Area Scores from 8/30

On Our Schedule

Elkhart Memorial 4, Northridge 1

#1S - Spenser Gilbert (EM) beat Chris Robbins 6-4,6-4.

#2S - Mazin Hakim (EM) beat AJ Thielking 4-6,6-2,6-2.

#3S - Josh Garfein (N) beat Jacob Gaffney 6-0, 6-1.

#1D - Dudley/Grubb (EM) beat Alex Radelich/Andrew Gingerich 1-6, 6-3, 6-1.

#2D - Denton/Patel (EM) beat Connor Cameron/Byron Slabach 7-5, 7-5.



Plymouth 5, Rochester 0

#1S - Gabe Vervynckt beat Aaron Stuart, 6-2, 6-1

#2S - Lane Singleton beat Taylor Beck, 6-1, 6-1

#3S - Luke Bumpus beat Jonathon Phoun, 6-3, 6-1.

#1D - Connor Flynn-Jordan Scheetz beat Alec Gehrich-Brandt Eyfheson, 6-0, 6-0

#2D - Joe Knapp-Matt Flynn beat Dannell Abright-Michael Kistler, 6-0, 6-0.



Triton 5, Laville 0

#1S - Jeff Ross beat Grant Frick 6-2, 6-0

#2S - Peter Kauffman beat Andrew Hulliberger 6-0, 6-0

#3S - Lucas Shafer won by forfeit.

#1D - Josh Shafer-Austin Kanarr beat Blade Masterson-Keanon Clemons 6-0, 6-0

#2D - Wil Rettinger-Jackson Downing beat Chris Nicodemus-Adam Baker 6-0, 6-0.



Warsaw 5, Goshen 0

#1S - Kyle Wettschurack beat Eli Metzler-Prieb, 6-3, 6-2

#2S - Evan Miller beat Drew Hostetler, 6-3, 6-2

#3S - Keaton Joyner beat Adam Bratten, 6-2, 6-1.

#1D - Sam Rice-A.J. Herendeen beat Sam Stegelmann-Silas Buller, 7-6, 6-4

#2D - A.J. Jansen-Connor Singrey beat Matt Buncich-Austin Stutzman, 7-5, 6-4.



Westview 3, Jimtown 2

#1S - Austin Schlabach (W) beat Brett Aller, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2

#2S - Dan Gongwer (J) beat Kohle Christner 6-4, 6-3

#3S - Austin Ward (J) beat Jonathon Hostetler, 6-4, 6-1.

#1D - Nic Hostetler-Devin Bontreger (W) beat Cole Peterson-Jake Ward, 7-5, 6-4

#2D - Brett Yoder-Jamar Weaver (W) beat Augie Farwig-Michael Hobbs, 6-4, 6-1.



Elkhart Central 5, SB Washington 0

#1S - Nick Burton def. David Boling 6-0, 6-0.

#2S - Brett Morton def. Austin Cossel 6-0, 6-0.

#3S - Blake Brouwer by default.

#1D - Mitch Hanberg/Austin Sellers def. Christian Moreno/Tanner Cornelis 6-0, 6-0.

#2D - Franklin Fisher/Alex Moon by default.



Maconaquah 3, Wabash 2

#1S - Justin Middleton won 6-2, 2-6, 6-3

#2S - David Driscoll lost 4-6, 6-4, 3-6

#3S - Edward Dillard lost 3-6, 6-3, 6-7(9)

#1D - Stephan Eilts and Jack Stein lost 4-6, 1-6

#2D - JD Boone and Breyton Nealis won 7-6(8), 6-2



Concord 4, Fairfield 1

#1S - Jason Denton (C) def. Josh Mullet 6-1, 6-1.

#2S - Austin Christner (F) def. Matt Kotva 6-1, 2-6, 6-4.

#3S - Nick Pollock (C) def. Landon Knepp 7-6 (7-2), 6-4.

#1D - Bronson Dumont/Matt Ciesielski (C) def. Jordan Hochstetler/Dillon Lockwood 6-4, 6-3.

#2D - Michael Eisman/T Cunningham (C) def. Taylor Yoder/Marcus Rodes 6-4, 6-2.



from Monday...

Fairfield 5, Fremont 0

#1S - Josh Mullet def. Matt Hoff, 6-3, 7-5.

#2S - Austin Christner def. Matt Wilcox, 6-3, 6-2.

#3S - Landon Knepp def. Brandon Miller, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.

#1D - Jordan Hochstetler/Dillon Lockwood def. Tyler Jenkins/Jake Bryant, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 7-5.

#2D - Taylor Yoder/Marcus Rodes def. Glen McClain/Andrew Smith, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6).



Ranked in Our District

#2 Penn 3, Marian 2



Other Scores

LaPorte 4, Portage 1

St. Joseph's 5, Mishawaka 0

Wawasee 4, Whitko 1

The Story vs. Prairie Heights: Match #9

The Lead: "Another Day"

There's a song by the band Pomplamoose called Another Day. The lyrics to this fun little song go like this:



Another day, shows its face

I'm half awake, half in space

And if you told me I was beautiful

that would just be in poor taste.



That's how tonight's match was. There were moments where we looked really good, there were moments where we looked very bad. We were half awake, alive, playing with intensity... and then half in space, losing focus, making poor decisions, moving with slow feet. For the most part, we played pretty well, about like we should have.



But if I were to say we were awesome based on tonight, that would just be in poor taste. But we're moving in that direction.



Of course, according to my post from Lamentations last week, I'll choose to focus on the hopeful things. Blake's play of late has been really good. His consistent commitment to practice is really helping him begin to get better. Every day, Blake shows up to practice with game face on. His strokes are improving, his approaches are improving, his serve is becoming clutch. And it has really started to show in his matches. Tonight, again, at #1 singles, Blake played a nice clean match and got an easy win.



Ike had the most frustration tonight. Playing up from his normal spot of #3 singles, he got a very much #3 singles type of match. He played a consistent player who made little effort to attack. Ike found himself having to make all the plays, and that's difficult for a full match. He had a large lead in the first set but couldn't keep the aggression going. He had another tiebreak, but that's a given for the team this year. After falling behind 3-0 in the second, he found the rhythm again and made the match close, but couldn't pull it out.



Nate and Evan got a 2nd win at #1 doubles, dropping one less game this time and getting the overheads they so desperately wanted :-) Nice scissors kick match ender, Evan!



So it was a good night. I won't crown us right now, but I can't wait to see more.



The Hidden Narrative

Ike's close match might have been expected. Nate Clark played a nice match against Blake Shetler last year, one that was much better than the score indicated. He is the type of player that is difficult to play against. Ike played his best tennis tonight in the first couple of games. We will become very difficult to beat as a team if he continues to play like that.



Other Storylines

- If we're counting clinchers, Nate and Evan got the 3rd point tonight. Last night it was Blake. That means that Nate and Blake are tied with 2.



- There was only 1 JV match tonight, and we lost. Joel Gerig played a very consistent player and couldn't keep up with it.



- Abe Thorne got to play tonight! After getting a forfeit singles win yesterday, Abe pulled out a win tonight over an opponent.



- Parth's ending overhead was amazing. He framed it, it barely cleared the net, and barely bounced off the ground at all. His opponents stared in disbelief as it almost bounced backwards into the net.



The Scores

Varsity

#1S - Blake Shetler - 6-1, 6-0 - Tyler Carbone (12)

#2S - Ike Lehman - 6-7 (5), 5-7 - Nate Clark (11)

#3S - Abe Thorne - 6-1, 6-1 - Justin Clark (10)

#1D - Nate Brendle/Evan Grimes - 6-0, 6-1 - Nico Accomando (11)/Drew Vice (11)

#2D - Parth Patel/Jesse Amstutz - 6-2, 6-4 - Braxton Elliot (10)/John Sloan (9)



Junior Varsity

#1SJV - Joel Gerig - 3-8 - Jacob Heller (10)

Prairie Heights Preview

Details: Tuesday, August 30 at 5:00 at Bethany Christian High School



Last Season Review: Last season we defeated Prairie Heights 5-0.



3 Interesting Facts

- Bethany Christian has only lost once in 15 tries against Prairie Heights. The only team we've beaten more is Churubusco.

- Prairie Heights only returns 2 players to its varsity from last year. Coincidentally, they played the same spots that our 2 returning players played last year. Like Nate and Blake, Nathan Clark played #3S and Tyler Carbone was at #2 doubles.

- It looks like the Panthers lineup has 4 players in it who were not on the team at all last year. They are all playing doubles in their most recent result.



Prairie Heights Details: Prairie Heights took a heavy 5-0 loss last night against Angola. They have also lost to Lakeland and Fairfield. I have not seen details on other matches.



Bethany Christian Details: We evened up our season record last night with a 5-0 win over Laville. So tonight we're looking to get back over .500.



Projected Prairie Heights Lineup

#1S - Tyler Carbone (0-3)

#2S - Nate Clark (1-2)

#3S - Justin Clark (0-1)

#1D - Nico Accomando-Braxton Elliot (0-2)

#2D - Drew Vice-John Sloan (0-2)



Overview: Prairie Heights is a team that often scrambles to fill out it's varsity lineup. In fact, earlier this season, against Fairfield they failed to play a #3 singles player. Nate Clark, the Panthers #2 singles player, is the only player I could find who has won on the season. They may have had matches which I don't have the results to, but Clark played a decent match against Blake Shetler last year. Of their returning players, no one took more than 2 games off of us last year. This is a match that we hope to win to get back above .500 on the year.

Area Scores from 8/29

On Our Schedule

Goshen 4, Jimtown 1

#1S - Eli Metzler-Prieb (G) beat Brett Aller, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (3)

#2S - Dan Gongwar (J) beat Drew Hostetler, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1

#3S - Adam Bratten (G) beat Austin Ward, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5.

#1D - Sylas Buller-Sam Stegelmann (G) beat Jake Ward-Cole Peterson, 6-0, 6-1

#2D - Matt Buncich-Austin Stutzman (G) beat Augie Farwig-Michael Hobbs, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (3), 7-5.



Bremen 5, NorthWood 0

#1S - Briley Bollenbacher beat Brennan Angle, 6-2, 6-1

#2S - Brad Foster beat Ben Zercher, 6-0, 6-1

#3S - Wes Burkholder beat Mitchell Keiser, 6-1, 6-0.

#1D - Austin Huff-T.J. Bayer beat Devyn Maugel-Quinn Stillson, 6-0, 6-3

#2D - Joe Zeltwanger-Nate Strehler beat Shawn Stahley-Austin Sanders, 6-3, 6-4.



Westview 5, West Noble 0

#1S - Austin Schlabach beat Jordan Younce, 6-1, 6-0

#2S - Kohle Christner beat Tyler Rothaar, 6-1, 5-7, 7-5

#3S - Westview won by forfeit.

#1D - Devin Bontrager-Nic Hostetler beat Austin King-Skyler Campbell, 7-6 (6), 6-4

#2D - Brett Yoder-Jamar Weaver beat Quinn Groff-Kris Handshoe, 6-0, 6-2.



Ranked in Our District

New rankings this week (State rankings in parentheses)

1. FW Canterbury (#3)

2. Penn (#11)

3. Marion (#14)

4. Elkhart Central (#21)

5. FW Carroll (#22)

6. Kokomo

7. Concord

8. Mississenewa, Angola, & Bishop Dwenger



#1 FW Canterbury 5, #8 Bishop Dwenger 0

#8 Angola 5, Prairie Heights 0



Other Scores

North Judson 4, New Prairie 1

FW South Side 5, Bluffton 0

Norwell 5, FW Snider 0

FW Northrup 5, Blackhawk Christian 0

The Story vs. Laville: Match #8

The Lead: "Winning Again"

Tonight was a match that we cruised through fairly easily. We switched positions around to get experience at different positions. Blake and Ike both moved up a spot while Nate dropped to #1 doubles. Jesse Amstutz joined Parth Patel at #2 doubles.



And with all the shake-ups, there wasn't much drama tonight. Which was really nice. For the first time in a long while... no tiebreaks. For the first time in a while, I didn't have to pace the sidelines during the last matches on the court. For the first time in a while, we won.



The Hidden Narrative

The pressure in a match like this is the hidden story. In a match against inexperienced players, it is really easy to lose focus and suddenly find yourself struggling with your own shots. Because the Lancers made many errors, we found ourselves trying to force the ball in at times - just like you do in a match against good opponents when you don't want to make an error.



The pressure is of a similar type. And tonight we all dealt with serves going awry, feet going dead, minds straying. We had to deal with that tonight. So hopefully, we'll learn from these things. Tonight was a good start.



Other Storylines

- First double bagel of the season tonight goes to Jesse Amstutz and Parth Patel. Way to hold concentration throughout and make the right plays.



- Tonight was Nate's first official doubles match. Last year he played a round in the scrimmage in doubles, but tonight was the first to go on his record. 1-0.



- Blake's opponent had a nice big serve, something that Blake has been working against in his last several matches. It was good for him to see it today.



- Abe Thorne played a practice match against Wade Troyer today. They were close, but Abe pulled off the win at the end.



The Scores

Varsity

#1S - Blake Shetler - 6-1, 6-0 - Grant Frick (12)

#2S - Ike Lehman - 6-0, 6-1 - Andrew Hulliberger (11)

#3S - Abe Thorne - win by default

#1D - Evan Grimes/Nate Brendle - 6-0, 6-2 - Blade Masterson (12)/Keanon Clemons (9)

#2D - Parth Patel/Jesse Amstutz - 6-0, 6-0 - Chris Nicodemus (10)/Adam Baker (9)

Laville Preview

Details: Monday, August 29, at 4:30 PM at Bethany Christian High School.



Last Season Review: We played Laville's varsity against our JV last year. They won 3-2.



3 Interesting Facts:

- We used to play in a Laville Invitational in September, with Laville, SB Washington, and Michigan City Marquette. Laville is the only one of those teams we still play.

- Our last 4 varsity matches have involved at least one tiebreak.

- Tonight we will play our 4th different lineup of the season. Lots of people, getting lots of experience.



Laville Details: According to their online schedule, it looks as if the Lancers have only played one match this year. They should have played South Bend Adams, but I have not been able to find a result.



Bethany Christian Details: Our varsity is 3-4 on the season, but we easily could be 5-2. We lost two 3-2 matches last week in the closest of circumstances, but we're learning and growing and going to keep it going.



Projected Laville Lineup:

#1S: Grant Frick

#2S: Hunter Horvath

#3S: Andrew Hullinger

#1D: ?

#2D: ?



Outlook: We really don't know what to expect. The three returning players lost to Parth and Abe last year, but we don't really know what new players have shown up to play for the Lancers. We do know that they have 7 players this year, so the varsity match should be a full match. I guess we'll find out more tonight!

The Story at the Jimtown JV Invite

The Lead: "Good Days"

We placed third in the tournament, lost two super close 3-2 matches (matching the varsity's 3-2 losses from the previous week :-), but... it was a good day.



First of all, nobody ended up with a losing record on the day. We had a couple of guys end up at 1-1 on the day, but everybody else went 2-1. Nobody who played failed to get a win.



Secondly, we learned a lot of things. We learned how to use our strengths, we learned that we can win close matches, we learned how to play good opponents. We learned that all we can control is what we can do. We learned new mental strategies ("Laugh win you lose!") We learned tennis strategy as well, where to serve from, where to play the net, where the safe and risky shots are, how important moving our feet is, etc.



Thirdly, we had fun. More and more as the day went on. In fact, the last match of the day was our toughest, but definitely our most fun. There was Wade, leading an upset of Concord at #1 doubles, skipping across the net. There was "Little T" (Tristan Clark) going for every volley at the net, missing some, and Justin Zehr sweeping them up behind. There was Sol, Landon, and Ryan playing their best matches of the year in defeat.



But it wasn't just the end of the day either. Ryan and Landon ran off 9 straight games to win their second round match. Sol and Jesse continued our team tradition of tiebreaks this year, winning one in the first and one in the second round. We won 5 out of 6 doubles matches on the day.



All in all, it was a great day!



The Hidden Narrative

One player finished the day undefeated. That one player was Justin Zehr. He played in two of the matches, and won both of them playing #2 doubles JV. His strokes have continued to improve since last year and he showed a real talent at covering for his partner in doubles.



It was good to see him succeed today, especially in the second round against Concord. In a match we may not have been expected to win, he and Tristan Clark jumped all over the Minutemen in the first set, taking a big lead from the beginning (3-0) and never looking back. In the second set, when things got tight, the Bruins were able to finish the match off on Justin's serve to prevent further tiebreaks.



Other Storylines

- Sol Brenneman picked up 2 more wins today, as did Hans Miller. That leaves both of them tied for top JV wins this season.



- The JV is now 4-0 in tiebreaks this year, picking up two more today. Amazingly, 2 of these tiebreaks have come in matches that helped us win the match. However, neither of those were today.



- In our continual "Freshman Watch," I like to track how well our freshman do against other in their same class. Today, we lost only one match against fellow freshman, with Hans Miller and Jesse Amstutz falling to Jimtown's #1 JV doubles.



- We also played a number of opponents today who have had varsity experience. Justin Schroder and Andy Feldman often play #2D for Rochester. Jacob Gongwer and Nicolas Floyd have played some varsity for Jimtown. Ryan Bishop has played 1 varsity match for Concord. We went 3-2 in these matches.



- We went 5-1 in doubles matches today. Went went 4-5 in singles matches. Perhaps it's the singles we need a little more help in!



The Scores

vs. Rochester

#1SJV - Jesse Amstutz - 6-2, 7-6 (6) - Justin Schroder (9)

#2SJV - Sol Brenneman - 6-3, 6-2 - Andy Feldman (9)

#3SJV - Landon Weldy - 6-3, 6-1 - Alex Denny (10)

#1DJV - Wade Troyer/Hans Miller - 6-0, 7-6 (2) - Dannell Albright (10)/Michael Kistler (9)

#2DJV - Justin Zehr/Tristan Clark - 6-0, 6-1 - Wes Gohn (9)/Connor Ulerick (9)



vs. Jimtown

#1SJV - Wade Troyer - 4-6, 0-6 - Jacob Gongwer (10)

#2SJV - Sol Brenneman - 6-2, 2-6, (12-10) - Darin Martin (9)

#3SJV - Tristan Clark - 3-6, 1-6 - Justin Newland (10)

#1DJV - Jesse Amstuz/Hans Miller - 5-7, 3-6 - Nicolas Floyd (9)/Mikey Pawlak (9)

#2DJV - Landon Weldy/Ryan Duckworth - 6-3, 6-0 - Nick Beron (10)/Brock Johnson (9)



vs. Concord

#1SJV - Sol Brenneman - 0-6, 1-6 - Jake Boyer (10)

#2SJV - Landon Weldy - 2-6, 2-6 - Jared Searer (10)

#3SJV - Ryan Duckworth - 2-6, 0-6 - Mitchell Lozier

#1DJV - Wade Troyer/Hans Miller - 6-3, 6-1 - Ryan Bishop (12)/Aaron Aller (9)

#2DJV - Justin Zehr/Tristan Clark - 6-2, 6-4 - Justin Ramsey (9)/Spenser Jacnichen (10)

Area Scores from 8/27

On Our Schedule

Fairfield 3, East Noble 2

#1S - Josh Mullet (F) def. Matt Stallman 6-3, 6-0.

#2S - Devin Wolf (EN) def. Austin Christner 6-1, 6-4.

#3S - Landon Knepp (F) def. Evan Hart 6-3, 7-5.

#1D - Jordan Hochstetler/Dillon Lockwood (F) def. Nathan Manns/Jon Toles 6-1, 6-2.

#2D - Aaron Dills/Carl Kramer (EN) def. Taylor Yoder/Marcus Rodes 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2).



Logansport Invite

Wabash 3, Maconaquah 2

Logansport 3, Wabash 2

Wabash 3, Lewis Cass 2



Marian Invitational

1. Elkhart Central

2. Northridge



Elkhart Central Individuals

#1S - Nick Burton 2nd (2-1).

#2S - Brett Morton 1st (3-0).

#3S - Blake Brouwer 3rd (2-1).

#1D - Mitch Hanberg/Austin Sellers 1st (3-0).

#2D - Franklin Fisher/Riley Futterknect (1-1), Fisher/Jake Mullins (1-0) 2nd.



Ranked in Our District

North Central Invitational

#1 - FW Canterbury 60 (1S, 2S, 3S, 1D, 2D)

Munster 28

#8 - FW Carroll 21

Floyd Central 16

#5 - Kokomo 14

Valparaiso 13

Bloomington South 12 (w/o #1S)

Homestead 6



Other Scores

New Prairie Invitational

1. ELKHART MEMORIAL 50

2. MISHAWAKA 33

3. MICHIGAN CITY 32

4. HOBART 30

5. MARQUETTE 23

6. NEW PRAIRIE 17

7. GLENN 12

8. CALUMET 9

The Story at Fremont: Match #7

The Lead: "Drama"

It came right down to the end. Despite all of our close matches this season, this was the first one that literally came right down to the last match on the court, tied 2-2, playing for the varsity team win.



And it hurt. Losing that last point is not fun, in any sense of the word. It's at these points that I'm at a loss for words. Did we try hard? Yes. Did we practice hard? Yes. Are we getting better? Yes. Did it make a difference tonight? No.



So, I fall on Scripture at these times. My favorite passage in all of the Bible is Lamentations 3. As I'm writing this match report, it seems appropriate to me:



"I remember my affliction and my wandering,

the bitterness and the gall.

I well remember them,

and my soul is downcast within me.

Yet this I call to mind

and therefore I have hope:



Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness."



I am not consumed with discouragement, instead, I will call to mind the great blessings of the season. Dairy Queen, Pizza King, bus rides, the Goshen and Jimtown matches (still 2-0 against the Sectional), and the improvements that we made.



But the story of tonight? Well, our doubles teams got outplayed tonight. The Eagles simply had much better, much more experienced players in these crucial positions. It was clear from the beginning that while we could compete, we weren't in a good spot to win these matches last night.



The singles, well, those were another story. Ike Lehman burst out of the gates at #3 singles and took the first set. Blake Shetler and Nate Brendle were back in forth in their matches, each up or down a game at all points of the first set. So very early on in the evening, it became apparent that we'd have to win all the varsity singles spots to win the team match. And we almost did.



Blake was down 4-3 in his first set, on serve. No one had broken serve yet, and I told him that if he could pour all of his energy and focus into breaking Eagle Matt Wilcox's next service game, that I thought the rest of the game would unravel for the Eagle #2. It turned out to be prophetic. Blake won his serve and then broke, and then won the next 7 games in a row to win his match.



For Ike, it was a difficult match. He started out quickly and confidently. His net attacking game was on and he was being consistent, even throwing in an ace or two. He took the first set and took a lead in the second. But then things started to get tight. Like we've talked about, it's hard to loosen up when everything is getting tight. And after holding a 5-4 lead in the second set, Ike lost 3 straight games to split sets. A little break, a little refocusing, and back on he went. In the third set, he and Eagle Brandon Miller traded games back and forth until a 4-4 tie. At this point, behind the cheers of his teammates, Ike sent passing and approach shots sailing past his opponent. With aggressive play he took the match.



Which brought everything down to Nate's match. Nate had lost a first set tiebreak, then won a second set tiebreak where he had faced 2 match points. Pretty impressive pressure play. But tonight it wasn't to be. Eagle Matt Hoff came up with incredible shots at incredible times, saving game points with whipped forehands, saving game points with lunging volleys, serve and volleying on big points. And we fell again, 3-2.



The JV Drama

The JV match came right down to the end as well. There were some impressive individual performances, but none better than Luke Schrock and Neel Bhagat. Playing in near darkness at 9:00 PM, these guys strung together a comeback that found them playing a tiebreak to clinch the JV victory. Indeed, they won the match to give our JV a 3-1 record on the season. Excellent job!



The Hidden Narrative

Lost in the 3-2 varsity losses might be the fact that Ike Lehman has put together two impressive, pressure-packed three set wins. On Tuesday night against Columbia City, he battled to a third set lead while hoping that Blake could keep us in the team match. Although Blake fell in that match, Ike finished his off.



Perhaps that gave him confidence tonight. Down 2-1 and needing to win both positions that were on the courts, Ike played extremely composed under pressure. The most impressive thing was the way that he turned on the attack when tied at 4-4 in the final set. It was as if he loosened up just at the right time. The match winner was a perfectly struck passing shot down the line, and he had also thrown in a lob winner in the game, as well as a point won from a net attack.



Not lost in this was the support of the guys who were not playing at the time. I really think their vocal support and cheers went a long way in giving Ike confidence and energy. It was cool to watch.



Other Storylines

- More tiebreaks! Seriously, it's going to be the season of the tiebreak. The JV match was won in a tiebreak and Nate almost played 3 in his match.



- Hans Miller got 2 JV wins tonight, so he is now tied with Sol Brenneman for most wins on the season. Hans pulled the double wins at #1D JV and then at #4S JV. A real renaissance man to take both and singles and doubles match.



- Our biggest win in the JV match came at that same position, with Landon Weldy and Hans really forming a formidable doubles pairing. Maybe it was because we watched the Bryan brother's video at lunch today that they did so well!



- Parth and Joel lost tonight 2-6, 2-6. They lost on Tuesday 2-6, 2-6. We'll need to put an end to this little trend, but it is an interesting little trend.



- Nate's match took nearly 3 hours tonight, making it one of the longest he's ever played. The longest match ever in Bethany history was a 3 hour 45 minute match between Luke Hostetter and, who else, Fremont!



- Fremont plays Fairfield next week, so it will give us an interesting comparison to the Falcons. We are certainly going to need to continue to build, but that should be the fun of it!



The Scores

Varsity

#1S - Nate Brendle - 6-7 (2), 7-6 (6), 5-7 - Matt Hoff (12)

#2S - Blake Shetler - 6-4, 6-0 - Matt Wilcox (12)

#3S - Ike Lehman - 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 - Brandon Miller (11)

#1D - Evan Grimes/Abe Thorne - 2-6, 0-6 - Tyler Jenkins (11)/Jake Bryant (11)

#2D - Parth Patel/Joel Gerig - 2-6, 2-6 - Glen McClain (11)/Andrew Smith (12)



JV

#1S - Jesse Amstutz - 4-8 - Tanner Frye (11)

#2S - Wade Troyer - 5-8 - Seth Wirick (10)

#3S - Sol Brenneman - 3-8 - Keith Bookwalter (10)

#4S - Hans Miller - 6-1 - Mason Kolberg (9)

#5S - Jesse Amstutz - 6-0 - Zach Easterday (9)

#1D - Landon Weldy/Hans Miller - 8-3 - Cole Trombley (10)/Derek Fischer (10)

#2D - Justin Zehr/Ryan Duckworth - 8-6 - Kraig Foley (9)/Tony LaRose (10)

#3D - Luke Schrock/Neel Bhagat - 8-7 (6) - Alberto Figueroa (9)/Jeff Herndon (9)

#4D - Colin Samuel/Roberto Ramos - 6-8 - Kyle Boekhout (9)/Drew Sullivan (9)

Area Scores from 8/25

On Our Schedule

Bremen 3, New Prairie 2

#1S - Daryl Ralston (NP) beat Briley Bollenbacher, 6-4, 6-4

#2S - Matt Winter (NP) beat Brad Foster, 6-1, 6-4

#3S - Wes Burkholder (B) beat Mark Cichos, 6-1, 6-2.

#1D - Austin Huff-T.J. Bayer (B) beat Ben Jones-Chase Keller, 6-1, 6-3

#2D - Nate Strehler-Joe Zeltwanger (B) beat Lucas Major-Alex Suppinger, 6-0, 6-0.



Concord 4, NorthWood 1

#1S - Jason Denton (C) beat Brennan Angle 6-0, 6-0.

#2S - Jack Hinkle (C) beat Ben Zercher 6-4, 6-2.

#3S - Mitchell Keiser (NW) beat Ryan Bishop 6-0, 6-0.

#1D - Matt Cielsielski-Branson Dumont (C) beat jayson Linhart-Shawn Stahley 6-0, 6-0

#2D - Michael Eisman-Sean Purcell (C) beat Quinn Stillson-Austin Sanders 6-0, 6-0.



Elkhart Central 5, South Bend Clay 0

#1S - Nick Burton beat Nick Cwidak 6-0, 6-0.

#2S - Brett Morton beat Jonathan Ovalle 6-0, 6-0.

#3S - Elkhart Central won by forfeit.

#1D - Mitch Hanberg-Austin Sellers beat Jon Bladel-Blaze Shepard 6-0, 6-0.

#2D - Franklin Fisher-Jake Mullins beat Trey Rudisicis-Ramsey Omari 6-0, 6-0.



Goshen 5, Westview 0

#1S - Eli Metzler-Prieb beat Austin Schlach 6-3, 6-4.

#2S - Drew Hostetler beat Kohle Christner 6-2, 5-7, 6-1

#3S - Paul Johnson beat Jonathon Hostetler 6-2, 6-4.

#1D - Sylas Buller-Sam Stegelmann beat Devin Bontrager-Nic Hostetler 6-2, 6-4

#2D - Matt Buncich-Austin Stutzman beat Brett Yoder-Jamar Weaver 7-6(5), 6-4.



Lakeland 4, Prairie Heights 1

#1S - Spencer Mortola (L) beat Tyler Carbone 6-2, 6-2.

#2S - Nate Clark (PH) beat Bret Balka 6-3, 6-2.

#3S - Dalton Schmidt (L) beat Justin Clark 6-1, 6-3.

#1D - Blake Balka-Ethan Fry beat Nico Accomando-Braxton Elliot 6-2, 6-1

#2D - Robbie Arend-Sam Miller beat Drew Vice-John Sloan 6-2, 2-6, 6-1.



Marian 3, Triton 2

#1S - Jack Julien (M) beat Jeff Ross 6-2, 6-2.

#2S - Stephen Hicks (M) beat Pete Kauffman 6-2, 6-0.

#3S - Reilly Hicks (M) beat Lucas Shafer 7-6(1), 6-2.

#1D - Josh Shafer-Austin Kanarr (T) beat TommyYergler-Michael Amor 6-2, 1-6, 6-2.

#2D - Wil Rettinger-Jackson Downing (T) beat Clint Lowenhar-Colen Kebbe 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.



West Noble 4, Wawasee 1

#1S - Westin Becker (WW) won by default.

#2S - Jordan Younce beat Isaac Rigdon, 4-6, 6-1, 6-0.

#3S - Tyler Rothlaar beat Kyler Love 7-6, 6-2.

#1D - Skylar Campbell-Austin King beat Derek Zurcher-Cole Love 6-1, 6-0.

#2D - Kris handshoe-Quinn Groff beat Tyler Kissinger-Jake Thompson 4-6, 7-6, 6-4.



Ranked in Our District

#1 FW Canterbury 5, #8 FW Carroll 0

#2 Penn 4, South Bend Adams 1

#4 Elkhart Central 5, South Bend Clay 0

#6 Concord 4, NorthWood 1

#8 Mississenewa 5, Northwestern 0



Other Scores

Mishawaka 5, South Bend Washington 0

South Bend St. Joseph's 4, South Bend Riley 1

Warsaw 3, Elkhart Memorial 2

FW South Side 5, Bishop Luers 0

Angola 5, Leo 0

FW Northrup 5, FW Wayne 0

Madison-Grant 4, Elwood 1

11 Things for 2011

I've been counting down the things I'm excited for in the 2011 season, thought I should go ahead and finish!



#11 - New Regional Alignment

#10 - New Practice Ideas

#9 - Playing Elite Competition

#8 - Playing a New Opponent

#7 - The Freshman

#6 - New JV Tournament

#5 - Creating an Atmosphere of Focus

#4 - Adding a New Chapter to Rivalries

Over the years of my coaching, one of the things I find most exciting is the rivalry matches. These are the matches with stories that extend beyond the current season. These are the teams that we constantly have close battles with, teams that eliminate us from Sectionals, teams that year after year we get excited to play and hopefully beat.



Our closest rivals shift over time, but certainly they always start with schools in our Sectional. When I started coaching, I even these repeated matchups weren't really "rivalries" because we got thumped all the time by everybody. Slowly that started to change. In 2007 (5 years into my coaching) we got our first Sectional victory, defeating Fairfield 3-2. That team was full of senior's who were expected to win that Sectional. A close match, a close victory, a story. A rivalry was set.



In our next match, we defeated Goshen 3-2. It happened in the closest of all fashions, a third set tiebreak in the deciding match. Johnny Kauffman and Jeremy Thomas were down 6-3 in the tiebreak, and came back to win it 8-6. 5 straight points under the most difficult of pressures. A close match, a close victory, a story. Another rivalry was set.



In the Sectional final, we lost to NorthWood 3-2. It was a match that we had opportunities to win. They returned 5 players to that team for the 2008 season, so we knew we'd see them again. A close match, a disappointment, another story. Another rivalry was in place.



Since that 2007 season, we've had tons of storylines about these Sectional rivals. For 2 straight years, we knocked Fairfield out of the Sectional. They've turned around and knocked us out of 2 straight. Since that first victory over Goshen we've added 5 more. They're hungry to beat us now. The rivalries aren't as fierce with Jimtown and NorthWood right now, because we've managed to win several matches in a row over both of those teams in convincing fashions. Jimtown is certainly an up-and-coming rivalry, with our close match this year and their entire returning varsity for next season. The same may be said for NorthWood soon.



I can't wait to keep adding chapters to these rivalry stories. Win or lose, these are the matches we remember. These are the matches that form us. Hopefully, these are the matches that bring us together.

Area Scores from 8/24

On Our Schedule

Triton 3, Knox 2

#1S - Davey Johnson (K) beat Jeff Ross 6-2, 6-1

#2S - Pete Kauffman (T) beat Austin Risner 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)

#3S - Lucas Shafer (T) beat Curtis Scherer 6-0, 6-3

#1D - Austin Kanarr-Josh Shafer (T) beat Harrison Metz-Elliott Coad 6-4, 1-6, 7-5

#2D - Joe Clabough-Cody Fletcher (K) beat Wil Rettinger-Jack Downing 6-2, 6-2



Bremen 4, Jimtown 1

#1S - Briley Bollenbacher (B) beat Brett Aller 6-1, 6-0

#2S - Brad Foster (B) beat Dan Gongwer 7-5, 6-2

#3S - Wes Burkholder (B) beat Austin Ward 1-6, 6-2, 6-3.

#1D - Cole Peterson-Jake Ward (J) beat T.J. Bayer-Austin Huff 6-3, 6-0

#2D - Joe Zeltwanger-Nate Strehler (B) beat Michael Hobbs-Nick Floyd 6-2, 3-6, 7-5.



Penn 3, Concord 2

#1S - Jason Denton (C) beat Evan Rink, 6-1, 6-0

#2S - Connor McCarthy (P) beat Matt Kotva, 6-4, 7-5

#3S - Michael Wang (P) beat Nick Polluck, 6-0, 4-6, 6-2

#1D - Brad Walter-Sean Anderson (P) beat Matt Ciesielski-Bronson Dumont, 6-2, 6-0

#2D - Sean Purcell-Michael Eisman (C) beat Matt Hollowell-Victor Lu, 7-5, 7-5



St. Joseph's 4, Northridge 1

#1S - Chris Robbins (N) def. Patrick O’Connor 6-0, 6-2

#2S - Tim Leonard (SJ) def. AJ Thielking 6-2, 7-6 (8)

#3S - Holden Gangluff (SJ) def. Josh Garfein 5-7, 6-4, 6-2

#1D - Nick Minando/Patrick Bruneel (SJ) def. Alex Radelich/Andrew Gingerich 6-4,6-4

#2D - Ryan Jameson/Jason Rink (SJ) def. Connor Cameron/Byron Slabach 6-3,6-3.



Ranked in Our District

District rankings were released yesterday for week 1. Our district:

1. Canterbury

2. Penn

3. Marion

4. Elkhart Central

5. Kokomo

6. Concord

7. Bishop Dwenger

8. Mississenewa

8. FW Carroll



And there were matches involving them last night...

FW Carroll 3, Bishop Dwenger 2

Penn 3, Concord 2



Others

Angola 5, East Noble 0

Norwell 5, South Adams 0

Riley 5, Michigan City 0

Plymouth 5, Peru 0

Fremont Preview

Details: Thursday, 4:45 at Fremont High School



Last Season Review: Last season we defeated the Eagles 5-0, with close matches at #3 singles and #1 doubles.



3 Interesting Facts:

- The Eagles are an experienced team, returning 5 players from last year's varsity.

- The Eagles did a team camp experience much like our own this summer, visiting Ludington, MI together for a week.

- Crazy weather fact: Four years ago when we visited Fremont, a tornado warning stopped our match before it ended.



Fremont Details: The Eagles come in at 1-1 on the season, having defeated West Noble and lost to FW Northrup. However, in between those matches the Eagles won their own invitational this weekend (against FW Snider, Leo, and FW South Side). They won 3 positions (#1S, #2S, #1D) and finished 2nd at #2D. They are riding momentum as they won over West Noble Monday.



Bethany Christian Details: We come into this match off of another crazy close match against Columbia City, which we lost 3-2. Our season record is now at 3-3.



Projected Fremont Lineup:

#1S: Matt Hoff (4-1)

#2S: Matt Wilcox (3-1)

#3S: Brandon Miller (2-3)

#1D: Tyler Jenkins/Jake Bryant (5-0)

#2D: Glen McLain/Andrew Smith (4-1)



Outlook: This is going to be a difficult matchup for us. A challenging one. There is no getting around that. The Eagles are a vastly improved team, bringing back talent, experience and a good work ethic. I'm sure that they expect this to be a big year for them, especially within their conference with Westview and Fairfield suffering personnel losses, and Fremont finished 4th behind them last year. We will certainly need to be on our best games to win the match, but again, this will be a chance for a memorable finish. Unlike Columbia City, we hope this time it will be memorable for the better!

Area Scores from 8/23

On Our Schedule

Northridge 5, Westview 0

#1S - Chris Robbins beat Austin Schlabach 6-0, 6-0

#2S - A.J. Thielking beat Kohle Christner 6-1, 6-1

#3S - Josh Garfein beat Hunter Christner 6-0, 6-0.

#1D - Alex Radelich-Andrew Gingerich beat Nic Hostetler-Devin Bontreger 6-3, 5-7, 6-2

#2D - Connor Cameron-Byron Slabach beat Jamar Weaver-Brett Yoder 6-4, 7-5.



Fairfield 5, Prairie Heights 0

#1S - Josh Mullet def. Tyler Carbone 6-1, 6-1.

#2S - Austin Christner def. Nate Clark 6-0, 6-3.

#3S - Taylor Yoder by default.

#1D - Jordan Hochstetler/Landon Knepp def. Nico Accomando/Justin Clark 6-0, 6-0.

#2D - Marcus Rodes/Adam Yoder def. Braxton Elliot/John Sloan 6-0, 6-1.



Wabash 5, Tippecanoe Valley 0

#1S - Justin Middleton won 6-7 (2), 6-0, 6-2

#2S - David Driscoll won 6-2, 6-0

#3S - Edward Dillard won 7-5, 6-3

#1D - Stephan Elicts/Jack Stein won 3-6, 6-4, 7-5

#2D - JD Boone/Breyton Nealis won 6-4, 6-1



Lakeland 5, Churubusco 0

#1S - Spencer Mortola beat Brandon Wormcastle 6-0, 6-1

#2S - Bret Balka beat Landon Pearson 6-0, 6-0

#3S - Dalton Schmidt beat Joey Heaton 6-4, 6-3

#1D - Ethan Fry-Blake Balka beat Luke Lillmars-Grant Stephan 6-2, 6-3

#2D - Sam Miller-Robbie Arend beat Brian Murphy-Landen Lillmars 6-4, 6-2.



Wawasee 3, Central Noble 2



District Ranked

No results but... the state rankings came out.



From our district:

#4 - FW Canterbury

#13 - Penn

#15 - Marion

#20 - Elkhart Central



Other Scores

Mishawaka 5, John Glenn 0

Angola 3, DeKalb 2

Norwell 4, FW South Side 1

The Story vs. Columbia City: Match #6

The Lead: "Heartbreak Again"

The dreariness afternoon hung above us ominously as we waited in the dripping rain for the Eagles to arrive. I couldn't help but remember last season, as we drove through the gray to Columbia City for the first time, not knowing what to expect. Three hours later we had driven back, owners of our first loss, 3-2. This year, I hoped we knew what to expect, I hoped we'd come with some fire, I hoped we'd pull out a memorable match.



And it will be memorable, but probably only in disappointment. As a varsity team, this is probably one of the closest team matches ever. 3 matches went into 3 sets. There were 4 tiebreak sets (we won 3 of the 4 tiebreaks, got to like that!)



But when we needed to string points together, it wasn't there. We couldn't get the momentum when we needed it, to pull ahead, to pull back, to win the crucial games. And that mental and physical consistency under pressure will be key heading forward.



The match came down to the 3 singles spots today, as both doubles were decided in two sets. We won the #1 doubles match, the Eagles took #2 doubles. So 2 of 3 singles spots were needed for the win. But all the singles players decided they wanted to play for a really long time, and each match went into three sets. Nate matched up against a player who was quick, got to many balls, but simply took the pace off of everything. Blake seemed to be playing a carbon copy of that same player. And Ike was playing an aggressive player who liked to try to take the net and finish points from there.



Blake took a first set tiebreak, but lost the second. Nate got frustrated and made too many errors in the first set, but came back to storm through the second set, swinging the ball wide and attacking behind these balls. Ike dropped a first set tiebreak, and told me that the second set would not go to a tiebreak. It got close, but he won the set 7-5 behind much more confident strokes.



All of the third sets went back and forth. Nate was the first to finish, as he traded games with junior Derek Hinen until 4-4, where Nate's finishing touch at the net seemed to desert him. Behind a few missed volleys, Hinen took the 5-4 lead and then served out the match to win 6-4.



Which meant we needed Blake and Ike. And Ike was looking good for it. He pushed himself ahead first 2-1, then 3-2, then 4-3. Always close but always keeping his nose in front. Blake and senior Gabe Boles traded service games, but Blake did not seem confident in his strokes despite the close score. Holding a 3-2 lead, Boles finally broke and then held again to go up 5-2 in the set. Blake played an aggressive last game, but couldn't find the winning touch to take it. Boles won 6-2 in the final set, sealing the Eagles final point for victory.



Ike finished up his match, getting his first singles victory of the season. That was a positive end on the night. We'll have to get better at closing these long matches, at finishing and staying aggressive. Ike was able to keep his nerve and do just that, and he ended up a winner. It's a difficult thing to keep mind and body in that aggressive and loose state. Hopefully these heartbreaks are building blocks to some future successes!



The Hidden Narrative

Abe Thorne and Evan Grimes are coming on as a doubles team. After losing their first two matches at Northridge and against Goshen, they are on a 3 match winning streak. It all started in the second set against Goshen, where they finally realized what it really means to be aggressive and active in doubles. From there, they've taken these tendencies and won matches.



Tonight, despite a close scoreline, it always felt like Evan and Abe were in control. They were getting enough of their serves in, they were the team controlling the points (even when they were making the errors). That's what I love to see. The ability to take control of a point and put yourself in the best position possible.



And the winning has come from finishing those points. Putting down overheads, punching volleys in between their opponents, finding the seams for passing shots, and using the tool of the lob. I was quite impressed with the array of weapons from the team tonight, and can't wait to see those continue to develop. Perhaps we'll get a second shot at the Goshen team that taught us so much if Abe and Evan continue to improve!



Other Storylines

- Abe and Evan won in two tiebreak sets. That means they have now played 5 straight tiebreak sets. Also, after losing the first, they've won 4 straight.



- There were 4 tiebreak sets in this match tonight. We also had 4 against Jimtown. This team has a desire for the dramatic, I guess :-)



- For the first time in my 9 years of coaching, I was involved in a match where a line judge was called. It was weird, standing there on the court. But I did get an up close and personal view of Abe and Evan finishing off their second set.



- Wade Troyer won his second straight match at #1 singles JV. He had a chance to close it out 8-0, but felt some compassion and gave up 2 games. This is the second straight year he has defeated Blake Fearnow from Columbia City (who has a simply awesome last name!)



- Speaking of tiebreaks, the JV team match was decided in one. Sol Brenneman and Ryan Duckworth struggled with their own errors throughout the night, but they sealed the JV's second win of the season by defeating Blake Fearnow and David Peterson 7-6. The tiebreak was impressive, as the freshmen gained their composure and won it 7-1!



- Colin Samuel got his first match in tonight, and won a game too! He played a couple of very long, very good points, eventually losing 8-1.



- #2 doubles lost tonight, 6-2, 6-2. But at times, Joel's lefty serve was unreturnable. It was funny to watch the Eagles struggle with the spin of the shot as it curled into their backhands. Also, fun to watch Parth slam down ones that weakly cleared the net. Now, about doing that consistently... :-)



- Tonight was Ike's first varsity singles win! Celebrations are in order!



The Scores

Varsity

#1S - Nate Brendle - 2-6, 6-1, 4-6 - Derek Hinen (11)

#2S - Blake Shetler - 7-6 (4), 2-6, 2-6 - Gabe Boles (12)

#3S - Ike Lehman - 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-3 - Devin Moore (12)

#1D - Evan Grimes/Abe Thorne - 7-6 (5), 7-6 (2) - Ryan Flauding (12)/Dalton VanHouten (10)

#2D - Joel Gerig/Parth Patel -2-6, 2-6 - Matt Rethlake (12)/Brandon Gay (12)



Junior Varsity

#1SJV - Wade Troyer - 8-2 - Blake Fearnow (10)

#2SJV - Colin Samuel - 1-8 - Mason Coverstone (9)

#1DJV - Sol Brenneman/Ryan Duckworth - 7-6 (1) - Blake Fearnow (10)/David Peterson (9)

Area Scores from 8/22

On our schedule

Elkhart Central 4, Goshen 1

#1S - Nick Burton (EC) beat Eli Metzler-Prieb 6-4, 6-2.

#2S - Brett Morton (EC) beat Drew Hostetler 6-2, 6-2.

#3S - Blake Brouwer beat Adam Bratten 6-2, 5-7, 7-5.

#1D - Mitch Hanberg-Austin Sellers (EC) beat Sylas Buller-Sam Stegelmann 6-2, 6-4.

#2D - Matt Buncich-Austin Stulzman (G) beat Franklin Fisher-Alex Moon 7-5, 6-4.



Saint Joseph's 4, Bremen 1

#1S - Patrick O’Conner (SJ) beat Briley Bollenbacher 6-4,6-0

#2S - Tim Leonard (SJ) beat Brad Foster 6-3, 6-2; 3.

#3S - olden Gangloff (SJ) beat West Burkholder, 6-1, 6-4

#1D - Nick Minaudo-Patrick Bruneel (SJ) beat TJ Bayer-Austin Huff 7-6, 2-6, 6-2;

#2D - Joe Zeltwanger-Nate Strehler (B) beat Ryan Jamieson-Jason Rink 6-2, 6-3.



Elkhart Memorial 4, Jimtown 1

#1S - Spenser Gilbert (M) def. Brett Aller 6-0, 6-0.

#2S - Mazin Hakim (M) def. Jake Ward 6-1, 6-0.

#3S - Jacob Gongwer (J) def. Jacob Gaffney 6-0, 6-1

#1D - Jerahmal Dudley-Kyle Grubb (M) def. Cole Peterson/Austin Ward 1-6, 6-1, 6-4.

#2D - Elliott Denton/Chirag Patel (M) def. Dan Gongwer/Augie Farwig 6-4, 6-3.



Fairfield 5, NorthWood 0

#1S - Josh Mullet def. Brennan Angle 6-1, 6-0.

#2S - Austin Christner def. Mitchell Kisier 6-0, 6-3.

#3S - Landon Knepp def. Quinn Stillson 6-0, 6-0.

#1D - Jordan Hochstetler/Taylor Yoder def. Ben Zercher/Jayson Linhart 6-1, 6-4.

#2D - Marcus Rodes/Adam Yoder def. Shawn Stahley/Austin Sanders 6-0, 7-5.



Others

Warsaw 4, Marian 1

East Noble 3, FW Concordia 2

FW Carroll 5, Blackhawk Christian 0

Marion 5, Elwood 0

Hamilton Southeastern 3, FW Canterbury 2

Columbia City Preview

Details: Tuesday, August 23, 4:45 at Bethany Christian High School



Last Season Review: We lost to Columbia City last year, 3-2 in a super close match, both doubles matches especially. The Eagles were 1 of only 2 teams that we lost to last season.



3 Interesting Facts:

- Both teams lost 5 of their 7 varsity players from last year.

- This is only the second time our teams have met, so we're looking to even our record against the Eagles.

- There should be a rematch from last year, when Derek Hinen and Nate Brendle met at #3 singles. This year the matchup will take place at #1 singles. Last year, Hinen won in 2 sets.



Columbia City Details: The Eagles are off to a 2-1 start to the season. They blanked Churubusco and took a 3-2 victory over Warsaw, while falling 4-1 to the Concord Minutemen.



Bethany Christian Details: The Bruins are 3-2 on the young season, coming off a successful but tough day at the Concord Invite where we finished 2nd.



Projected Columbia City Lineup:

#1S: Derek Hinen (2-1)

#2S: Gabe Boles (3-0)

#3S: Devin Moore (1-2)

#1D: Ryan Flauding/Dalton VanHouten (1-2)

#2D: Matt Rethlake/Brandon Bay (1-2)



Outlook: I expect this match to be very close. Columbia City lost to Concord 4-1, winning #2 singles. We lost 5-0 to Concord, but our singles scores were much closer at #1 and #3 singles. They were closer at the doubles positions, but Concord played very different lineups in each match. All in all, you've got two teams that are young and inexperienced coming off of fantastic years last year. I'm hoping that we are up for this match as a chance to prove ourselves and how hard we've worked, both in the offseason, in practice, and in learning from our match experience so far this year. Predicting a result is difficult, but I'm sure this could be a 3-2 one way or another. Every position will be close, so I'm excited because these are the matches that are fun and the ones that are memorable!

The Story at the Concord Invite: Matches #3-#5

This was a very long, emotional, and intense day. We finished 2nd behind Concord, and I'm really proud of everyone. We all had shining moments today. For now, 2 wins and 1 loss, and a lot of pride over the way we played.



The Lead: "So Close"

The day started with a 4-1 win and ended with a 5-0 loss. But everything in between was so stinking close.



The last match to end the day was the most emotional, as Nate Brendle battled, sweated, grinded, and gave absolutely everything against his good friend from Concord, senior Jason Denton. Jason will arguably be in the top 5 of our district this year, and Nate hung right with him. After dropping the first set, Nate found a winning formula in the 2nd. But it was so difficult to execute, as Denton punished any ball left short in the court with aggressive balls to the corners. With Nate unable to ever let his game drop, he roared through the second set with "C'mon's!" and "Let's go's!" He took a 5-2 lead in the set, only to see Denton play 3 spotless games to tie. The set went to a tiebreak, and the tension riding on each point was easily felt in the lobby of the Eastlake Racket Club where we were playing indoors. Finally, trailing 7-6, Nate saw a forehand fly long to end the close match.



I love words, but words aren't going to display how well Nate played and how proud I am of him. But I totally understand the disappointment he had after the match. He spent himself to try to beat the best, and got that close. With matches like this, he'll get another chance.



And of course, insanely close was the order of the day. After losing 5 players in the offseason from our varsity, if you'd have told me we would be 3 tiebreakers from taking a match to win the Concord Invitational, I'd have thought you were crazy. But the improvement of this young, inexperienced team has been rapid, and we found ourselves in that exact position at the end of the Concord match. Blake Shetler and Ike Lehman both had dominated the first set of their matches, only to get caught in the second. So as Nate entered his epic tiebreak with Jason Denton, Ike and Blake were entering 10-point tiebreaks to decide their split set matches.



After playing so well throughout the day, the pressure seemed to get to us a little bit. It's in these pressure situations that "inexperience" really becomes an issue. If we've never felt them before, they are hard to perform in. That was evident in Ike's match, and somewhat in Blake's as well. After taking early leads in the super-tiebreaks, both Blake and Ike fell in the match deciders. That made our Concord match score, 5-0, but with as close as we were in the singles matches, it felt nothing like that!



But we didn't only have close losses, we cashed in on some tight wins during the day. In fact, Evan and Abe put in their claim to closest match ever. Playing #1 doubles against Jimtown, Evan and Abe played fantastic, pushing Cole Peterson and Austin Ward to a tiebreak to end the first set. Peterson and Ward looked like the 2nd year varsity players that they are in pulling out 5 brilliant first serves in the breaker, and we threw in 2 double faults to lose the first set tiebreak. In the second set, they pulled ahead a bit and it was still on. They led 5-4 with a chance to push it to a third, but they couldn't finish. Then the Jimmies took a 6-5 lead. With Abe serving to stay in the match, I simply told the guys, "Hey, now you get to play 3 tiebreakers."



Sure enough, they took the game and entered a tiebreak to end the second set. This time, it was the Jimmies who felt the nerves, giving away several double faults. Abe and Evan finished points at the net, and on set point an overhead hung up for Abe to slam away. With Evan crying "Put it away!" Abe slammed the ball down, but it came back. The next shot though, Abe put down with authority, winning the set.



Onto the third set, 10-point tiebreak, where we promptly lost the first 4 points. But, with me crying for them to build momentum, Abe and Evan ran off an incredible streak of 7 straight points to take the lead. Finally, they led 9-6 with a chance to win the match. But, oh no, we were going much longer than that. Losing their first three match points, the Bruins actually ending up giving the Jimmies a match point. But that was erased with a double fault, and the match was tied at 10-10. Then Abe and Evan started a pattern of going ahead, getting the match point, but then getting tied up again. The tiebreak seesawed to 15-14 for the Bruins. It looked like the match was getting tied up again as the Jimmies got an overhead at the net and slammed it at Abe's feet, but while jumping out of the way Abe scooped up the bulleting shot and we won the match! 6-7, 7-6, (16-14)! Just, wow.



Close matches, and close to a wonderful team. So, so close...



The Hidden Narrative

Our continued search for our best lineup boiled underneath this whole match. Certainly, Nate and Blake have made #1 and #2 singles their positions, but the rest of the team is still in flux. While we won 4 out of the 6 doubles matches today, we are still far from settled on a lineup.



Throughout the day, we failed to win a match at #3 singles. Ike Lehman and Jesse Amstutz played well throughout the day, but we are still searching for the combination of consistency and smart aggression that wins at #3 singles. I was proud of the way these guys have taken to their new positions this season, I know that improvement will continue as well play.



At doubles, Joel Gerig and Parth Patel really played a great match against Jimtown. We weren't sure how they'd play, as it was their first match together and Joel's first real varsity match. Despite the nerves, they had an excellent win. In the Concord match, we switched them apart, and neither played quite as well. Abe and Evan won both of their matches together (against Rochester and Jimtown), and then lost when split apart against Concord. So, we continue to look, but the biggest thing is that everybody keeps getting better at the spots they do play.



Other Storylines

- Nate had a heartbreaking tiebreak loss, but he also dominated a first set tiebreak against Jimtown #1 Brett Aller. Nate had an outstanding day, getting his season record to 4-1.



- Our first varsity battle of the freshman happened today, in the first match as Jonathon Phoun took down Jesse Amstutz. Jesse played great, but couldn't find a way to break down Phoun's consistency.



- This is the 4th straight year that we've defeated both Jimtown and Rochester in this tournament. Only last year did we defeat Concord.



- Ike Lehman and Parth Patel really reeled off a great run against Rochester in the first round. After struggling to get going, they ran off 8 straight games to finish the match. The big difference? Movement and expectation!



- As we look at class matchups, Abe, Parth and Joel did well against the other sophomores they played today... with the exception of Concord's #2 doubles.



- Blake really hit his stride in the 2nd match of the day, playing an incredibly consistent, attacking style and securing us our first point against Jimtown.



- I always keep track of who clinches our wins (meaning who secures our 3rd point). Today Ike and Parth clinched the first match, while Nate clinched the 2nd. Blake's also got 1 clincher this year (against Goshen). Last year, Nate led us with 6 matches clinched.



- Everybody who played today got a win, except for Jesse Amstutz, which is a little unfair because he only got to play one match.



- I'm always grateful for the Bruin Tennis alumni who show up to cheer us on. Thanks for being there today Ben Mast, Luke Hostetter, and Kyle Miller.



- Of all the teams at the tournament today, we had the least returning varsity players from last year. Is it any wonder why I'm so proud of my team today! 2nd place is a wonderful result, and shows that the summer work paid off. I'm proud of all of you!



The Scores

Rochester

#1S - Nate Brendle - 6-3, 6-0 - Aaron Stuart (12)

#2S - Blake Shetler - 6-2, 6-3 - Taylor Beck (12)

#3S - Jesse Amstutz - 4-6, 3-6 - Jonathon Phoun (9)

#1D - Evan Grimes/Abe Thorne - 6-1, 6-3 - Brant Eytcheson (10)/Alec Gehrich (10)

#2D - Ike Lehman/Parth Patel - 6-4, 6-0 - Justin Schroder (9)/Andy Feldmen (9)



Jimtown

#1S - Nate Brendle - 7-6 (2), 6-1 - Brett Aller (11)

#2S - Blake Shetler - 6-2, 6-0 - Jake Ward (11)

#3S - Ike Lehman - 3-6, 4-6 - Dan Gongwer (11)

#1D - Evan Grimes/Abe Thorne - 6-7 (2), 7-6 (4), (16-14) - Cole Peterson (11)/Austin Ward (11)

#2D - Parth Patel/Joel Gerig - 6-4, 6-3 - Augie Farwig (11)/Michael Hobbs (10)



Concord

#1S - Nate Brendle - 2-6, 6-7 (6) - Jason Denton (12)

#2S - Blake Shetler - 6-3, 2-6, (5-10) - Matt Kotva (11)

#3S - Ike Lehman - 6-3, 2-6, (6-10) - Trevor Warren (11)

#1D - Evan Grimes/Joel Gerig - 1-6, 0-6 - Sean Purcell (12)/Michael Eisman (12)

#2D - Abe Thorne/Parth Patel - 0-6, 1-6 - T Cunningham (11)/Tony Fenech (10)

Area Scores from 8/20

On our schedule

Penn 4, Northridge 1

#1S - Evan Rink (P) beat Chris Robbins 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (3)

#2S - Connor McCarthy (P) beat A.J. Thilking 6-1, 3-6, 6-1

#3S - Josh Garfein (N) beat Michael Wang 6-1, 6-3.

#1D - Brad Walter-Sean Anderson (P) beat Alex Radelich-Andrew Gingerich 6-4, 6-1

#2D - Victor Lu-Matt Hollowell (P) beat Connor Cameron-Byron Slabaugh 7-5, 6-1.



Lewis Cass Invitational

Eastern 3, Tippecanoe Valley 2

Cass 3, Eastern 2

Hamilton Heights 5, Eastern 0



DeKalb Invitational

Angola - 31

DeKalb - 29

Norwell - 28

Bellmont - 18

East Noble - 8

West Noble - 6

Jay County - 4

NorthWood - 1



Other scores

FW Canterbury 5, West Lafayette 0

Marion 5, New Castle 0

Marion 5, Anderson 0

Kokomo 5, New Castle 0

Richmond 4, Huntington North 1

Logansport 5, Muncie Central 0

Kokomo 4, Anderson 1

Concord Invite Preview

Details: Saturday, August 20, 9:00 AM at Concord High School.



Last Season Review: Last year the Bruins were the champions of the Concord Invite, defeating Jimtown and Rochester 5-0, and Concord 4-1.



3 Interesting Facts:

- In the years since this tourney started, last year was the only year Concord had not won.

- This is the only tournament that remains unchanged on our schedule since Matt started coaching. Other tournaments that have come and gone: the Lakeland Invite, the LaVille Invite, the Warsaw Invite, and the Wayne Invite. Of course, we've added the Merrillville Invite and the Wabash Invite over the past 3 years, giving us a strong and fun schedule.

- Of the three teams competing this first weekend of the schedule, we have already played a combined 8 matches. That's alot of first week experience!



Concord Details: The Minutemen should have a strong team this year, especially since they return Jason Denton at #1 singles, one of three opponents Ben lost to last year. They have opened the year at 3-1, defeating Columbia City, John Glenn, Bremen but losing to Elkhart Central.



Jimtown Details: The Jimmies return much of their team from last year. Unfortunately, it wasn't a very successful year for them. However, they have opened the 2011 season with 2 wins, defeating NorthWood and Mishawaka.



Rochester Details:The Rhinos started their season with a 5-0 win, over South Bend Clay. Then they lost 5-0 to Triton yesterday, so I they are also 1-1 on the season.



Bethany Christian Details: We pulled out a close win against Goshen last night, to even our record at 1-1. In both matches, we've some good play and some not quite up to the necessary level. We will continue to work on that throughout the season, and get a chance to test ourselves 3 times. We'll probably mix things up a bit this weekend to see what we can do.



Projected Lineups:

Concord

#1S - Jason Denton (4-0)

#2S - Matt Kotva (2-1)

#3S - Nick Polluck (2-2)

#1D - Matt Ciesielski/Sean Purcell (2-1)

#2D - Bronson DuMont/Jack Hinkle (2-1)



Jimtown

#1S - Brett Aller (2-0)

#2S - Jake Ward (2-0)

#3S - Dan Gongwer (1-1)

#1D - Cole Peterson/Austin Ward (2-0)

#2D - Augie Farwig/Michael Hobbs (2-0)



Rochester

#1S - Aaron Stuart (1-1)

#2S - Taylor Beck (1-1)

#3S - ? (0-1)

#1D - Brant Eytcheson/Alec Gehrich (1-1)

#2D - Justin Schroder/Andy Feldmen (1-1)



Outlook: This should be an interesting tournament. Concord will be a tough matchup, as they are very experienced. However, they are coming off a loss. Jimtown and Rochester are opponents that will again tell us where we are in comparison to other teams on our schedule. Triton won 5-0 over Rochester, and Jimtown has easily beaten NorthWood and Mishawaka, two opponents we are familiar with, who both fielded weaker squads last season. Hopefully we will be able to pull wins out over the Jimmies and the Rhinos, and give the Minutemen everything that we have. We certainly will try to defend our title with confidence!

Area Scores from 8/18

Thursday, August 18, 2011



On our schedule

Jimtown 5, Mishawaka 0

#1S - Brett Aller def. Andrew Laubner, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3

#2S - Jed Ward def. Bobby LeRoy, 6-3, 6-2

#3S - Dan Gongwer def. Jon Dickinson, 6-1, 6-1

#1D - Cole Peterson/Austin Ward def. Michael Furlow/Mitch Montgomery, 6-1, 6-3

#2D - Augie Farwig/Michael Hobbs def. Andrew Furlow/Brice Thomas, 6-0, 3-6, 6-3



Fairfield 5, Bremen 0

#1S - Josh Mullet def. Briley Bollenbacher, 6-2, 6-2

#2S - Austin Christner def. Brad Foster, 6-1, 6-1

#3S - Landon Knepp def. Wes Burkholder, 6-1, 6-3

#1D - Jordan Hochstetler/Taylor Yoder def. Austin Huff/T.J. Bayer, 7-5, 6-2

#2D - Marcus Rodes/Adam Yoder def. Joe Zeltwanger/Nate Stehler, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4



Westview 5, Whitko 0

#1S - Austin Schlabach def. Blake Castle, 6-3, 6-1

#2S - Kohle Christner def. Urian Bailey, 6-0, 6-2

#3S - Westview by default

#1D - Nic Hostetler/Devin Bontrager def. Tyler Murphy/Seth Patrick, 6-0, 6-0

#2D - Jamar Weaver/Jonathon Hostetler def. Tyler Pottenger/Cole Bechtold, 6-2, 6-0



Tippecanoe Valley 3, North Judson 2

#1S - Nick Kindig (TV) d. Chris Lippelt, 6-0, 6-0

#2S - Tanner Neeley (TV) d. Bubba Shelton, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2

#3S - Lee Lukac (NJ) d. Derek Cunningham, 6-2, 6-2.

#1D - Robby Groom-Clayton Adamson (TV) d. Devin Cruce-John Zeller, 6-2, 6-0

#2D - Levi Bailey-Zach Bailey (NJ) d. Trey Peterson-Isaac Sherman, 6-3, 6-3.



Triton 5, Rochester 0

#1S - Jeff Ross beat Aaron Stuart, 6-2, 7-6 (3)

#2S - Pete Kauffman beat Taylor Beck, 1-6, 6-4, 7-5

#3S - Lucas Shafer beat Jonathon Phorn, 6-4, 6-3.

#1D - Josh Shafer-Austin Kanarr beat Brandt Eyteheson-Alec Gehrich, 6-0, 6-0

#2D - Wil Rettinger-Jackson Downing beat Andy Feldman-Justin Schroder, 6-1,6-0.



Plymouth 5, Wawasee 0

#1S - Gabe Vervynckt d. Isaac Rigdon, 6-1, 6-1

#2S - Lane Singleton d. Kyler Love, 6-0, 6-0

#3S - Luke Bumpus d. Todd Hauser, 6-0, 6-0.

#1D - Connor Flynn-Jordan Scheetz d. Westin Becker-Tyler Kissinger, 6-2, 6-2

#2D - Joe Knapp-Matt Flynn d. Cole Love-Derek Zurcher, 6-0, 6-3.



Wabash 4, Madison Grant 1

#1S - Justin Middleton lost 4-6, 3-6

#2S - David Driscoll won 6-2, 6-2

#3S - Edward Dillard won 6-0, 6-1

#1D - Stephen Eilts/Jack Stein won 6-2, 6-2

#2D - Breyton Nealis/JD Boone won 6-0, 6-2



FW Northrup 3, Fremont 2



Others

Lakeland 3, East Noble 2

FW South Side 5, Churubusco 0

Kokomo 4, Mississenewa 1

FW Carroll 5, FW Snider 0

Norwell 5, Jay County 0

Marion 5, Blackford 0

The Story vs. Goshen: Match #2

The Lead : "Blake in the Clutch"

The train blared in our ears as I looked at Blake and tried to determine our fate. The team match was 2-2. He was in the third set, up 2-1. I couldn't tell where he was at mentally, how things were going to go. "Stay aggressive," I said. "I will," he said walking back to the court.



With Redskin senior Drew Hostetler serving, there was a good bet he would even up the score of the final set. His serve had proven hard to break throughout the match, especially as he got the big booming first serve in. And as the game started, Blake lost three straight to fall behind 0-40.



But we've been playing "Thrice." Blake knew how to bring it back. First an error, then a big forehand forcing a off balance shot. A fist pump, then an excellent return forcing an errant backhand. Suddenly we were at deuce. Then two more. Five straight points Blake pounced on to take the 3-1 lead.



I knew we were golden right there. But just to seal it off, I reminded Blake to place his serves to the weakness, to continue to drive the ball. On his serve, Blake sealed a close game with a bomb to Hostetler's backhand and never lost his concentration on his driven groundstrokes. With a 6-3 third, Blake clinched our first win of the season!



The Hidden Narrative

Unfortunately, the untold story here is Goshen's injuries. They came within one set of getting the victory tonight, and were missing two varsity contributors (Adam Bratten and Paul Johnson) due to injury.



Either of those players makes a significant difference in the match. The way things worked out tonight, Jesse Amstutz breezed through the #3 singles match. If one of those guys are back, the match becomes very different. Last year, Bratten played incredibly well in our early season matchup, falling only 4-6, 4-6 to Nate. If he would have played #3 singles things would have been even closer.



It will be interesting to see the Goshen lineup come Sectional time. They should have a solid group of similar players. We'll be excited to see them again then.





Other Storylines

- Freshman firsts! Jesse Amstutz got the first freshman varsity win of the season, while Landon Weldy and Hans Miller picked up their first wins as well. Sol Brenneman is the early JV leader in wins, getting his 2nd tonight.



- Speaking of Jesse Amstutz, weird first 2 matches. He loses 0-6, 0-6; then he wins 6-1, 6-1. That's a down and up start to the year.



- Nate's played the role of a #1 singles player well this year, picking up 2 solid wins. Tonight it was his serve that did the damage. In the 1st set, his serve forced 13 return errors from senior Eli Metzler-Prieb.



- The #1 doubles match was all about the combination of aggression and execution. Early in the match, Abe and Evan struggled to get to the net. In the second set, they controlled many more points with a concerted effort to get forward. Unfortunately, inconsistency of serve and return still held them back.



- JV win! No JV losses tonight as we swept 5 spots that we played tonight. Wade and Justin also picked up there first wins, both with beautifully consistent tennis.



- Sophomores vs. Sophomores. Goshen's varsity contained 3 sophomores, while our had 2 with Joel Gerig just below. Is there a battle brewing for city dominance within that class. Yes and yes!



The Scores

Varsity:

#1S - Nate Brendle - 6-3, 6-3 - Eli Metzler-Prieb (12)

#2S - Blake Shetler - 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 - Drew Hostetler (12)

#3S - Jesse Amstutz - 6-1, 6-1 - Jorge Hernandez-Walton (12)

#1D - Evan Grimes/Abe Thorne - 0-6, 3-6 - Sylas Buller (10)/Sam Stegelman (10)

#2D - Ike Lehman/Parth Patel - 3-6, 2-6 - Matt Buncich (12)/Austin Stutzman (10)



Junior Varsity:

#1S - Wade Troyer - 8-4 - Zach Ganger (9)

#2S - Sol Brenneman - 8-4 - Andrew Vetter (9)

#3S - Landon Weldy - 8-2 - David Smucker (9)

#4S - Justin Zehr - 6-4 - Andrew Vetter (9)

#1D - Joel Gerig/Hans Miller - 6-2 - Zach Ganger (9)/David Smucker (9)

Goshen Preview

Details: Thursday, August 18, 4:30 at Bethany Christian High School



Last Season Review: We defeated Goshen twice last season, both by 4-1 scores.



3 Interesting Facts:

- Both teams started our seasons early this week, both losing in our first matches.

- Bethany is currently on a 5 match winning streak against Goshen.

- Both teams lost their top 2 players in the off-season, who faced off at #1 and #2 singles last year.



Goshen Details: Goshen is 0-1, having lost their opening match to Mishawaka Marian, 3-2.



Bethany Christian Details: We are also 0-1, having lost to a talented Northridge team on Tuesday.



Projected Goshen Lineup:

#1S: Eli Metzler-Prieb (0-1)

#2S: Drew Hochstetler (0-1)

#3S: Jorge Hernandez-Walton (0-1)

#1D: Sam Stegelman/Sylas Buller (1-0)

#2D: Matt Buncich/Austin Stutzman (1-0)



Outlook:

This is a great early season test for both teams. It should be fairly evenly matched, I especially look for exciting matches at #2 singles and #2 doubles. This should set an early tone for Sectional expectations as well, as Goshen and Fairfield could probably be considered the front runners for our Sectional title this year. We'll also get a look at what I expect to be one of the better doubles teams in the Sectional (Sam Stegelman and Sylas Buller), as well as getting some of our young freshman a chance to get their first wins. We're all excited about this first home match!

Area Scores from 8/17

Wednesday, August 17



On our schedule

Elkhart Central 5, NorthWood 0

#1S - Nick Burton def. Brennan Angle 6-0, 6-0.

#2S - Brett Morton def. Mitchell Keiser 6-3, 6-0.

#3S - Blake Brouwer def. Quinn Stillson 6-0, 6-0.

#1D - Mitch Hanberg/Austin Sellers def Jayson Linhart/Ben Zercher 6-1, 6-2.

#2D - Franklin Fisher/Jake Mullins def. Shawn Stahley/Austin Sanders 6-3, 6-2.



Concord 5, Bremen 0

#1S - Jason Denton def. Briley Bollenbacher 6-1, 6-2.

#2S - T Cunningham def. Brad Foster 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.

#3S - Nick Pollock def. Wes Burkholder 6-4, 6-1.

#1D - Matt Ciesielski/Sean Purcell def. Austin Huff/Nate Strehler 6-1, 6-1.

#2D - Jack Hinkle/Bronson Dumont won



Rochester 5, South Bend Clay 0

#1S - Aaron Stuart beat Nick Cwidak, 6-1, 6-0

#2S - Taylor Beck beat Jon Ovalle, 6-2, 6-1

#3S - Rochester won by forfeit.

#1D - Brant Eytcheson-Alec Gehrich beat Jon Bladel-Blaze Shepard, 6-1, 6-1

#2D - Justin Schroder-Andy Feldmen beat Ramsey Omari-Trey Rudasics, 6-0, 6-0



Lakeland 3, Wawasee 2

#1S - Spencer Mortola (L) beat Isaac Rigolon, 6-1, 6-1

#2S - Bret Balka (L) beat Kyle Love, 6-2, 6-4

#3S - Dalton Schmidt (L) beat Todd Hauser, 6-0, 6-0.

#1D - Westom Becler-Tyler Kissinger (W) beat Blake Balka-Ethan Fry, 6-1, 6-2

#2D - Derek Zurcher-Cole Love (W) beat Sam Miller-Robbie Arend, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2



Columbia City 3, Warsaw 2



Others

Elkhart Memorial 3, South Bend Adams 2

DeKalb 5, FW Snider 0

Norwell 5, FW Concordia 0

Niles 4, Mishawaka 1

Area Scores from 8/16

Tuesday, August 16, 2011



On our schedule

Bremen 4, Tippecanoe Valley 1

1. Nick Kindig (TV) beat Briley Bollenbacher, 6-3, 6-1

2. Brad Foster (B) beat Tanner Neeley, 6-0, 6-2

3. Wes Burkholder (B) beat Derek Cunningham, 6-2, 6-0.

1D. Austin Huff-Nate Strehler (B) beat Clayton Adamson-Robby Groom, 6-1, 6-3

2D. Joe Zeltwanger-Krent Hueni (B) beat Diego Gutierrez-Isaac Shewman, 6-3, 6-2



Concord 5, John Glenn 0

1. Jason Denton beat Austen Hayes, 6-0, 6-0

2. T Cunningham beat Joe Jaworski, 6-4, 6-4

3. Nick Polluck beat Drew Sheffer, 6-0, 6-0

1D. Michael Eisman/Jack Hinkle beat Ben Weiss/Evan Rhodes, 6-2, 6-1

2D. Tony Fenech/Trevor Warren beat Calvin Kretchmer/Hunter Jaworski, 6-1, 6-0



Jimtown 4, NorthWood 1

#1S - Brett Aller (J) def. Brennan Angle 6-2, 6-1.

#2S - Jake Ward (J) def. Mitchell Keiser 6-0, 2-6, 6-2.

#3S - Quinn Stillson (N) def. Jacob Gongwer 6-3, 6-2.

#1D - Cole Peterson/Austin Ward (J) def. Jayson Linhart/Ben Zercher 1-6, 7-5, 6-1.

#2D - Dan Gongwer/Nikolas Floyd (J) def. Shawn Stahley/Austin Sanders 6-1, 6-0.



Chesterton 3, Highland 2



Others

Plymouth 7, Knox 0

New Prairie 5, South Bend Clay 0

Marion 5, Jay County 0

Maconaquah 4, Madison Grant 1

Bellmont 5, FW South Side 0

FW Northrop 5, Whitko 0

Mississinewa 5, Adams Central 0

The Story at Northridge: Match #1

The Lead: A Close 1-2

Nate Brendle and Blake Shetler both spent a good deal of time in the Northridge school district, and each knew their opponent well tonight. Nate played against fellow junior Chris Robbins, whom he called teammate until after freshman year. Blake found himself pitted against AJ Thielking, a fellow senior who was a friend to Blake we he went through Northridge Junior High.



But as they faced off against each other tonight, both matches were extremely intense, and close. In fact, the first sets of both matches had to be settled in extra games, #2 singles going to a tiebreak and #1 singles to 7.



And both matches had there rhythms too. It was pretty early in the #2 singles match where it became obvious that it was AJ Thielking's forehand against Blake's attacking game. At #1 singles, it was a Raider serve and forehand that blasted away against Nate's spin, consistency and depth. And these were powerful battles!



Nate found himself down 5-4 in the first set, facing the daunting task of dropping a set after more than 45 minutes of play. But with a streak worthy of our practice game "Thrice," Nate wheeled off 3 straight games by driving the ball a bit more and forcing Robbins out of his comfort zone. For Blake, it was destined to go to a tiebreak, where under the pressure, Thielking pulled out some wonderful passing shots for the set.



Again, Nate found himself a tight position in the second, after a seesaw of momentum led him to 4-4. Again, it was the aggressive placement in the next game that saw him draw the errors out of Robbins, and pull away for the two set victory.



Patterns repeated themselves at #2 singles as well, as late in the second set, Thielking's powerful passing shots began to find more of the court while Blake's shots were just off.



For two players who knew their opponents well, these proved to be difficult matches mentally, as they were long and filled with pressure points. They were also very physical matches, and under the late afternoon sun nobody came off the courts breathing easy or with much water left in the water bottles. As a coach, I am most proud of my players when they are put in awkward, pressure filled situations and they perform with class and effort. I can't sing the praises of Blake and Nate enough tonight, as the ground it out with their local, friendly rivals!



The Hidden Narrative

Lost in the scoreline tonight was an important development at #2 doubles. Parth Patel and Ike Lehman lost the first set 6-0 without much of a fight, but then had a total turnaround in aggressiveness and execution in the second set. Changing to a much more motion oriented attack, the two kept the Raider pair off balance with poaches, serve & volley, and a net game that helped force some errors. They fought their way to a 4-3 lead in the set, and had points to extend the lead to 5-3. After falling in that game, they again had chances to take a 5-4 lead. Pulling ahead like that may have swung extreme pressure their opponents way and completely changed the complexion of both their match and the team match as well. Unfortunately, they couldn't grab the points, and lost the set 4-6. But they were so close to so much more!



Other Storylines

- The "Freshman 10" debuted tonight, but only 2 earned victories. Playing against a mostly more experienced Raider JV, only Sol Brenneman and Tristan Clark pulled out a win at #4D. However, the future of this matchup still looks bright, as only 2 of the 8 JV losses came against freshman combatants.



- JV doubles put up a fight tonight. Joel Gerig and Hans Miller fought back to a 6-6 tie before falling, and freshmen Landon Weldy and Ryan Duckworth led 4-1 in there match before seeing it teeter back and forth until a 7-9 loss.



- #1 doubles only took 1 game tonight, but it was on Evan's serve. The serve has been a place of emphasis over the last several days, now perhaps the emphasis shifts to return :-)



- Jesse Amstutz debuted against Josh Garfein tonight, who will be the area's prime #3 singles player. Last year, Garfein fell 5-7, 3-6 the Nate Brendle, who today defeated the Raiders #1. A tough, tough way to start for Jesse, but might as well get the best out of the way first!



- 2 players were missing with injuries tonight. Himal King and Ryan Minter, both juniors playing at the top of JV, are nursing themselves back to health right now.



The Scores

Varsity

#1S - Nate Brendle - 7-5, 6-4 - Chris Robbins (11)

#2S - Blake Shetler - 6-7 (2), 5-7 - AJ Thielking (12)

#3S - Jesse Amstutz - 0-6, 0-6 - Josh Garfein (10)

#1D - Evan Grimes/Abe Thorne - 1-6, 0-6 - Alex Radelich (12)/Andrew Gingerich (11)

#2D - Ike Lehman/Parth Patel - 0-6, 4-6 - Connor Cameron (12)/Byron Slabach (11)



Junior Varsity

#1S - Wade Troyer - 2-8 - Jed Miller (11)

#2S - Sol Brenneman - 3-8 - Clay Schnell (10)

#3S - Tristan Clark- 3-8 - James Kristofzski (10)

#4S - Justin Zehr - 4-8 - Ben Sheely (12)

#5S - Roberto Ramos - 3-8 - Taylor Brandenberger (9)

#1D - Joel Gerig/Hans Miller - 6-8 - Erik Beck (11)/Michael Eash (11)

#2D - Landon Weldy/Ryan Duckworth - 7-9 - Ryan Taylor (10)/Landon Arnold (9)

#3D - Luke Schrock/Neel Bhagat - 1-8 - Sam Hoover (9)/Nolan Rhodes (9)

#4D - Sol Brenneman/Tristan Clark - 8-4 - Chase Miller (9)/Austin Miller (9)

Area Scores from 8/15

Monday, August 15, 2011



On our schedule

Mishawaka Marian 3, Goshen 2

#1S - Jack Julien (M) def. Eli Metzler-Prieb 6-1, 6-2

#2S - Stephen Hicks (M) def. Drew Hostetler 6-4, 6-2

#3S - Luke Street (M) def. Jorge Hernandez-Walton 6-0, 6-1

#1D - Sylas Buller/Sam Stegelman (G) def. Reilly Hicks/Tom Deranek 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-2

#2D - Matt Buncich/Austin Stutzman (G) def. Mike Amor/Tom Yergler 6-4, 7-5



Concord 4, Columbia City 1

#1S - Jason Denton (C) def. Derek Hinen 6-1, 6-3.

#2S - Gabe Boles (CC) def. T Cunningham 7-5, 6-3.

#3S - Nick Pollock (C) def. Devin Moore 6-0, 6-4.

#1D - Matt Ciesielski/Sean Parcell (C) def. Ryan Flauding/Dalton VanHouten 6-4, 6-3.

#2D - Bronson Dumont/Matt Kotva (C) def. Matt Rethlake/Brandon Bay 6-1, 6-4.



Manchester 3, Wawasee 2

#1S - Connor Eichenaur (M) def. Isaac Rigdon 6-1, 6-3.

#2S - Connor McLaughlin (M) def. Kyler Love 6-0, 6-3.

#3S - Aaron Johnson (M) def. Todd Hauser 6-2, 6-2.

#1D - Westin Becker/Tyler Kissinger (W) def. Jared Christiansen/Brayton Spann 6-0, 6-0. #2D - Derek Zurcher/Cole Love (W) def. Riley Woods/Dalton Day 6-2, 6-0.



Valparaiso 4, Kankakee Valley 1



Others in Area/District

Penn 5, Warsaw 0

Plymouth 3, Kokomo 2

Mississinewa 5, Bluffton 0

Homestead 4, FW Concordia 1