Growing in Wisdom - Portage and East Noble Tournaments

Video

Varsity Recap
The Bruins varsity traveled to the Portage Invite, and experienced a day of blessings. Blessings that weren't all about the tennis. First of all, we drove through rain on the way, but the tourney started right on time and the sun actually came out as the Bruins began their match semi-final against Merrillville.

In that match Elias got us on the board with a quick match. He got to experience the rare "golden set." Winning a whole set without losing a point! Judah followed off the court, also with a win, as he had an opponent that rallied well with him but couldn't match Judah's consistent placement.

Next came the doubles, who had displayed great footwork and energy in sealing their matches. In many cases, the serves were just too much for the opponents. It was also a contrast in movement, with the Bruins covering the courts really well and exploiting the gaps their opponent's didn't move into.

Finally, Gid wrapped up the first round with a win. All the matches were quick and we had a lot of energy as we stood around and discussed the prospects for the final. We were blessed by family who brought fruit and drinks. It started to sprinkle on us again, but the rain pushed to the east and the sun came out again. This time we faced Portage, who had defeated Marquette Catholic in the other semi-final.

We got out to a lead behind Judah this time. His opponent hit the ball big, but couldn't find any openings against Judah. Judah served extremely well, hitting a high percentage of first serves in and putting the pressure on his opponent early.

Elias followed with another easy win, where he did a good job of staying focused, using his split steps to get his aggressive opponents shots back, forcing his opponent to be consistent, which he didn't do.

#2D clinched the tourney for us, a simple win with simple aggression. They put away overheads and moved in tandem. This group is really starting to dominate together. I love the way that they've been playing. Can't wait to see how they continue to grow!

Then the two final positions won for us as well. #1D dealt with the big serve of the Portage opponents well, and really took any net play away from Portage. Ethan had a great serving day and Malachi cleaned up at the net.

Gideon played with great positivity and power. His serve looked really natural and dominated all day, but it was his transition game that really shone out in this match. He did a great job of making smart aggressive shots and following them in. But he just played really in control tennis, striking from the baseline with spin when needed, coming in when he saw the opportunities.

With that, it was trophy time. The Bruins posed with the trophy, which had an unfortunate accident before we got it. It was all smiles on the day. We had the blessing to enjoy a meal together as well, watching football, eating sampler platters and laughing together. What a day of blessing.

Let's go Bruins!

JV Recap

Of course, because I wasn't at the JV invite it's hard to give an accurate impression. But I know from texting with Daniel that we were close to winning it all. There were close matches all over the JV tournament, with 9 tiebreaks being played throughout the day. In some ways, I think the varsity would have loved to have that type of close competition to really get ourselves moving. 

Those tiebreaks really made the difference in each of the three matches. In the Fremont match, the JV came out on top in 3 of the 4 tiebreaks... and actually that meant we won the match 5-0. In the East Noble match, 2 of 3 went to the Knights and they got the 3-2 team victory. Against Oak Farm, the tiebreaks were even, but we still couldn't claw out a victory. One tiebreak could have changed it all. 

And that's okay, it's good to get experience. Not quite accomplishing what we hoped for helps us reset, refocus, and find out how to perform better the next time we get a chance. Let's hope it does that for the Bruins!

I'm proud of how the team competed. Players who were put in new positions responded well, and I hope that continues. Let's go out and compete with great belief Bruins!

WE CAN BE HUMBLE, BECAUSE WE BELONG: Moments of Belonging

Back Together

The busses arrived back to the school from our separate tournaments at approximately the same time. And when the players saw each other, they were both drawn into conversations about how the day went. There was genuine interest to hear the stories, the jokes, and the fun that each team had. I'm glad most people didn't hop straight into their cars and drive away, but stayed to get a sense of how each other fared. 

WHEN WE ARE WISE: Wisdom is Playing the Percentages

Footwork Makes the Difference

In the Merrillville match, the difference in footwork and commitment to it was visible. The Bruins split steps were awesome, bringing energy and life into the match. And that energy was the difference in a lot of ways. That energy has helped us improve instead of stay stagnant. Each Bruin position is playing better tennis right now because we've committed to footwork. Because we've committed to bringing energy. Because we can see what it looks like when we don't play with good footwork and energy... it looks and feels boring without it :-)

Confidence

We've won this tournament for a couple of years in a row now, and we enter expecting to do well. We get nervous, but we quickly calm down and play. Other teams know that we are going to play well, and so they enter nervous and often make errors against us that they didn't make against the other teams. We have to enter every match with confidence, knowing that we will bring our best. That is all that confidence is.

Wise Quote of the Day

"I always believe I can beat the best, achieve the best." - Serena Williams

THEN WE ARE STRONG: Exceptional Outcomes

He Played Out of His Shoes

In the Portage match, Malachi was really trying to patrol the net. At the end of one of the points, a ball was lifted into the middle of the court just behind him. His slid into the shot, moving quickly and his shoe came right off. He had won the point with one shoe :-) 

Too Many to Count

We served well today. There were many aces and unreturned serves. As the season goes on, we should be growing in confidence, especially in our ability to focus and swing through. I loved to see that today!

Prayer

God, thanks! Today was a day of blessings, a day of tremendous growth. The JV got crazy good experience in tight matches and the varsity got a day of good feelings and good play. We pray that You continue to help us focus not on the outcome, but on the growth and the people. Help take every situation and help us be directed toward You. Amen.

Scores

Varsity against Merrillville
#1S - Gideon Miller - 6-0, 6-0 - Avion Matthews

#2S - Judah Miller - 6-0, 6-0 - Tristan Thomas

#3D - Elias Magatti - 6-0, 6-0 - Xavier Kumar

#1D - Ethan Claassen/Malachi Yoder - 6-0, 6-0 - Dariyan Ganaway/Isaac Rodriguez

#2D - Dominic Ramer/Aaron Hochstetler - 6-0, 6-1 - Isaiah Rodriguez/Brian Richardson

Varsity against Portage 
#1S - Gideon Miller - 6-0, 6-0 - Kyle Gorgei

#2S - Judah Miller - 6-0, 6-0 - Cole Pollard

#3D - Elias Magatti - 6-0, 6-0 - Paul Baum

#1D - Ethan Claassen/Malachi Yoder - 6-1, 6-0 - Kayden Loera/Bryson Loera

#2D - Dominic Ramer/Aaron Hochstetler - 6-0, 6-0 - M. Hernandez/K. Kowalczyk

Junior Varsity against Fremont

#1SJV - Lucas Bateman - 3-6, 6-3, 10-7 - Avi Patel (11)

#2SJV - Jordan Hochstedler - 6-4, 7-6 (3) - Garrett Forrest (10)

#3SJV - Eli Steiner - win by forfeit

#1DJV - Silas Martin/Isaya Magatti - 6-3, 7-5 - Chris Thober (10)/Tyler Mynhier (10) 

#2DJV - Ender Finnigan/Josiah Aguilar Clark - 6-7 (6), 6-2, 10-4 - Conlon Smith (10)/Quinten Escelante (10)

Junior Varsity against East Noble

#1SJV - Lucas Bateman - 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-10 - Braxton Hardesty (10)

#2SJV - Jordan Hochstedler - 1-6, 4-6 - Luke Zuehsow (9)

#3SJV - Eli Steiner - 6-2, 0-6, 3-10 - Dayde Hudson (10)

#1DJV - Silas Martin/Isaya Magatti - 6-1, 6-1 - Karsten McKinley (12)/Dallas Wilson (10)

#2DJV - Ender Finnigan/Josiah Aguilar Clark - 6-2, 6-3 - Max Benedict (10)/James Deveau (9)

Junior Varsity against Oak Farm

#1SJV - Lucas Bateman - 0-6, 1-6 - Ryan Kochanski (12)

#2SJV - Jordan Hochstedler - 4-6, 5-7 - Ryker Elias (12)

#3SJV - Eli Steiner - 6-4, 2-6, 6-10 - Fyo Hayden (10)

#1DJV - Silas Martin/Isaya Magatti - 3-6, 6-4, 10-8 - Ivy Witmer (12)/Lilly Moser (12)

#2DJV - Ender Finnigan/Josiah Aguilar Clark - 6-2, 6-1 - Riley Fitzharris (11)/Afron McGinnis (11)