South Bend Clay - Match Report

First of all, this was a beautiful fall night. Tuesday, we had traveled to Prairie Heights and started the match, only to get a downpour one game into the match. Tonight, the temperature was great, the shadows began to stretch across the court, the sunlight gleamed through the pines. These are nights that I love our courts, with their tree-lined fences and even their cracks.  Of course, it was also my birthday, number 4-0, so that made it extra special as well :-)

Varsity Recap

This match went relatively quickly, I was really impressed with our simplicity and focus coming out of the gates. But one match went really quickly. Josh kept his energy high all through his match, keeping himself moving and playing his signature style. But his opponent was having trouble finding the court. Because of this, Josh's match ended in only 19 minutes. It was also remarkable, because Josh only lost 3 points throughout the course of the match!

The other matches were much more closely contested, but it is not necessarily reflected in the scoreline. Braden's opponent had very smooth strokes and they had great long rallies. But after losing the first game, Braden settled into hitting his shots rather than just trying to match his opponent. From their on out, Braden seemed to win the bigger share of the points. He forced more errors and was able to come up with the points to end games. 

Theo also had a great match and a quick win. He was able to control most of the points with his forehand placement, and bring his opponent to the net some. In the end, it was consistency that won the day for him. At #1D, it was the aggressiveness and the simple doubles strategy that won the match. They also breezed through both sets with few threats. They served well throughout most of the match, something they've continued to work on.

And finally, there was no #2D match because the Colonials only had 5 players. But our #2D played against our sophomores, Cameron and Breece. It was a really fun match. Cameron doesn't play doubles much, but his consistency combined with Breece's power made for formidable combination. They had some beautiful games and points, and that was fun to watch.

In all, we played with simplicity, confidence and fun. This is the same attitude that we need to bring to every match!

JV Recap

There was no JV contest.

Moments of Joy

1. Joseph's Serves

On a night where our groundstrokes weren't tested as much in long rallies, it gave us a chance to work on good serving. Joseph hit a number of solid first serves. As a team, we need to see our first serve percentage his higher. They can be a weapon but only if we get them in. Really, a first serve percentage should be somewhere around 60%. So, we've got a goal to aim for in each match!

2. Braden's Groundstrokes

Early in his match, Braden was moving slowly and slicing a lot of dinky balls. In the first game, that allowed his opponent to control the point. I told Braden to take the next game and hit normal shots to the middle of the court, to grow in confidence. Soon, Braden was swinging in forehands and flattening out backhands. His backhand looked especially solid in this match. I loved to see us playing to our strengths!

Moments Together

I really appreciated all the happy birthdays. My wife was nice enough to buy me a sash for my big day, and so you guys all saw it - and the big, bright, primary colors proclaiming "Happy Birthday!" And it is a weird year to have your 40th birthday, because no big party was in the cards. So, it was really appreciated that you all took such joy in mentioning my birthday every chance you got. I appreciate the ways you are there for me as well!

A Prayer

Lord, I love this team. I love the energy that they have for each other. I even love the uncertainties and the efforts that they make to overcome them. Lord, so many things change and so many decisions are hard. Give us the faith to be certain of some things. To be certain of our worth. To be certain of Your love. To be certain that we are accepted by one another. Thank You for these things. In Jesus name.

Scores

Varsity: 5-0

#1S - Braden Bohn - 6-1, 6-0 - Maxx Szucs (12)

#2S - Theo Siemens-Rhodes - 6-0, 6-0 - Addison Nally (10)

#3S - Josh Cartwright - 6-0, 6-0 - Noah Stone (10)

#1D - Joseph Mounsithiraj/Tyson Miller - 6-0, 6-0 - Nathan Duszysla (11)/Jeremiah Annis (12)

#2D - Aaron Shenk/Austin Shenk - win by forfeit

South Bend Clay Match Report - 2019

Scores

V: Bethany Christian 4, South Bend Clay 1

Photos
Click here for photos from the match.

Varsity Recap

It was a beautiful, sunny day over in South Bend as we took on the Colonials. This is our second season playing Clay. This year, their team was led by a French exchange student, who was very skilled at tennis (but he's also playing on the football team!) They also returned other players from last year's team, though their top two had graduated.

Clay was without their normal #2S player, who also plays for the soccer team. This is an interesting theme, they had several players who are involved in more than one sport in the fall season. Because of this, Josh got a really early win - by default. The Colonials didn't have a #3S player for tonight :-)

The rest of the matches were fairly straight forward. Will and Tyson really played well tonight, with a lot of energy and much better movement than on Tuesday or last Thursday. As a result, #2D only lost 4 points in the entire match! Will served particularly well, putting into effect his new serve.

#1D did not serve as well, but their result was essentially the same. They continued to play great tennis at the net, and were able to put that type of pressure on the Clay #1D team. Nathan and Joseph have had many great matches where they were very focused with their footwork and readiness. Tonight was a bit slower, but they stayed in it enough to not drop any games.

Braden had a great match. He was hitting his shots instead of dinking. He was moving his opponent around the court. He continued to build on his successful season.

Caleb's match was also great for him to play. I was really impressed at how his opponent, Marius Pion, stayed down throughout the points. This allowed the Clay #1 to control points in the first set. But in the second, Caleb challenged that. Caleb began to move around and send Pion across the court for his shots. Down 3-0, Caleb actually found a really good groove, and extended the match with several chances to break and bring it back to 3-2. I really loved the way that Caleb responded to his first set defeat to come back with some fire in the second.

Overall, it was a relaxed match for us. We enjoyed playing tennis. We enjoyed watch Aaron and Theo fight out a tiebreak against each other. We enjoyed great conversation on the car rides. We enjoyed coming back to the school a little earlier than expected an watching an awesome volleyball game.

Junior Varsity Recap
There was no JV match.

You are accepted.

Before this match even began, I had hope for you. I had hope that you would enjoy the gifts that we often take for granted - a beautiful day, friendly people, our tennis skills, able bodies to play tennis, even more. I had hope that you would feel like you belong as well. That you understand, or are beginning to, how much you are loved.

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

1. Nathan's Tweener?
I was told that Nathan won another point with a tweener, which is mind-blowing. Again though, I was watching a different match. Next time, Nathan has to yell, "Matt!" as he's preparing for it :-)

2. Will's Second Serve
Practice makes perfect! Will has been struggling to get a consistent serve. He went out this weekend and worked out the kinks. Tonight it looked much smoother and there were no dinks!

You are significant.

How have we used our God-given gifts to serve the needs of others?

I appreciated that Jesse drove for us. I don't know if driving is a God-given gift, but it certainly was a gift tonight. It allowed us to take smaller vehicles, and honestly, I love the conversations that happen when the vehicle is smaller. I feel like I get to be a part of the chatter, and that is a gift. Thanks for driving Jesse!

You have achieved.

We are improving bad habits. That is an achievement.

Prayer
God, I am thankful for every night with these guys. As we look toward the end of this season, I pray that you will bless us with whatever You know we need. Help us feel accepted, let that identity as Your child sustain us, allowing us to join You in some significant work, so that we may achieve together. Amen.

Scores
Varsity
#1S - Caleb Shenk - 0-6, 1-6 - Marius Pion (12)
#2S - Braden Bohn - 6-0, 6-0 - Nathan Duszynski (10)
#3S - Josh Cartwright - won by default
#1D - Nathan Oostland/Joseph Mounsithiraj - 6-0, 6-0 - Braydon Dukes (12)/Ben Aberegg (12)
#2D - Will Nisley/Tyson Miller - 6-0, 6-0 - Noah Stone (9)/Marquise Dawning (10)

South Bend Clay Match Report

More Photos: Click Here

VARSITY MATCH REPORT

It was a solid night for the Bruins tennis team. After really struggling on Tuesday to adjust to different styles of opponents, to the wind, to so many things... tonight we adjusted quickly and played really solid tennis. It added up to a quick 5-0 win over South Bend Clay.

Liam Bradford had a match similar to Tuesday, a player who played a lot like him except for his Colonel opponent had a really big serve. But Liam excels at returning big serves, so that weapon didn't hurt Liam very much. Instead, it was Liam who was able to do damage, again whipping shots into the backhand corner to win many points.

At #1D and #2D, we really tried to start playing to our strengths. I loved seeing Nathan and Will finish off a lot of points at the net. I loved seeing Jonah get his overhead and volley going as well. Probably my two favorite points were watching people take confident shots in areas where they've struggled in the past. Jonah got a low volley and instead of trying to finish it for a winner, he adjusted and popped it over into the service box. As the Clay player scooped it up, Jonah readjusted his feet and put away the overhead. A simple play that led to an aggressive one. In #2D, Tyson lifted a lob over the Clay net man, and then a ball was lobbed up over Will. Will took three confident steps backward, got under the ball, and rocketed an overhead cross court. It was so good to see!

#2S and #3S kind of were the opposite of each other. At #3S, Philip started off very strong. He was attacking, placing balls where he wanted and eating up any mid court balls. He also had very few errors. At #2S, Caleb started off shaky with a lot of errors and missed serves. He was feeling some frustration too at the slow pace of play. But as Caleb forgave himself for that, he really began to come on. After trailing 2-1, Caleb won 11 straight games.

Philip's focus maybe slipped a bit in the second set. He was on cruise control and then started to miss a few more serves and shots. These compounded into his loss of a couple games. Still, he finished things off well and didn't let it get too tight. I was really proud of the work that he put in.

So, another win is in the books for the varsity. I can see the path forward for our improvement, and I can't wait to win a close match. That day is going to be so much fun!

JV MATCH REPORT
The JV match was really short tonight. Christopher Craw and Angel Torres played doubles for a 6-0 victory. There isn't too much to say other than I felt like Chris served well and Angel didn't let anything go. He competed all the way through the points. Plus, now Angel is undefeated to begin his senior season. That's fun!

Since there were no other JV matches, we played a Blue v. White Scrimmage. That was pretty fun, as all the JV players got to play 2 out of 3 sets, even though the sets only went to 4. There were some pretty competitive matches. Josh Cartwright and Aaron Shenk played contrasting styles, Josh on defense and Aaron on offense. That match went to a second set tiebreak. Matthew Dyck relied on consistency and one solid weapon while Jim Lyu went for big shots. Angel Torres and Sam Setiawan got better as the match went on, but were foiled by the more consistent freshmen, Josiah Schlabach and Jacob Leininger. And Joseph Mounsithiraj and Theo Siemens-Rhodes showed great net presence in their victory. So, even though they didn't get to play the other team, each JV guy had a chance to get better.

IT WAS ENOUGH
It was enough to have fun with you guys. Middle-Middle was a blast, slamming balls and moving quickly as we waited on Clay to arrive. Relaxing and watching us play to our strengths without too many nerve wracking moments was fun. It was a night to enjoy tennis and that was enough.

YOU ARE BROTHERS
You are brothers when you support each other. Even though the other team lacked a JV, it showed me the commitment of so many of the JV players that you stayed around and supported the varsity. That's super cool, and it makes our program unique. And you got to eat some delicious food after the match. That time committed to each other makes you brothers.

I AM GRATEFUL
I  am grateful for...
- the beautifully cool weather the last 2 days.
- the shade of our pine trees when we play.
- the generosity of the parents who provide us with delicious meals.
- the plan of improvement that I see in front of us.
- the understanding of players who didn't get to play tonight.
- the effort in the JV Blue-White match.
- simple tennis.
- dinks and lobs.
- Middle-Middle.
- Nathan's serves :-)
- Caleb's ability to let go and move forward.
- Jonah's willingness to commit to the net.
- so much more...

A PRAYER
God, may we continue to live in the joy of Your grace. You provide us with so much that we need, and when we work for each other, we experience so much joy. Give us that perspective. Thanks!

SCORES
Varsity
#1S - Liam Bradford - 6-1, 6-0 - Johnny Anderson (12)
#2S - Caleb Shenk - 6-2, 6-0 - Michael Dukes (12)
#3S - Philip Krabill - 6-0, 6-2 - Shaedyn Springer (11)
#1D - Nathan Oostland/Jonah Farran - 6-0, 6-1 - Benjamin Aberegg (11)/Braydon Dukes (11)
#2D - Will Nisley/Tyson Miller - 6-0, 6-0 - Jarod VandeZander (11)/Nathan Duszynski (9)

Junior Varsity
#1DJV - Christopher Craw/Angel Torres - 6-0 - Marquise Dawning (10)/Zondre Riles (9)

Blue v. White
#1SJV - Braden Bohn - 1-4, 0-4 - Andrew Buschert
#2SJV - Aaron Shenk 2-4, 4-5 (5) - Josh Cartwright
#3SJV - Jim Lyu - 1-4, 2-4 - Matthew Dyck
#1DJV - Joseph Mounsithiraj/Theo Siemens-Rhodes - 4-0, 4-1 - Christopher Craw/Austin Shenk
#2DJV - Angel Torres/Sam Setiawan - 1-4, 3-5 - Josiah Schlabach/Jacob Leininger