What We Really Enjoyed 13: JV Week of Sept. 18-22

Enjoy Some Highlights! 

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What Happened With the Junior Varsity?

This week's JV matches were intense. On Monday, each JV player went through three rounds of matches against Fairfield. It was the first hot and sunny day in about a week and a half, and I'm not sure our players were ready for how physically taxing that was going to be on us. Isaya Magatti played really well. When he gets locked in and finds a rhythm with his groundstrokes, it is really hard to hit the ball past Isaya. The third round of matches against the Falcons provided some really close matches, but we seemed to make an error or be less aggressive in the difficult moments. Our JV has to remember to be quick and on our toes, even when it doesn't seem like that is required.

Tuesday's rain out was probably as welcome for the JV as for the varsity. We had just played Fremont on the weekend, as well as two other matches. Then the JV had just played 3 against Fairfield!

We came out against Jimtown on Wednesday night a little bit more refreshed. Our tennis looked good up and down the line. Dominic had a consistent match against Jimtown's #1SJV player. It went right down to a tiebreak at the end. It was really great experience in a tight match for Dominic. He's had a couple of these this year, as has the whole JV. When we've moved well and been aggressive with our strokes, we've found a lot of success in close, nervous matches. When we've been tentative, we've tended to make mistakes. That's a lesson we've got to carry with us into the next season.

But Elliot and Ethan looked in charge at #1DJV. Their weight of shot was simply too much for the Jimmies. We've been blessed to have some really good JV players this year, pushing our varsity and gaining wins and experience for themselves. This win for Elliot guaranteed that he'd end the season with a winning record, which was awesome! 

Isaya, Silas, and Malachi all got to play singles matches against Jimtown. In all the matches, I was impressed with our movement. We really stayed on our toes, which is such a key in matches where your opponent isn't hitting the ball very hard. It's easy to assume they'll make a mistake or that you'll have time to get to the ball. But we really were aggressive and energetic with our footwork (maybe because Coach Daniel made us work on it the day before?)

All three of the ninth grade players pulled off easy singles victories, and the Bruins defeated Jimtown 3-1.

So, on to Thursday against Elkhart. This was a chance for the Bruins to secure a winning record for the team on the season. But it wouldn't be easy. Elkhart's varsity was ranked #8 in the district, which typically means a good JV too! We lined up as 3 doubles matches and two singles matches - with both singles matches to be played by Silas. 

And Silas got us off to a good start, winning 8-1. The doubles were more of a struggle. Keagan and Elliot lost to a talented #1DJV squad, and Ethan and Dominic played a good match where they couldn't quite get over the line in many of the close games. But Malachi and Isaya played a solid match at #3DJV and Silas grabbed a second singles win to secure a JV team victory.

With that, we were 7-4 with only one match remaining in the season, at Wabash. Even a loss in that match means that we had a winning record on the JV season. But, I'll post about that match in it's own report. Great job this week Bruins!

What Were the Moments of Joy?

Watching the Ninth Graders Move

I mentioned this above, but when the ninth graders lock in, they have some great, quick footwork. Silas looks a little bit chaotic at times, but he can cover the whole court. Isaya moves great, and especially in singles he can get to everything and put any shot back in play. Malachi has a forward momentum to all of his movement, looking to get to net and finish points. And Ethan moves with quickness, purpose and power when he's locked in. This week (especially during the Jimtown match), we got to see all of these skills in play. 

Dominic's Passing Shots

When Dominic is playing singles, he doesn't have power to overwhelm his opponents. Instead, he can play consistently. But over and over in the Jimtown match, when his opponent tried to approach, Dominic found great placement with his passing shots to make his opponent bend, reach, and hit awkward volleys or even get passed. I loved watching Dominic cheer and be cheered after these momentum swinging points!

What Were the Moments of Encouragement?

Friday Practice Laps

I loved watching the players at Friday's practice. I had them pair up and share their favorite tennis memory and the match where they played their best. Each player was able to come up with some good memories (even if they weren't sure who the opponent was :-) I loved hearing them share and laugh and look forward to more good moments on the court!

Let's Take a Moment of Intention

Lord, I'm grateful for this great week with the team. We faced some difficult opponents, but we found lots of ways to stay positive. Thanks for that grace. Thanks for the wonderful weather. One rainout was maybe a blessing for our bodies when there were four straight matches scheduled :-) Please, help us turn to one another in the last weeks of the season, to experience joy together. Amen.

Scores

Fairfield JV 9, Bethany Christian JV 3
#1SJV - Ethan Claassen - 1-6 - Cameron Cripe (10)

#2SJV - Ethan Claassen - 1-6 - Kohen Hill (11)

#3SJV - Ethan Claassen - 4-6 - Trey Brenneman (10)

#4SJV - Isaya Magatti - 6-4 - Logan Moore (10)

#5SJV - Isaya Magatti - 6-3 - Adler Bender (9)

#6SJV - Isaya Magatti - 6-0 - Dane Moser (9) 

#1DJV - Keagan Meyer/Dominic Ramer - 2-6 - Matthew Holsopple (10)/Andrew Mathews (10)

#2DJV - Keagan Meyer/Dominic Ramer - 3-6 - Brockton Miller (11)/Joseph Riegsecker (11)

#3DJV - Keagan Meyer/Dominic Ramer - 4-6 - Isaac Mast (10)/Brady Park (10)

#4DJV - Malachi Yoder/Silas Martin - 0-6 - Teegan Bender (12)/Owen Garrison (12)

#5DJV - Malachi Yoder/Silas Martin - 1-6 - Ben Penrose (9)/Isaac Elledge (11)

#6DJV - Malachi Yoder/Silas Martin - 4-6 - Braxton Landry (10)/Israel Moreno (10)

Bethany Christian JV 4, Jimtown JV 1

#1SJV - Dominic Ramer - 7-8 (5) - Carson Gingrich (9)

#2SJV - Isaya Magatti - 8-0 - Juan Amaya (10)

#3SJV - Malachi Yoder - 8-0 - Colten Allen (10)

#4SJV - Silas Martin - 6-0 - Juan Amaya (10)

#1DJV - Elliot Hertzler Gascho/Ethan Claassen - 8-1 - A.J. Allen (11)/Nate Crosbie (11)

Bethany Christian JV 3, Elkhart JV 2

#1SJV - Silas Martin - 8-1 - David Brent (9)

#2SJV - Silas Martin - 8-1 - Brody Rankin (9)

#1DJV - Elliot Hertzler Gascho/Keagan Meyer - 1-8 - Albert Simeri (11)/Adam Grolich (9)

#2DJV - Dominic Ramer/Ethan Claassen - 4-8 - Jackson Mitchell (10)/Nate Windy (10)

#3DJV - Malachi Yoder/Isaya Magatti - 8-2 - Quinn Chandler (9)/Austin Linn (9)