Elkhart Central Match Report - 2019

Scores

V: Bethany Christian 4, Elkhart Central 1
JV: Elkhart Central JV 4, Bethany Christian JV 3

Varsity Recap
This was another one of those matches that I will remember from this season. It was close, we played well, and in the end we won the close matches. It was one of those times that I'm so nervous and hopeful as a coach, and when our opponent's final shot fell in the net, I breathe a big sigh of relief and think about how proud I am of our team.

Several matches were not close against Elkhart Central, and those matches got us off to a great start. Caleb Shenk played brilliant tennis, especially in his opening set, and dominated the Blazer #1. Playing the 2nd exchange student he's had to this season, Caleb took the opening set 6-0. His opponent gave a little better challenge in the second set, keeping more balls in play, especially on his forehand side. Still, Caleb was the first match off with a 6-0, 6-3 win.

At #1D, Nathan and Joseph fought through a very long first game of the first set, it went back and forth at deuce several times. Finally, we finished a volley to get the game, and then quickly we won game after game to build a big first set lead. As the Elkhart Central coach noted, our #1D did a great job of controlling the match, winning important points in simple ways, and never really giving Central the opening to get back in. Nathan and Joseph finished it off at 6-1, 6-2 for our second point.

Also finishing in 2 sets was Josh as #3S. But his match was a very close two sets. In both sets, Josh fell behind early. This was flipped from previous matches, where Josh has taken early leads. Against the Blazers, Josh didn't give up. In the first set, he dug in from 5-2 down to tie the set at 5-5. Unfortunately, he couldn't keep that up, and he lost the first set. In the second set, he again went down 5-2, and again he started to dig his way out. It was such great fight from Josh, something he's been showing more and more of throughout the season. But he lost the second set, and the team score was 2-1 for us.

#2S and #2D were still on court playing. At #2S, Braden was a bit tentative and his game was just a little bit off. His opponent was being very patient, and that caused Braden to overthink a little bit too much. Also, feeling sick, he was a little slow to move to the ball. Shots flew long or landed short, and the Blazer #2 did a great job of getting forward to hit approaches and winners. Braden lost the first set, but immediately in the second set he took the opportunity of a second chance to take a lead. He extended his lead to 3-0 before easing into a second set victory, setting the stage for a third set.

#2D started off awesome. Typically we have not played well against the Blazers, especially in our doubles positions. This year, we started off really well. Will was serving some of his best on the year, and Tyson's groundstrokes were 100% on. We were controlling the match and making few errors. The Blazer team was very good, and were able to take a couple games. But after we won the first set, that slipped. We made more errors while Central made more shots. We found ourselves down 5-2 before we started to get things together a bit more and put the pressure on. Will and Tyson clawed back to 5-4, before losing in a long, multi-deuce game. They were also headed to a third set.

So we needed one of the third setters to get a team victory. I was confident in both, but nervous because you never know. #2D got off to a great start, pulling ahead 1-0 after the first game. They moved well and hit the shots they needed to. Then, that slipped, they looked nervous, they stood still, the worried about line calls and missed their shots. We went down 2-1. From that point on, it was a struggle with the nerves. But Central was struggling with theirs as well. Finally, down 4-3, we found our rhythm. We moved and hit the smart and aggressive shots, we found the court with important serves, we finished with simplicity. We won the match 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. And the team had taken its third point for the team victory!

So, we only needed Braden to finish up. With the team pressure off, Braden looked like he might win easily. Instead, it became more of a fight. In fact, Braden went down 5-4 in the last set and it looked like we'd only win 3-2. But in the end, Braden battled back. He found his forehand and was able to take some net points. He found his serve and forced errors. Holding match point in the last game, he evened tried a tweener for the win! He didn't get it, but he did finish it off at 7-5.

So the team pulled a great win, 4-1, over the Blazers. We enjoyed singing on the bus, celebrating together. 

Junior Varsity Recap

Okay, this is another match where I didn't get to see as much of the matches as I wanted. Cameron, Theo, and Austin all took care of their matches pretty easily, and came over to let me know. I've been impressed with those guys as they continue to rack up near-varsity-quality wins, often with a lot of ease.

Chris and Matthew then took on a slightly better doubles team that included the Central #1SJV player, and they went back and forth, ending up in a tiebreak. In the tiebreak, they served and hit well, but found themselves a little tight. I got to watch the tiebreak, and I think it was a good experience to remember to just play point after point in a way that is enjoyable to us, moving and taking the shots we would in practice.

The singles lineup got all messed up because of Aaron getting sick (get better, Aaron). Jim was going to play #3SJV, but moved up to #2SJV, and then ended up starting his match right away. I didn't get to see much, but it sounds like errors kind of did Jim in. Then Xudong took on the same player, and he had a great match. He stuck right with the #2SJV player and the match also went into a tiebreak. Xudong felt like he was having trouble under pressure in swinging through his shots. In the end, the tiebreak put both players under pressure, as each had more than one chance to win the match. Finally, Xudong fell 15-13 in the tiebreak.

Breece and Jacob picked up a great win over a couple of new freshmen. Breece is coming on strong in the JV victory category now up to 7 which is the second most of the JV. Jacob and Josiah turned around and had a good match against the same players, but couldn't quite get the victory.

It was another match where we had weird things add up to a JV loss, even though it clearly felt like we had the stronger team. I hope our JV team is internalizing their strength, not their record. They are clearly a much stronger team than that record.

You are accepted.

Before this match even began, I was scatterbrained. Try as I might, there's something about the Central tennis complex that frazzles my mind. But I knew you would be focused. You have done a great job this season going into difficult environments and focusing well. So, before this match, I was confident in your focus.

You are sustained.
Today, we are sustained by these moments of joy...

1. Will and Tyson's Concentration
There were some tough moments of Will and Tyson's match. They could have played better in their second set. There were close calls that they thought really went against them. They were playing next to the Elkhart Central students, who were just being high schoolers, but that could have been distracting. Instead, Will and Tyson buckled down in the clutch (for the second time this year) and won the match with smart aggression. With movement. With good serves. I was very proud of them.

2. Creative Cheering in the 3rd Set
One of the memories that will certainly stick with me from this match is the sound of our fans. Whenever Tyson and Will would win a big point, we would have synchronized feet stomping on the metal bleachers. It was so innocently fun. It wasn't yelling in the other team's face. It wasn't taunting. It was just pure celebration and fun. And that is how tennis is supposed to be. Enjoy your great points. Congratulate your opponents on their great shots. Love it all!

3. Xudong's Tiebreak
Okay, admittedly, the varsity was in the middle of their third sets when Xudong began his tiebreak. So I didn't get to see any of the 28 (!) points that it took to decide it. But when you live through something that awesome, a 7 point tiebreak that doesn't end until the winner gets 15 points... well, that's just something to always smile at. I still remember my epic defeat in the conference tournament that went to a tiebreak, even though I lost.

You have achieved.

We stayed focused in a distracting environment. That is an achievement.
We played loose in tight matches. That is an achievement.
We finished our matches. That is an achievement.
We won the varsity match. That is an achievement.
We made adjustments on the fly. That is an achievement.
We celebrated the good. That is an achievement!

Prayer
God, there is a great amount of joy around our team. Please, help us to play with that as we continue this season. Give us the grace to follow You, and live out of the fulfilling joy and gratitude of Your Spirit, rather than feeling like every moment is something where we have to prove ourselves. We are enough because of Your love. In Jesus name I pray!

Scores
Varsity
#1S - Caleb Shenk - 6-0, 6-3 - Giovanni Beiana (11)
#2S - Braden Bohn - 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 - Spencer Dexter (11)
#3S - Josh Cartwright - 5-7, 4-6 - Matt Deshone (10)
#1D - Nathan Oostland/Joseph Mounsithiraj - 6-1, 6-2 - Alexx Dreamer (12)/Josh Reid (11)
#2D - Will Nisley/Tyson Miller - 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 - Frankie Yeakey (11)/Grant Brekke (11)

Junior Varsity
#1SJV - Cameron Heinisch - 6-1 - Chase Bontrager (12)
#2SJV - Jim Lyu - 1-6 - Randall Delafuente (10)
#3SJV - Xudong Sun - 6-7 (13) - Randall Delafuente (10)
#1DJV - Theo Siemens-Rhodes/Austin Shenk - 6-2 - Gianni Lucchese (9)/Kaden Kennedy (9)
#2DJV - Chris Craw/Matthew Dyck - 6-7 (4) - Gianni Lucchese (9)/Chase Bontrager (12)
#3DJV - Jacob Leininger/Breece Erickson - 6-2 - Gavin Sommer (9)/Nick Hardy (9)
#4DJV - Josiah Schlabach/Jacob Shank - 3-6 - Gavin Sommer (9)/Nick Hardy (9)