Senior Statement - Ethan Claassen

Ethan has been an important member of our team since he stepped on the court freshman year. Most of that year he played #1SJV, but he stepped into the varsity in the middle of the Bremen tournament and played with confidence. This confidence has continued to make him a clutch player for the Bruins. It’s given him a winning record throughout his career, including All-Conference honors last year when he racked up a 15-3 record between #1D and #3S. Ethan has the ability to step it up in the best moments.

My favorite tennis memories of Ethan involve that, the ability to step it up in crunch time. Freshman year, we played Wawasee in a JV only match that Daniel coached, and I received frantic texts about how Ethan won in for the JV in his match tiebreak. Even better was last year’s match against Triton, that came down to Ethan as he played up at #2S, replacing a sick Judah. Or the clutch performance of saving 5 match points in Sectional against Bremen, keeping the team alive in the process and then winning the match. Or this season, where we’ve witnessed comebacks from he and Malachi against Northridge, NorthWood and Wawasee this past weekend. Ethan brings his best tennis in the clutch moments.

That maybe shows a quality of Ethan that is truly admirable - his courage. He does not shy away from things that are difficult on the tennis court. I love that he is up for any type of challenge that I can put to him. And more often than not, he’s up to it.

With a 10-2 record this season, he is currently holds the best record on our team this year. He’s in the top 20 overall in wins for a career, with a chance to move into the top 10. So, he leads us in that category. But one of the true importances to our team is his overall leadership. Last year, he finished second for our MVP award. I think that was mostly due to his leadership qualities. He’s one who can speak both for the team and to the team. I have seen that in the way he led stretching last year, and simply in the way that the team responds to his encouragement. If Ethan says it is time to get serious, people get serious. If Ethan’s laughing, others are as well. He’s a leader that shows the way. That’s why I’ve chosen this verse to represent Ethan...

Psalm 78:72
With integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them...

That is a verse that says something about who Ethan is, but also who I pray he continues to become. He is a leader with integrity and he has shown his skilled hands on the tennis courts :-) His teammates follow his lead and respond to him in clutch moments. But I pray that he continues to display these skills. That he truly walks in integrity and skill. I believe that he will.