The Story - Chapter 12 - Bethany Christian v. Blackhawk Christian

Video Highlights

Coming soon!

The Varsity Story 

"Let's go!"

Some nights are just fun nights to celebrate where you are in your growth. Tonight was another night and another level from the Bruins! 

To set the scene, the Bruins traveled an hour and a half to face the Braves of Blackhawk Christian. The Braves are a young, athletic, talented team who are currently ranked in the top 8 teams of the Northeast Indiana District by the Tennis Coaches Association. Coming into the match, Blackhawk was 8-1 on the season. Their only defeat was a narrow 3-2 loss to another district ranked team. And overall, their #1S and #1D were both sitting with 1 loss on the season.

And yet... we had hope. 

We entered our first sets playing really well. Every position except for #2D got the first game of the match under their belt. Speeding out especially quickly was Aaron at #3S. He really had an amazing match. His opponent was very consistent, like so many of the #3S players that Aaron has been seeing lately. Aaron committed himself to attack in this match though. He spun shots into the corners and attacked the net. His touch is really good when he is trusting himself. Feeling a bit of a cold, he didn't get too high or emotionally energetic. He just played a low-key, solid match. And game after game his lead kept building, until he found himself as a 6-0, 6-1 winner.

At #2S, Elias was sick for the day. So his brother Isaya got to fill in his position. Isaya played well early, returning well and breaking serve. It was a really interesting match of consistency, high flighted shots and lobs, touch and change of direction. Isaya handled it really well, but couldn't find a way to consistently finish points or put his opponent under pressure. He did a valiant job stepping in, but a loss at #2S meant the match was 1-1.

Over at #1D, we served well throughout the first set. Ethan and Malachi were constantly putting the pressure on their opponent with excellent serves and an active net player. Many points were the simple type of doubles we try to play. Good serve, net player shifts with the placement of the serve, net player puts away the incoming return. On the other side, the Braves were accomplishing much the same in their service games. Late in the first set, holding the 5-4 advantage we took advantage of a couple of errors and broke to take the set.

In the second set, we lost our way and our focus at the beginning. We had a bit of lazy feet, went for too much on simple volleys and passing shots, and got out of rhythm. We fell behind 3-0. Then we found the rhythm again. Unfortunately, at this point the Braves were in their flow as well. The next couple of games were long games, with many deuces... many opportunities to turn the set around. Again and again, break points came and then went. So despite playing better, the Braves took the set. 

Because of the long drive, the dying light, and an incoming storm, we had agreed prior to the match that any third sets would be 10 point tiebreaks. I've said it before, Malachi and Ethan perform well under pressure. A back and forth beginning of the tiebreak saw us switch at 3-3. Then came a great series of solid points for the Bruins. Great serves, great returns, simple spots that put the pressure on our opponents. They missed and we ran off a little streak, taking an 8-4 lead. From there, we basically traded points until we got the match tiebreak, 10-7, handing the Braves #1D only there second loss of the year. 

That was a great match, and it gave the team a 2-1 lead. Also playing into a third set, with the chance to end it, were our #2D team. Jordan and Lucas had already played one tiebreak in their match, the first set, where they had come from 4-1 down to start the match to force a tiebreak in the first set. But the tiebreak had gone the way of the Braves and the Bruins started out down a set in #2D.

The second set was exactly the way that Lucas and Jordan want to play. Active at the net, controlled from the baseline. They moved to find the space for their shots. They swung with confidence. They served well. This solid way of going about their business also muted the energy of their opponents. They eased their way to a comfortable 6-3 set. But then was the match tiebreak. 

Everything seemed to kind of slide away in the tiebreak. We didn't find our first serves. Our feet were a bit slow and nervous. Our opponent's shots seemed to find the back of the line - including one where Lucas called it out and then realized he'd missed the call and overturned himself. A great bit of honesty in the middle of a tough time! I appreciate it, and Blackhawk's coach and even some of their parents made a point of letting me know that they admired the integrity in that. Something to be proud of for sure.

Yet, in the match, the tiebreak didn't go our way. And so the team score stood at 2-2, with only one position still playing. That was Judah at #1S, trying to battle the Braves #1 who had only lost once this year. And battle is maybe a decent way to describe it. Again and again, the Braves #1 smashed forehands across the court that sent Judah scrambling. Power was the name of the game, with a lot of heavy spin. Some shots just went flying past Judah and he had to clap his racket and say, "Oh, good shot!"

But many of the shots, Judah got too. And he put them back in difficult spots. And he forced errors. And he served well. This was another match of mostly holds until Judah held a  5-4 lead in the first set. Judah broke to finish the set, and then got right back to work in the second set. Again, Judah kept retrieving, kept up his variety, kept his head up. He enjoyed the points that ended in his favor, whether from a good serve or a long consistent rally. At 4-4, #2D ended and it became obvious that it was all up to Judah. In a big, important game, Judah held serve to take the 5-4 lead. In the next game, a big error from his opponent was followed with a big winner. Repeating that sequence led to 30-30 in the game. Each team called out encouragement. The lights were on. Lightning was beginning to spark as the distant storm started to get close. 

And Judah held his nerve, put two shots in difficult places, and won the match for the Bruin team.

The players streamed onto the court to congratulate him and celebrate together. They hoisted him up and carried him (before he got scared). And it was good to celebrate. For the second night in a row, we had defeated a district-ranked team. A very good team. We are learning to play our best tennis when the lights are on, when the pressure is high. We are playing smart and confident tennis in those situations. And we can continue to build on that.

Great job Bruins! Let's go!

The JV Story

The JV match was just as close, also going down to the final match on the court. We had started with a big win, Sam and Ender playing consistent and yet attacking doubles to take the #1DJV position. Then Eli had kept it close, feeling like he could have won but not quite able to get over the finish line in the close set. A couple too many errors really made the difference. 

Finally, all eyes were on Ayden, as he took his match into a tiebreak, and took his tiebreak right to the end. A little like #2D, things didn't seem to go Ayden's way. His opponent tightened up his game and made less errors. That left Ayden trying to find ways to attack. In the end, it didn't go the Bruins way this time. 

Who Can Focus in the Moment?
Moments of Wise Play

Coming soon...

Who Can Have Peace in the Match?

Moments of Belonging and Encouragement

It was awesome to have everybody supporting Judah at the end. It was awesome to see them goof around celebrating after a win. It was an awesome ride home on the bus, with the lightning and the conversations and the laughing. I love it when we are doing things together. I know that winning can be like that, but I hope that we can have the same joys of doing things together even when a match hasn't gone our way.

Who Can Have Joy for the Season?
Moments for Celebration

Coming soon...

Awards

Cheerleader: Eli
Hustle: Ayden
Dig Deep: Judah

Over All This is Christ's Love for Us
Moment of Prayer

God, I'm grateful for nights like these. Where the team gets to come around each other with support, where we have to dig in, where win or lose we know we are going to grow. Thanks for all the different opportunities we get during a tennis season. I enjoyed the bus ride home so much as well, as the storm flickered and the countryside was illuminated. So much beauty. Thanks! In Jesus name, amen.

Scores
Varsity

#1S - Judah Miller - 6-4, 6-4 - Marshall Treesh (10)

#2S - Isaya Magatti - 2-6, 2-6 - John Dykstra (11)

#3S - Aaron Hochstetler - 6-0, 6-1 - JD Tilma (12)

#1D - Ethan Claassen/Malachi Yoder - 6-4, 1-6, 10-7 - Drake Sefton (11)/Quinton Richard (11)

#2D - Lucas Bateman/Jordan Hochstedler - 6-7 (5), 6-3, 3-10 - Ryan Dykstra (11)/Duke Faupel (11)

Junior Varsity

#1SJV - Ayden Lehman - 7-8 (5) - Adrian Lindstrom (9)

#2SJV - Eli Steiner - 6-8 - Austin Greenwalt (11)

#1DJV - Ender Finnigan/Sam Brenneman - 8-4 - Isaac Tilma (10)/Coye Zimmerman (9)