For the first time in Bruin tennis history, we have defeated the Northridge Raiders.
For the first time in my coaching history, we have started the season 1-0.
It's a great challenge to start the year, every year, against the Raiders. Year in and year out, Northridge has a tradition of fielding a talented team. The dedication to tennis and the importance of working hard at it throughout the offseason is part of the mindset of all who play in the Raider program. Because of that, they never have a weak team. Along with Concord, Warsaw, Penn and a few others, Northridge is one of the strongest programs in northern Indiana. Just look at the Sectional and Regional banners hanging by their courts to prove it.
And although the graduated five seniors from last year's team, this year's team has a lot of talent as well. Starting right at the top was senior Nick Myers, who went 21-3 last year at #1 singles. Or at #1 doubles, where they have senior David Long, who defeated Mikey Kelly last year in a long singles match. All the other players joining the varsity ranks put in long offseason work as well, from Elite camps to Eastlake lessons. So this was a good test for us.
Early in the day, during school I was really nervous. I wanted us to play our best. So I have this silly story about our new jerseys. I wanted them to come in, because we'd ordered them in June, then they were back ordered. I thought it would give us a little pick me up, a little confidence boost if our cool new jerseys came in. And so as I walked to the office at lunch, I began praying that our jerseys would be in. I got to my mailbox, and there they were! It really calmed my nerves to know that God answered my insignificant prayer request. It reminded me that God is good.
It gave me hope that God would be good in the match as well, maybe not making us win, but at least helping us play to the level we have worked for. And I think that's exactly what happened.
In the varsity match, things started out very well for us. We took early first set leads at every position except for #1 singles. In that match, the play looked very even, but the points kept being finished by Nick Myers of Northridge. That's usually the difference between the very best players in the state and those who are just below. Ben got close in many games, but Myers always seemed to have an answer. Near the end of the first set, Ben put in a nice run. But Nick ended up cruising to a two set victory.
In doubles, Matt Ebersole and Kyle Miller came out aggressive in the first set, but were very well matched with their opponents, David Long and Alex Radelich. Throughout the first set, the match swung back and forth. But what it really swung on was who was being more aggressive. When Kyle and Matt were swinging through, they were also able to control the net. When they controlled the net, the were winning the match. Both good volleyers, they put continual pressure on the Raiders, and it paid off with a first set victory. In the second set, Kyle and Matt couldn't get any runs going. They first started off going down, then won 2 in a row, then lost 2 in a row, then won 2 in a row... they couldn't ever get streaks going of 3, 4, 5 games and really seal the deal with a charge of momentum. The match ended up going three sets, and towards the end our energy waned and we got a bit tentative. The final set was 6-4 for Northridge, the second and final victory.
At #2 singles, Seth Krabill started off this season as he did the last, a #2S victory over the Raiders. This year his opponent was Chris Robbins, a sophomore playing his first varsity match (he has a bright future!) Chris has solid groundstrokes and this match was much like the #1S match, it looked even but Seth just did a better job winning points. Attacking the backhand, Seth gained early leads in each set only to see Robbins fight back. In the end, the difference was Seth's ability to attack short balls and move Robbins that gave him a slight advantage. That advantage turned into a victory for the Bruins.
#2 doubles played very well for us last night. Never completely dominating but always steady, Russell Klassen and Blake Shetler did a great job combining aggressive play with smart play. Tonight, I would say that their match was the closest we came to pure "smaggressive" tennis. Many times Russell would load up a groundstroke and pound a passing shot, while Blake patrolled the net and found the angles to put well placed volleys through. They looked very comfortable and took advantage of Raider errors to jump out early in each set. The result was another victory.
And then, there was the #3 singles match. Sophomore Nate Brendle taking the court for the Bruins for the first time, against his old school. Did I mention that as Nate's match wore on, we took a 2-1 lead and we were looking for one more point to seal the match? And oh, it came down to him. Nate was playing freshman Josh Garfein, another young Raider with an excellent career ahead. Garfein decided he wouldn't be able to hit out with Nate, and so played the role of counter-puncher that is so hard to play against.
But I was so proud of Nate. He stayed patient. Despite struggling with his serve, and making some unforced errors (which always happens against counter-punchers), he stayed positive. He took a close first set 6-4, and took a 4-3 lead in the second. Things looked good. Then all of a sudden, he lost 2 games and was faced with serving to stay in the set. But he stayed incredibly composed and confident, and tied things up at 5-5 with a great service game. Then he broke to go to 6-5. In the next game, a little tightness and a long forehand had him down 15-40. But with the calm hand of an experienced player, he pulled the game back to deuce, moving his feet, setting himself and playing his game. At deuce, he blasted a forehand down the line to take the advantage. Then one more well played point, backhand crosscourt, error from Garfein, and the match was over. We had won.
The JV match was not quite as exciting. Like I've said before, Northridge is a great program. So they bring lots of good skill throughout their lineup. For us, we've got a lineup filled with players who love tennis, but haven't been playing for that long. Hopefully that's changing with the development of the middle school tennis program, but it is still a work in progress. We played hard and there were bright spots.
Evan Grimes and Abe Thorne looked good at #1 doubles JV. Evan is a varsity quality player right now, still competing for a spot at #1 doubles on the varsity. Abe is a player who really just started taking tennis real seriously last spring. They've both improved so much from the place that they started. Small errors and learning experiences, as well as very good opponents, caused them to lose this match, but there were many positives.
And we won one position on the JV. Wade Troyer and Joel Gerig played a solid match, with real solid doubles tactics. They controlled the net. Which is good considering how tall they are, I'd be upset if the didn't! I thought it was a very impressive debut for Joel, in his first official high school match, and Wade continued the improvement we saw at the end of last season. But this was Wade's first win! Celebrations are in order!
The whole JV showed improvement from last year too, and I've been especially impressed with Ryan Minter and Josh Helmuth. And we can't forget to mention Parth Patel, who led the JV tonight at #1 singles. After being shutout in his #1 singles match, Parth got to play another match and didn't want to get shutout again. Trailing 5-0, I talked to him about being more aggressive, and lo and behold, he won the very next game at love while being more aggressive!
There was improvement all around at the JV level, something that I hope continues into the Goshen match Thursday.
So a good night, a good singing of Sarasponda together, of feeling like we were able to play to our best. Not to mention that a lot of our alumni came out and blessed us by kicking off the new season with us. It was good to see the old and the new. Altogether, I can sum up my thoughts with the very generic phrase, "It was good."
And I pray that this is only the start of a great season together: growing, playing, praying, focusing, battling and enjoying.
Always focus, always battle.
Varsity#1S - Ben Mast - 2-6, 0-6 - Nick Myers (12)
#2S - Seth Krabill - 6-4, 6-3 - Chris Robbins (10)
#3S - Nate Brendle - 6-4, 7-5 - Josh Garfein (9)
#1D - Kyle Miller/Matt Ebersole - 6-4, 4-6, 4-6 - David Long (12)/Alex Radelich (11)
#2D - Russell Klassen/Blake Shetler - 6-2, 6-3 - AJ Thielking (11)/Doug Jakubowicz (11)
Junior Varsity#1SJV - Parth Patel - 0-8 - Byron Slabach (10)
#2SJV - Ryan Minter - 0-8 - Will Erekson (9)
#3SJV - Josh Helmuth - 0-8 - Jed Miller (10)
#4SJV - Parth Patel - 1-8 - Clay Schell (9)
#1DJV - Evan Grimes/Abe Thorne - 4-8 - Connor Cameron (11)/Andrew Gingerich (10)
#2DJV - Wade Troyer/Joel Gerig - 8-4 - Michael Eash (10)/Erik Beck (10)
#3DJV - Justin Zehr/Bryan Nguyen - 3-8 - Ryan Taylor (9)/James Kristofzski (9)
Details: August 31, 2010 at Prairie Heights High School. Match starts at 4:30.
