your patience, love, and encouragements are seeping into the hearts of this team right now. Continue to let us know who we are, and where our joy comes from. We are Yours, marked and sealed in Your Holy Spirit, unconditional sons of the Father of wonder. Thank you.

Moment of Sheer Beauty
Picking out a moment that made me smile, so I'll have to go with an ace from Hans. We don't have too many aces on our team. Despite being a good team, we don't have too many big serves. We have people who can force errors with their serves, but we haven't racked up very many clean aces.

In the #1D match, the first set was a close affair going back and forth a little bit. Hans and Simon broke serve to take a 5-3 lead and Hans began to serve for the set. The other team was trying to pump themselves up with some "Let's go's!" They won a point on the ad side and got real excited. Hans smiled, walked over to the deuce side, and fired an ace out wide past his opponent. That one good shot sung momentum back to the Bruin #1D. They closed out the set and then the match. One good shot is often all it takes.

Moment of Savage Beauty
Undeniably, this point has to come from Sol's match. And there were a lot of good ones. So I'll pick my favorite. On a game point at 3-3, Sol approached the net with a ball to his opponent's backhand. His passing shot popped up toward Sol close to the net and Sol pounded an overhead down into the court for the winner. It had such savage pace on it that it bounced up over the fence, then over the barrier fence behind the court and over the railroad track that ran behind the court. In every tense moment, Sol just kept playing aggressive and right through. Well done!

SCORES

Varsity
#1S - Jesse Amstutz - 1-6, 4-6 - Eric Burton (12)
#2S - Byeong Min Lim - 6-3, 6-1 - Andrew Salmon (10)
#3S - Sol Brenneman - 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 - Curtis Hill (11)
#1D - Hans Miller/Simon Hurst - 6-3, 6-0 - Scott Hanberg (12)/Will Riblet (12)
#2D - Ryan Duckworth/Ethan Lapp - 4-6, 5-7 - Adam DeShone (11)/Christian Lankford (11)

Junior Varisty
#1SJV - Jacob Gonsalves - 8-4 - Matt Stutzman (11)
#2SJV - Jackson King - 2-8 - Ben Weaver (12)
#3SJV - Joel Yoder - 1-8 - Riley Norris (11)
#4SJV - Jacob Gonsalves - 6-2 - Josh Santos (11)
#5SJV - Jackson King - 6-4 - Keith Hartzler (10)
#6SJV - Joel Yoder - 2-6 - Michael Wyse (9)
#1DJV - Lane Miller/Brandon Nguyen - 8-4 - Alex Boyer (11)/Ben Oakley (11)
#2DJV - Dustin Miller/Lucas Brownsberger-Keyes - 3-8 - Langston Johnson (11)/Gabe Lindholm (11)
#3DJV - Daniel Robles/Jonathan Yousey - 8-3
#4DJV - Lane Miller/Brandon Nguyen - 3-6 - Jacob Stout (10)/Adam Moom (9)
#5DJV - Dustin Miller/Lucas Brownsberger-Keyes - 6-0 - Jared Reid (9)/Bryce Daub (9)
#6DJV - Daniel Robles/Jonathan Yousey - 6-3 - Manny Sanchez (11)/???

Area Scores

Scores from Wednesday and Thursday

Sectional Opponents
NORTHWOOD 4, WESTVIEW 1
1. Jared Hoffman (NW) def. Stephen Gierek 2-6, 7-5, 6-3.
2. Ryan Menzie (NW) def. Trey Zabona 7-5, 6-1.
3. Evan Nix (NW) def. Austin Hostetler 7-6 (4), 6-0.
1. Quinn Stillson/Caleb Yoder (NW) def. Andrew Yoder/Zach Shrock 6-2, 6-1.
2. Taylor Eash/Jeryl Weaver (W) def. Nick Myers/Devyn Maugel 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.

WARSAW 4, NORTHWOOD 1

1. Sam Rice (W) beat Jared Hoffman, 6-1, 6-3
2. Nic Jansen (W) beat Ryan Menzie, 6-0, 6-3
3. Caleb Rag (W) beat Evan Nix, 6-2, 6-1.
1. Quinn Stillson-Caleb Yoder (N) beat Christopher Herendeen-Cole Baker, 6-3, 6-3
2. Justin Stout-David Homme (W) beat Nick Myers-Devyn Maugel, 6-3, 5-7, 6-0.

JIMTOWN 5, TRITON 0
1. Mikey Pawlak d. Jared Fisher, 6-0, 6-0
2. Holden Price d. Gavin Eads, 6-3, 6-0
3. Ben Clarke d. Mace Eads, 6-4, 7-5
1. Brock Johnson-Ben Janowski d. Austin Sellers-Alex Eib, 6-1, 6-3
2. Isaac Pope-Hunter Price d. Spencer Glingle-Ben Widener, 6-0, 6-4

JIMTOWN 4, WEST NOBLE 1
1. Mikey Pawlak (J) def. Jared Swank 6-0, 6-1.
2. Holden Price (J) def. Kolten Peterson 6-0, 6-3.
3. Josh Gaff (WN) def. Ben Clarke 6-4, 6-2.
1. Ben Janowski/Brock Johnson (J) def. Ryan Kendall/Grant Moser 7-5, 6-4.
2. Isaac Pope/Hunter Price (J) def. Trey Waring/Jacob Musselman 4-6, 6-3, 7-6.

PLYMOUTH 4, GOSHEN 1
1. John Hunter (P) def. Hudson Kay 6-1, 7-5.
2. John Gerard (P) def. Evan Beck 6-0, 6-1.
3. Nate Knapp (P) def. Luke Rush 0-6, 6-2, 6-3.
1. Ryan Johnson/Max Holloway def. Logan Troyer/Zach Troyer 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4).
2. Peter Vukvich/Zach Ganger (G) def. Braydon Davison/Nick Felke 7-6 (3), 6-3.

FAIRFIELD 4, WESTVIEW 1
1. Adam Yoder (F) def. Stephen Gierek 6-0, 6-0.
2.Landyn Nunemaker (F) def. Trey Zabona 6-3, 7-5.
3. Clayton Bender (F) def. Austin Hostetler 6-1, 6-3.
1. Andrew Yoder/Zach Schrock (W) def. Aaron Miller/Joseph Line 6-2, 6-2.
2. Andrew Hoover/Isaac Miller (F) def. Taylor Eash/Jeryl Weaver 2-6, 7-5, 7-6.

Season Opponents
BREMEN 5, LAVILLE 0
1. Krent Hueni d. Brandon Haisley, 6-0, 6-0
2. Bryce Device d. Adam Baker, 6-0, 6-0
3. Zac Burkholder d. Keanon Clemons, 6-0, 6-0
1. Austin Ingle-Tommy Foster d. Erik Eggebrecht-Dustin Royer, 6-0, 6-0
2. Chandler Snyder-Carter Filchak d. Dennis Feitz-Cameron McDaniel, 6-1, 6-1

BREMEN 4, TRITON 1
1. Krent Hueni (B) beat Jared Fisher, 7-6 (5), 6-3
2. Bryce Devine (B) beat Gavin Eads, 7-6 (5), 6-4
3. Mace Eads (T) beat Zac Burkholder, 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (5).
1. Austin Ingle-Ryker Hand (B) beat Austin Sellers-Alex Eib, 6-2, 6-4
2. Chandler Snyder-Carter Filchak (B) beat Spencer Glingle-Ben Waggoner, 7-6 (9), 6-4.

CONCORD 5, NORTHRIDGE 0
1. Will Boyer def. Landon Arnold 6-1, 6-3.
2. Riley Huffer def. Ted Field 6-1, 6-3.
3. Mitch Boyer def. Simon Grevengoed 6-3, 6-4.
1. Nathan Hermon/Aaron Allen def. Sam Hoover/Austen Schmidt 7-5, 7-6 (7-5).
2. Braden Fish/Spencer Jaenichen def. James Dugle/Aadarsh Patel 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.

FREMONT 5, CENTRAL NOBLE 0
1. B. Trusty d. Krieger 6-0, 6-0
2. Miller d. VanWagner 6-1, 6-4
3. E. Trusty d. Rose 6-0, 6-2
1. Seiler/Regedanz d. Parker/Harlan 6-1, 6-3
2. Arnos/Sullivan d. Hayes/Phillips 6-1, 6-0

FREMONT 5, LAKELAND 0
1. B. Trusty d. Buonocore 6-1, 6-0
2. Miller d. Roose 7-5, 6-0
3. E. Trusty d. Lehman 6-3, 6-1
1. Regedanz/Seiler d. Sonner/Combs 6-2, 6-1
2. Arnos/Sullivan d. Koluder/Grossman 6-3, 6-0

MISHAWAKA MARIAN 3, SOUTH BEND RILEY 2
1. 1. Davis Hicks (M) beat Jordan Karczewski, 6-1, 6-4
2. Sam Cressy (M) beat Elliott McLaughlin, 6-0, 6-3
3. Max White (M) beat Daniel Hauersperger, 2-6, 6-3, 6-1.
1. Corey Fletcher-Matt Paluszewski (R) beat Zach Ericson-Cameron Rafinski, 6-2, 6-0
2. Aaron Holdren-Ryan Suter (R) beat Dominik Rafinski-Evan Kovatch, 6-1, 6-0.

BLACKHAWK CHRISTIAN 4, ADAMS CENTRAL 1
1. Hoover (BC) d. E. Ripley 6-0, 7-5
2. Bailey (BC) d. Green 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
3. Olives (AC) d. Hall 6-2, 6-0
1. Vastbinder/Fiedler (BC) d. Weil/Kahlert 6-2, 6-0
2. Gnagy/Norton (BC) d. Roth/J. Ripley 6-1, 2-6, 6-3

ELKHART CENTRAL 5, SOUTH BEND RILEY 0
1. Eric Burton def. Daniel Campbell 6-0, 6-0.
2. Andrew Salmon def. Jordan Karczewski 6-0, 6-1.
3. Curtis Hill def. Drakkar Saunders 6-1, 6-0.
1. Will Riblet/Scott Hanberg def. Corey Fletcher/Matt Paluszawski 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.
2. Christian Lankford/Adam DeShone def. Aaron Holdren/Ryan Suter 6-3, 6-2.

Tournament Opponents
ELKHART MEMORIAL 3, WAWASEE 2
1. Todd Hauser (W) def. Brenden Graber 6-3, 6-2.
2. Brett Wilson (M) def. Nate Derek 6-2, 6-3.
3. Cal Heinisch (W) def. Justin Walter 2-6, 7-6, 7-5.
1. Stephen Tefft/Jon Bailey (M) def. Jake Hutchinson/Nate Harris 6-1, 6-1.
2. Alex Mark/Daniel Asbury (M) def. Brayton Fretz/Leonard Kline 6-0, 6-3.

CHESTERTON 5, MERRILLVILLE 0
1. Johny Mario (C) d. Montriel Shell 6-2, 6-2
2. Dylan Jayasuriya (C) d. Steffan Santiago 6-1, 6-2
3. Matt Jewison (C) d. Keith Rochefort 6-0, 6-1.
1. Zac Nabhan-Chris Fouts (C) d. Ayron Williams-Jason Bell 6-4, 6-1
2. Alec Emmons-Cameron Cook (C) d. Alonso Brown-Derel Shell 6-3, 6-0.

HIGHLAND 5, KANKAKEE VALLEY 0
1. Brett Sabo (H) d. Kyle Banaszak 6-0, 6-3
2. Anthony Kowalkowski (H) d. Adam Sayers 6-3, 6-3
3. Matt Cotner (H) d. Brett Fase 6-3, 6-3.
1. Jack Gluth-Anthony Juranovich (H) d. Jared Stemper-Trevor Miesemannn 6-1, 6-0
2. Tyler Betustak-Nick Donsbach (H) d. Austin Abbring-Austin Autterbury 6-3, 6-0.

VALPARAISO 5, PORTAGE 0
1. Derek Wappel (V) d. Dengke Wang 6-0, 6-1
2. Max Abrahan (V) d. Tyler Joseph 6-4, 6-0
3. Eric Yiankes (V) d. Kodie Sorensen 6-4, 6-1.
1. Andj Lehnen-Alex Yiankes (V) d. Kody McGuire-Jesse Bustos 6-1, 6-0
2. Juan Gils-Caleb Owens (V) d. Alex Tsoris-Trevor Alexander 6-2, 6-0.

CENTERVILLE 5, TRI 0
1. Wagenknecht (CEN) def. Miller 6-1, 6-1
2. North (CEN) def. Miller 6-1, 6-0
3. Witte (CEN) def. Hart 6-0, 6-0.
1. Lair and Benedict (CEN) def. Hartman and Pinney 6-0, 6-2
2. Shook and Cheek (CEN) def. Bowling and Robinson 6-4, 6-2.

PERU 5, WABASH 0
1. Logan Primerano def. Kody Fuller, 6-1, 6-2
2. Jose Morales def. Taylor Vigar, 6-0, 6-1
3. Jack Zvers def. Luke Mattern, 6-0, 6-0
1. Carson Ray/Brandon Bates def. Aaron Hartley/Cal Stone, 6-3, 6-3
2. Kameron Graham/Andrew Rice def. Adam Driscoll/Matthew Stein, 6-3, 6-1

CASS 3, EASTERN 2

HAMILTON HEIGHTS 5, EASTERN 0

NORTHWESTERN 5, EASTERN 0

Senior Statement #4: Jesse Amstutz

Jesse is another senior with an interesting tennis story. He played varsity his freshman year while also playing soccer. I remember one night at practice, while he was serving, that he yelled “I hate tennis!” By the end of the year, I’m not sure that he meant that. Sophomore year though was spent in Paraguay, and when he returned he chose to commit to tennis instead of soccer.

And what a blessing he has been to me as a coach ever since. He has played throughout the summers, almost daily. He has helped me work with the young kids at our Bright Time summer camps, quickly becoming everyone’s favorite (including my own son). He’s led the team this year from the #1 singles spot, but also in trying to get everyone to work hard at practice.

What I love about Jesse is his good heart. He has struggled at times, he has been frustrated, but I often think that is because he desires the good so intensely. Whether that good is how he’s playing tennis or how people are being treated, he is so committed to it. Over his four years here at Bethany, I’ve seen this good come out more and more, in Jesse’s attitude and service. I’m so proud to have see him grow, and can’t wait to see what more God takes him to.

Psalm 37
Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Previous Senior Statements
Ryan Duckworth
Sol Brenneman
Hans Miller

Senior Statement #3: Hans Miller

There’s one thing I will always remember when thinking about how Hans plays: his smile. I’ve never had another player look like they were having so much fun on the tennis courts. And of course, that works beautifully in doubles, where Hans has played for the past three seasons on varsity.

And maybe because he’s laughing and having a good time, people don’t seem to realize how historically good Hans has been. With 2 wins in these last 11 matches, he’ll have the most varsity doubles wins of all-time. Right now, he’s already in 6th place in varsity wins regardless of doubles or singles. His winning percentage is nearly 75%!

But it is the joy that he brings to everything he does that truly makes him special. It makes others want to be with him. It makes him an easy doubles partner. It relaxes our team and helps us play our best. Even in our darkest moments, joy can produce hope. I also appreciate Hans earnest ability to listen. He is always ready to believe that things can get better. On his sightline biography, he mentioned that tennis has been like his second family. It is the qualities like his joy and earnestness that make us feel that way.

Romans 15
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Previous Senior Statements
Ryan Duckworth
Sol Brenneman

Letters from Blackhawk Christian

Dear Team,
I was really proud of the way you played in this match. There could be a lot of excuses for not coming out focused and prepared in this game. We had a long drive, we don't know this opponent very well, there was the promise of Magic Wand on the table for after the match... and so on.

But we're doing a better job getting focused from the beginning. And I need to continue to see that grow. Really, what we're trying to do is instill a growth mindset on the season. From today to tomorrow, I need to get better. And we're really seeing that growth.

I saw that growth all over the courts tonight. #1D didn't panic when they went down 3-2 early in their match. Sol was able to finish off an opponent in a tight end of the second set. #2D didn't let their match go into 3 sets. Jacob stayed positive through a close match. Jesse regained confidence after a tough end to the first set. And more...

We still have stuff to work on. We still have things to figure out. But the joy will be in watching ourselves truly improve. Now we've just got to both believe we can (think) and set about doing it with real purpose (action). But tonight was just another night of gaining our confidence and watching ourselves grow.

Dear Mooma and Poopa,
Grandma and grandpa, thanks for coming out to my match. Grandpa, I still believe it is partly your fault that I've got this coaching mentality instilled within my personality. The games you taught me when I was younger taught me how to think like a coach, and I'm glad you both got to see me at work in this match. Also, tennis season is a furious season where I don't get to see friends and family very often. So to get to see you guys in the midst of it tonight was quite a reward. Love you!

Dear Simon,
In this match, I saw a turn in you in the middle of the first set. You went from timid to tenacious, from tentative to attacking, from lobbing to smashing. This turn is a great representation of how you should prepare in warmup to be in the very beginning of every match. In the warmups, feel that turn from tentative to attack, and let that be your mode of operation from the beginning of matches. Excellent job in this match, let's use it as we grow!

Dear Jacob,
Great job tonight in a close match. I was so proud to see you plugging away tonight with a good attitude. You kept that ball in play, you worked the match and in the end, you wore your opponent out and pulled out the win. That's just like we talked about! If you keep committed to hitting that big topspin ball in and in and in, you are going to grind down so many opponents. Congrats on a great job working the right way.

Dear Sol,
That's what it's like to close out a match. Remember how loose that felt. How aggressive. How fun. Recall this feeling when you get in another close match. 8 points in a row to close it out? Awesome.

Dear Magic Wand,
It was good to be back tonight. It's been two years since we stopped in. The ET Sundae was excellent (right Jacob?) and the clowns were still creepy. Like, so creepy that it was actually good to get going. So nice to see you, we'll be back sometime for another very quick visit. I hope I don't see your clowns in my nightmares.

Dear God,
Yes. Come. Be present and growing in us. I can feel myself, even as I write this, bearing down on the tennis part because the tournament time is growing near. Keep our eyes and hearts open to Your Spirit working within us. Because we know that this whole season is Your gift. Thanks!

Moment of Sheer Beauty
As the season goes on, it gets more and more difficult to impress me. I feel like I've seen everything. I've seen Byeong hit passing shots up the line and Sol run down drop volleys. I've seen Hans make big smashes and Ethan win cross court battles. So what made me smile tonight that I haven't seen? Well, it has to be Jacob Gonsalves' close victory at #1SJV. He's won close victories before, but I know he'd been struggling with dealing with the pressure. We talked about working his opponent with his heavy strokes and tonight he did. It was a moment of joy to see him rewarded as the winner.

Moment of Savage Beauty
Back in 2003 when I started coaching, I remember playing Concord for the first time. They mercilessly beat us down at most positions, but I remember vividly one of the #1D points. There was a half lobbed, half shanked return of serve from one of our players and the Minuteman server came forward fast to hit it in the air. He stepped up just behind the service line and let fly with a tweener overhead, not quite above his head but not quite a regular volley. The ball went million miles an hour, and slammed into the fence on the fly. They still beat us 6-0, 6-1. After the match, I told my guys I wanted them to play like that: with aggression and freedom.

When he's playing well, Simon plays with that aggressive freedom. Tonight, he got an overhead at the net to end the game, with the set tied at 3-3. He stepped forward to take a huge swing, and his opponent was intimidated enough to turn his back. But Simon framed the overhead. It went weakly toward the net player and landed fairly softly in the doubles alley. However, the Braves had no chance of getting it, because they had spun away in fear of his overhead. When we are playing with aggression and freedom, we create intimidation and maybe even frustration. We make the opponents feel under pressure, like they are going to have to play awesome to beat us. That's part of the beauty of "savage" joy or beauty, that if you play with it consistently, even our mistakes can turn out well.

SCORES

Varsity
#1S - Jesse Amstutz - 4-6, 3-6 - Jeremy Hoover (12)
#2S - Byeong Min Lim - 6-3, 6-1 - Ben Bailey (12)
#3S - Sol Brennmean - 6-2, 7-5 - Drew Hall (9)
#1D - Hans Miller/Simon Hurst - 6-3, 6-2 - Joel Vastbinder (12)/Jared Fiedler (11)
#2D - Ryan Duckworth/Ethan Lapp - 6-0, 6-2 - Graham Gnagy (9)/Ross Norton (11)

Junior Varsity
#1SJV - Jacob Gonsalves - 8-6 - Joseph Angelo (11)
#2SJV - Jackson King - 8-2 - Bailey Brouwer (11)
#3SJV - Daniel Robles - 8-2 - Anthony Sheron (9)
#1DJV - Lane Miller/Brandon Nguyen - 8-1 - Sam Mossburg (10)/Levi Mossburg (9)

Area Scores

Sectional Opponents
GOSHEN 5, CONCORD 0
1. Hudson Kay def. Will Boyer 3-6, 7-5, 6-0.
2. Evan Beck def. Riley Huffer 7-5, 6-3.
3. Luke Rush def. Mitch Boyer 6-3, 6-4.
1. Logan Troyer/Zach Troyer def. Aaron Allen/Nathan Herman 6-2, 6-0.
2. Peter Vukovich/Zach Ganger def. Braden Fish/Spenser Jaenichen 6-1, 6-1.

NORTHRIDGE 3, NORTHWOOD 2
1. Landon Arnold (Nr) def. Jared Hoffman 6-3, 6-0.
2. Ryan Menzie (NW) def. Ted Field 7-5, 6-2.
3. Simon Grevengoed (Nr) def. Evan Nix 6-4, 7-5.
1. Quinn Stillson/Caleb Yoder (NW) def. Sam Hoover/Austen Schmidt 6-1, 6-1.
2. James Dugle/Aadarsh Patel (Nr) def. Nick Myers/Devyn Maugel 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.

FAIRFIELD 4, WEST NOBLE 1
1. Adam Yoder (F) def. Jared Swank 6-0, 6-0.
2. Landyn Nunemaker (F) def. Kolten Peterson 6-1, 6-3.
3. Josh Gaff (WN) def. Aaron Miller 6-1, 6-0.
1. Clayton Bender/Joseph Line (F) def. Ryan Kendall/Grant Moser 6-2, 6-3.
2. Andrew Hoover/Isaac Miller (F) def. Trey Waring/Jacob Musselman 6-1, 7-5.

Season Opponents
ELKHART CENTRAL 5, MISHAWAKA 0
1. Eric Burton def. Nathan Vaughn 6-0, 6-0.
2. Andrew Salmon def. Alesandro Martellaro 6-0 6-0.
3. Curtis Hill def. Kyler Garrett 6-0, 6-0.
1. Scott Hanberg/Will Ribles def. Jarrett Demonia/Avondres Harris 6-1, 6-2.
2. Adam DeShone/Christian Langford def. Wesley Demonia/Devin Jodway 6-0, 6-0.

FREMONT 5, CHURUBUSCO 0
1. B. Trusty d. Lu. Lillmars 6-0, 6-1
2. E. Trusty d. Bower 6-1, 6-2
3. Arnos d. Grim 6-0, 6-0
1. Regedanz/Seiler d. Schoeph/La. Lillmars 6-0, 6-0
2. Figueroa/Sullivan d. Howe/Brown 6-1, 6-0

NEW PRAIRIE 4, TRITON 1
1. Levi Hostetler (NP) d. Jared Fisher, 6-0, 6-2
2. Gavin Eads (T) d. Alex Suppinger, 5-7, 6-4, 10-4
3. Chase Keller (NP) d. Mace Eads, 6-2, 6-1.
1. Kyle Lowman-Evan Knowlton (NP) d. Austin Sellers-Alex Eib, 6-0, 6-3
2. Ian McSherry-Lucas Major (NP) d. Spencer Glingle-Ben Luaggoner, 6-0, 6-2.

WESTVIEW 5, PRAIRIE HEIGHTS 0
1. Stephen Gierek def. Tyler Johnson 6-0, 6-0.
2. Trey Zabona def. Chandler Sailor 6-3, 6-1.
3. Austin Hostetler def. Tyler Nott 6-0, 6-0.
1. Andrew Yoder/Taylor Eash def. Logan Walter/Justin O’Connor 6-0, 6-1.
2. Zach Schrock/Jeryl Weaver def. Justin Sutera/Cory Hollifield 6-0, 6-1.

SOUTH BEND ST. JOSEPH'S 5, MISHAWAKA MARIAN 0
1. Leo Romanetz d. David Hicks, 6-0, 6-0
2. Michael Wroblewski d. Sam Cressy, 6-0, 6-0
3. Ram Fernandez d. Max White, 6-0, 6-1.
1. Joe Staud-Connor Cohoon d. Zac Erickson-Cameron Rafinski, 6-1, 6-4
2. Liam O'Connor-Will DeTrempe d. Domonik Rafinski-Evan Kovatch, 6-2, 6-0.

Tournament Opponents
WARSAW 5, WAWASEE 0
1. Sam Rice def. Todd Hauser 6-1, 6-0.
2. Nick Jansen def. Nate Peek 6-0, 6-0.
3. Caleb Ray def. Cal Heinisch 6-1, 6-4.
1. Christopher Herendeen/Cole Baker def. Jake Hutchinson/Nate Haines 6-0, 6-1.
2. Justin Stout/David Homme/ def. Brayton Fretz/Leonard Kline 6-0, 6-2.

CHESTERTON 5, PORTAGE 0
1. Johnny Mario (C) d. Dengke Wang 6-0, 6-0
2. Dylan Jayasuriya d. Tyler Joseph 6-0, 6-2
3. Matt Jewison d. Kodie Sorensen 6-2, 6-0.
1. Chris Fouts-Alec Emmons (C) d. Kody McGuire-Jesse Bustos 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 6-3
2. Cameron Cook-Conner Archibald (C) d. Alex Tsoris-Trevor Alexander 6-2, 7-6 (7-5).

HIGHLAND 3, LOWELL 2
1. Brett Sabo (H) d. Zeb Johnson 6-1, 6-2
2. David Delgado (L) d. Anthony Kowalkowski 6-3, 6-4
3. Matt Cotner (H) d. Luke Fleming 6-7 (8-6), 6-4, 6-2.
1. Ben Roesel-Jayson Savich (L) d. Jack Gluth-Anthony Juranovich 6-3, 6-1
2. Tyler Betustak-Nick Donsbach (H) d. Dan Fleming-Tucker Malkowski 7-6 (7-3), 6-2.

CENTERVILLE 5, LINCOLN 0
1. 1. Brady Wagenknecht (CEN) def. Eric Underwood 6-0, 6-0
2. Justyn North (CEN) def. Jacob Kissick 6-4, 6-0
3. Nolan Witte (CEN) def. Seth Martin 6-1, 6-1.
1. Craig Lair and Skyler Benedict (CEN) def. Dalton Robbins and Nate Gulde 6-0, 6-0
2. Nathan Cheek and Blake Shook (C) def. Austin Lanich and Seth Morris (L) 6-4, 6-3.

MANCHESTER 5, WABASH 0
1. Connor Eichenauer def. Kody Fuller, 6-1, 6-2
2. Max Karg def. Luke Mattern, 6-1, 6-2
3. Brayton Spann def. Aidan Benysh,6-0, 6-0
1. Branden Scott/Noah Cain def. Aaron Hartley/Cal Stone, 6-3, 6-1
2. Heath Dierks/Matthew Pegg def. Adam Driscoll/Matthew Stein, 6-3, 6-3

TAYLOR 3, WESTERN 2

1. Camden Kimbler lost 1-6, 6-3, 2-6

2. Cole Schroeder won 6-3, 6-0

3. Colton Kimbler won 1-6, 6-4, 6-1

1. Conner White/Wynn Takas won 6-7, 6-3, 7-5

2. Bailey Owens/Clay Dishon lost 0-6, 0-6

Senior Statement #2: Sol Brenneman

Sol is one of my very favorite Bruin tennis players to watch play. When he’s playing at his best he has an athletic flair and epic points, won with emphatic slams are long rallies, scrambling and an eventual winner. His celebration of a point won at net, a double fist pump while spinning back toward the baseline, is also fun to watch.

With all that being said, you think that I’d say that the character trait I love best in Sol is his passion. But really, Sol has been a person of peace. He gets up and down on the court, but he’s usually able to put this in perspective. He’s honest and humble about his place on the team. He’s thoughtful and supportive of his teammates, and seeks to bring unity to the team. I’ve often noticed that perhaps Sol’s favorite thing is to be gathered behind a teammate’s match cheering them on, or have all of the teammates gathered behind him.

Being committed to a group of different and diverse people is one of the most difficult things in life. It takes all the character traits that I’ve seen in Sol: humility, honesty, and peace. It takes those characteristics daily. I’ve appreciated Sol’s work in tennis, and I pray that wherever he heads next in life he’ll take the bond of peace with him.

Ephesians 4
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Previous Senior Statements
Ryan Duckworth

Letters from Mishawaka Marian

Dear Team,
Let's call it a winning night, okay? We were leading at all positions when the rain struck. Then we went on to have a blast eating hamburgers and brats, downing cake and homemade ice cream. That sounds like a winning night.

As far as our play went, you are continuing to impress me. Byeong was a mere six points from victory after playing only 21 minutes. The rest of us had put our 21 minutes to good use too, as we were leading by a set at 4 of the 5 positions (and Jesse was up big, but not finished, with his 1st set). This wouldn't have happened at the beginning of the season. We are learning to take care of our mental preparation and go out and play the way we want to play.

That sounds like winning also. So we'll call it a winning night.

Dear Seniors,
You are an outstanding group of young men. In choosing my words about you, I was inspired by the fruits of the Holy Spirit that I see so strongly in your lives. You are men of patience, goodness, faithfulness, peace and joy (and more - those were just the ones I identified). And I say this with all sincerity despite it's sappiness... I love you all. Thanks for diving in to this group of guys, and giving it your all. Can't wait to finish this season out in joy with you!

Dear Parents,
I was overwhelmed by your help last night. Decorating the courts, hanging banners, dumping straw down for my coaching area, putting up new scorecards, cooking dinner, preparing senior gifts... I was so surprised and humbled that I don't think I probably said enough to thank you. Many of your kind words were also appreciated. You do much more than is necessary, but you help make the tennis team excellent with that extra work. We couldn't be who we are without all of you.




Dear God,
In the difficulties of rain outs and rushing around to make things work, it's easy to get hassled and harried and upset. And then aim that frustration at You. Thank You for reminding us that You are actually our place of rest. Last night, the tennis got canceled but the more important thing went on: Our celebration of how You are forming us into Your character. You are at work in the lives of this team, help us to see it and to follow You. Amen.

Moment of Sheer Beauty
Only 5 matches got onto the courts last night, so less choices would seemingly make it easy on me. However, we were playing so well last night that I didn't get to see a lot of long points, the ones that often stick in my mind. But for a beautiful player, we need to look no further than Byeong Min Lim. His serves last night we things of beauty, curving down suddenly into the box and slicing into the body of his opponent. Time after time Byeong won quick service games as his serves forced early errors or short balls that he came and finished. It nice to see him play so smoothly, though I wish he could have finished the last six points!

Moment of Savage Beauty
Ethan Lapp has been playing great. I just don't know that we'd always call it savage. This is the part of his game that will continue to grow as he gets more matches at varsity singles. But tonight, I began to see him end points emphatically more often. In the first game of the match, with Ryan serving, the Bruins saw the score go to deuce several times. We looked a little tight, starting the match, and I didn't want to see this game go the wrong way. After an error from the Knights, we had the advantage and Ethan got a backhand overhead in the next point. Swinging with authority, he slapped the backhand between the Knight players and into the hitting wall to seal the close game for the Bruins. There was never really another close game after that.

SCORES

Varsity
#1S - Jesse Amstutz - 4-2 - David Hicks (12)
#2S - Byeong Min Lim - 6-1, 4-0 - Sam Cressey (12)
#3S - Sol Brenneman - 6-1, 1-0 - Max White (10)
#1D - Hans Miller/Simon Hurst - 6-0, 1-0 - Zac Ericson (12)/Cameron Rafinski (9)
#2D - Ryan Duckworth/Ethan Lapp - 6-0, 1-0 - Domonik Rafinski (9)/Evan Kovatch (10)

Senior Statement #1: Ryan Duckworth

Ryan has had an interesting path through our tennis program. Freshman year he had to fight to get matches on our large team, and he played only 9 between #2D and #3D on the JV. Sophomore year, he began a push to be higher on the team, even challenge the varsity when he hurt his ankle before the season even began. Last year he started as a JV player, and lost 2 of his first 3 matches, before winning 14 straight. He’s been through many times when things weren’t going well.

But one of the traits that defines Ryan is his patience, and eventually perseverance. When he injured himself, he served as a manager, patiently learning and watching. Last season, he patiently developed killer doubles strategies on the JV level, waiting to unleash them this season. This season started slowly as well, with 2 losses, but he didn’t panic and stayed patient and is again building a great season. Maybe it is character he develops during his fishing trips, waiting and learning to enjoy each moment. But I’ll say that it is a gift that God has given him.

It has been a pleasure to watch him grow as a player and person at Bethany. I’ve seen his patience as a peer assistant to KP in gym classes as well, working with difficult students to follow the rules and play the games fairly. It will be a pleasure to watch him grow as a student and player in his other 2 sports. And yet I’m most excited about watching the person that he becomes for God. Ryan, may you use your patience and perseverance as you work to love difficult people and wait to hear the guidance of God’s Spirit.

Isaiah 40

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.