Fairfield Match Report - 2019

Scores

V: Fairfield 4, Bethany Christian 1
JV: Fairfield JV 6, Bethany Christian JV 4

Varsity Recap

This was a match that I had been looking at all season, knowing that it would be very close. I figured that it would simply come down to who played the best in each position. And basically, that was true. Each match came down to who played the best in the crucial moments. For tonight, that didn't go our way. Next time, we'll see :-)

In team had a position that played very well tonight. For us it was Will and Tyson. They figured some things out in the second round of the tournament this weekend, and having been playing great since then. They carried that momentum into their match and played pretty much every part of their game well. It was a well played match and ended in a well deserved victory. 

For Fairfield, their #3S player played really well. He figured out early how to attack Josh, and then basically didn't miss. As the match went on, he was finding shots that he didn't have early in the match. For the first set, almost every game went to deuce. In the second set, he was winning games at love. He played extremely well and was just in the zone.

All the other positions saw momentum shifts and opportunities for both teams. At #1D, each set see-sawed back and forth until the end. Our #1D did a great job early in games fighting for the lead. So many times we would hold game leads of 40-15, 40-30, or Ad-In. But Fairfield made great plays when they were in those positions, and often we missed simple shots, or took too difficult ones. I have loved that throughout the year our #1D has been really good at playing simple doubles. Getting to the right spots and making the right shots. Today, we missed too many. The Falcons took advantage and threw in some stellar shots of their own. In the end, it equalled a 3-6, 4-6 loss for Nathan and Joseph.

Braden seemed to be playing his look alike in his match. Both guys were excellent groundstrokers with good serves, and each guy moved well. Both guys loved to drop some slice in. The match saw them scrambling all over the court. In the first set, Braden built a 5-4 lead. But he couldn't quite seal the set. It took so long to play that first set though, because of the even match up. By the time the second set started, we already knew that we had to have both Braden and Caleb's matches turn out as wins to claim victory in the team match. But Braden went behind early in the second set. In fact, it looked like he maybe wouldn't have enough energy to mount a fight. Then all the sudden, he pulled back into it. You could tell that he was gunning for it, trying to stay positive. He got close, almost pulling the match back to 4-4, and then having multiple chances to stay in it at 5-4. But he couldn't find the finishing ball, and lost. That sealed the team match for the Falcons 3-1.

Caleb was still on in a magnificent match-up of contrasting styles. Caleb was an attacking player all day long, dictating the point and staying in control. On the other side, the Falcon #1 was fabulous at counterpunching, keeping the ball in play and finding the one moment to attack. It made for a long, almost 3 hour, 3 set masterpiece of a match. Caleb one the first set with some big points in big moments, and began the third set well. But towards the end, his big shots started to sail wide and long. Still, down 5-4 he had several chances to push it to 5-5. But his overheads drifted long and he lost 6-4 in the 3rd.

I see all these things as positives. I still see it being true that whoever plays well is going to win if we face the Falcons again. We'll see, as Sectional comes up next week. All I know is that I'm excited about it.

Junior Varsity Recap

In this JV match, we had a microcosm of the JV season. In some spots we played extremely well, in some spots we got extremely close, but in the end we find ourselves just nipped for the JV victory by a close score.

While praising teams that played really well, I want to start with Jacob Leininger and Breece Erickson. Here, late in the season, these two have been playing together more. In fact, they are ending the season on a 3 match winning streak, actually winning 4 out of the 5 where they've been paired together. Breece finishes his freshman year then with a stellar 10-3 record. Jacob finishes the year at 7-6, a year after being 0-6. This has been a great learning and growing year for both of them. I want to highlight too Jacob's involvement in Bethany's sports journaling class. I don't know if that is the specific name, but it is a class that asks students to make specific goals and measure them and think about how they are playing. Jacob is my second student to do this class, and the second one to make significant strides in their game. Great job guys!

Other positions played well too. Cameron played and excellent match, using all of his solid skills to defeat Fairfield's #1SJV player. Cameron has developed into an all-around solid player, and I can't wait to see him develop into an all-around dangerous player next.

Theo and Austin also had one of their stellar matches. They've only lost 4 this season, and all four were by two games or in a tiebreak. When they beat people, however, they win big. This is the mark of two players who are also rapidly improving, starting to march up toward the varsity.

And Josiah, as I'll highlight below, also played a great match to pull out another victory. I'm so proud of him, and his work ethic and the way that he has improved his footwork within matches. That has led to more opportunities for him and a lot of fun.

A couple other matches were so close. Chris and Kameron played a great match, being in a winning position and just not quite able to pull the victory out at the end. And Matthew, Jacob, Jim and Xudong all pushed their singles matches right to the end, but couldn't turn them into wins. Again, I've been so proud of these six players work ethic, and the way they've put in time and attention to practice. All of them have pushed the players around them by becoming more and more consistent throughout the year. I've loved watching Matthew develop some unique style to his game, Jacob find a big forehand, Xudong become very consistent with groundstrokes, Chris dominate the net, Kameron find consistent serves and forehands, and Jim compete and win more matches. They all were so close in this match!

Much like the varsity, I think this came down to who played the best on this night. If we played the Fairfield JV again, I think we could get very different results. I wish we would get to! I'm very proud of our JV on the year!

You are accepted.

Before this match even began, I was calm. I have reached the point in the season where I am praying the best for you in every match, but I know that you can do it. I have tried and tried to motivate, teach, prepare - and I feel good about what we've done and what you've learned. So I was calm, knowing that whatever happened, we'd try our best and stay faithful. We'll come back at it again tomorrow, as teammates.

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

1. Caleb's Fortitude in the 1st Set
Caleb battled and battled in his match. At the end of the first set, Caleb was serving up 5-4 to take the first set. And the game took forever. Time after time Caleb would grab the Ad and have game points, but then his opponent would hit a winner or flip up a lob that landed on the baseline. All these things caused Caleb to head back and serve again and again at deuce. I didn't count the deuces, but I do know that the game took more than 10 minutes. I'd guess 7-10 deuces. And then Caleb pulled it out, winning the first set. He played exceptionally well and really fought in that pressure situation.

2. Cameron's 1st Varsity Style Match
Since Cameron was the only JV player at the varsity site, the Fairfield coach suggested we let them play a varsity style match - meaning two out of three sets. I was excited for that. I actually wish we had time for that in all JV matches. But Cameron fell behind 4-3 in the first set, and it was really close. Then he closed the set with three straight games. Starting the second set, I was afraid that he might have a letdown, because that's what often happens to people new to two out of three set matches. But no, Cameron built a quick lead in the second set and finished it off even easier!

3. Josiah's Victory
When I started looking at the JV scores, none of them made me happier than Josiah's. Josiah started out the season picking up two victories. But then he'd played a lot of play-back matches against higher positioned players. Finally, to end the season, he got another victory, one that he has deserved with his good play for a while now. He is one of those players that shows you the strength of our team. When he doesn't have to play a higher ranked player, Josiah usually wins. It tells us that our team is strong from top to bottom. And I'm so glad to have Josiah on our team!

You have achieved.
You brought energy to this season. That is an achievement.
You brought intention to each match. That is an achievement.
You brought attention to each other. That is an achievement.

Prayer
God, thanks for a great JV season. These guys are so much better than they probably think. They are very well prepared for a long, successful run as high school players. And I pray that this year and into next year, you prepare us to deal with our nerves. That we can swing through and play strong and confident. Allow us that feeling throughout the end of the season and into Sectional. Amen!

Scores
Varsity
#1S - Caleb Shenk - 6-4, 3-6, 4-6 - Colin Hochstedler (11)
#2S - Braden Bohn - 5-7, 3-6 - Riley Behles (12)
#3S - Josh Cartwright - 2-6, 0-6 - Kaden Plett (11)
#1D - Nathan Oostland/Joseph Mounsithiraj - 3-6, 4-6 - Isaac Inniger (12)/Lance Martin (11)
#2D - Will Nisley/Tyson Miller - 6-2, 6-2 - Ethan Yoder (11)/Brandon Kauffman (9)

Junior Varsity
#1SJV - Cameron Heinisch - 6-4, 6-2 - Dylan Yoder (11)
#2SJV - Aaron Shenk - 4-8 - Mick Moore (9)
#3SJV - Matthew Dyck - 6-8 - Adrian Verdu (11)
#4SJV - Jim Lyu - 8-9 (7) - Brady Cripe (10)
#5SJV - Xudong Sun - 6-8 - Seth Yoder (9)
#6SJV - Josiah Schlabach - 8-3 - Ryan Yoder (9)
#7SJV - Jacob Shank - 5-8 - Keegan Pressler (10)
#1DJV - Theo Siemens-Rhodes/Austin Shenk - 8-0 - Ryan Keller (11)/Collin Troyer (10)
#2DJV - Chris Craw/Kameron Branum - 7-9 - Evan Mathews (9)/Luke Holsopple (9)
#3DJV - Jacob Leininger/Breece Erickson - 8-5 - Keegan Pressler (10)/Noah Hochstetler (10)