Win at Love.

Before the Jimtown match, I told the players... no matter what happens, you will always have this season, your teammates, your memories of the good. You will always have your brothers and their love. You will always have the love of Christ. It's in these that we find who we are, not in what happens in a tennis match at the end of the season. After our loss, I want to highlight what some of my brothers had to say on Facebook and other places.

Himal's status: "Good match everybody, even though we lost we played amazing and always battled. No matter what happens we still have the memories and the Broho. I am truly going to miss everyone on the team this year. While we are sad now, it will get better and no matter what so have the team, the bear shirts, the tournament win, the bus rides, and so much more. I had a blast this season and I will miss every second of it. I LOVE you guys. Get em next year!"

Landon's said:  "i was thinking about tonight, and during ikes match, there was nobody cheering for the jimtown guy, but everyone was for ike. we may not have won sectionals, but we won at LOVE, and thats all that matters. when i got home, i didnt cry because we lost. i cried because the season was over and that meant that the team wouldnt be together anymore :( i love you guys" 

It was special to be with all of you throughout the year. I do believe that we excelled in loving one another and truly being there for each other. I know that last night, when Ike lost, everybody wanted to take his pain and put it on themselves. I know that when you all circled around him after the match, it wasn't because you were upset or disappointed, but because you wanted him to know that you loved him.

My senior year of high school, I lost the last match of a 3-2 loss for my team. I was so upset, that I ran as fast as I could behind the middle school that we were playing at and screamed at the top of my lungs. None of my teammates went with me, none greeted me when I came back, in fact, I can't even remember who played #1 or #2 doubles that day. My teammates didn't care about me so much, and I can hardly remember them.

That will never be true for all of you. You love each other, you sacrifice for each other, you are a team in the fullest sense of the word. People can keep telling me that tennis is an individual sport, and me and my Bethany Christian brothers will keep proving to them why it's so much better when you realize that it's about the team.

Thank you all for centering your season on one another. In the same way, I encourage all of you to continue to stay centered on others as the season ends. And in all things, find your true peace and "center" in Christ. Christ's love is a place of salvation and rest.

Thanks to all of you for the season, the love, the memories, and let's keep up the love at Nathan's matches.

#20 - The End is Not the End

I absolutely detest writing these final match reports. In fact, if you look back through the seasons, you'll see that there are many years where I don't even bother reporting on the final match. We invest so much of ourselves trying to get to a place of success, and whenever we fall short, whether its at Sectional, Regional, or even the State finals, there is the pain of knowing that this team, as it is formed right now, will no longer be together.

So, here's the final match report, although it pains me to write it...

We came into the match against Jimtown knowing that we were the underdogs. To win would be an upset. They were 12-4 on the season. We were 13-6. They were conference champions. They had beaten us earlier in the season. They had 7 seniors comprising their varsity. We were going to have to battle.

But in this role, we were confident. We knew that we had a chance. There were several positions from our 3-2 loss that were close losses, and we had hope that we could turn them around.

To be honest, the match didn't get off to a good start for us. All of the positions, including Nathan Brendle who had only lost one match all year, were trailing at the beginning. All except for Ike Lehman, who took a lead at #3 singles. And the match was really tight. Calls were close and tempers were high.

One thing I have to praise today was the mental strength of our team. Despite the early deficits, despite the close line calls, despite having to call a line judge and having one called against us, we never really looked rattled. Nervous, yes. Rattled or mental intimidated, never.

First to rally through his match was Nathan at #1 singles. Down 4-3, he relaxed, stayed more patient and made fewer errors. He had been concerned about the team as a whole (as a good leader is) and had not been completely tuned into his match. He had looked a little tight (as happens at Sectional) and had been pushing a bit through his forehands. But when he got that focus and stroke going, he dominated his match. He was able to win 9 of the last 10 games for his win at #1 singles, guaranteeing that no matter what happened to us as a team, his season would not be over.

After a tight first set, #2 doubles got it turned around to start the second set. Quickly getting a 3-0 lead behind aggressive net play from Joel and excellent forehands from Hans, their bread and butter all season, they extended the lead to 4-1 and had several chances to get it to 5-1 or 5-2. Unfortunately, it what became a little bit of a Bruin pattern for the night, they couldn't convert the chances to extend the lead. Jimtown's confidence turned around and they picked up their play, combined with some help from the net cord, and on Hans' serve we faced match points. First, we had two chances to close to 5-5, but didn't get those to go our way. Then Joel hit a spectacular volley to deny Jimtown's first match point. But we couldn't deny the second, and the Jimmies had a point on us. Hans and Joel fought very hard in the second set, but much like our first match of the season against Northridge, we couldn't seem to convert the big points.

At #1 doubles, Himal and Parth knew they'd be fighting an uphill battle most of the night. They were facing the NSC Conference Champions in seniors Brett Aller and Cole Peterson. They were facing players who had both seen time at #1 singles in their careers. And Parth and Himal responded by playing their best tennis of the season. I've never seen Parth and Himal's returns be as crisp as they were tonight, or seen them play as much of an attacking net game. They kept the first set close, trailing only 2-3 after the first set of games. But, again following the patterns of the year, they couldn't keep up the play and lost the first set. Then they kept the second set close, until the end where the Jimmies pulled away. I was very proud of their play today, their hope and faith, but the loss put us down 2-1.

Abe Thorne had switched to #2 singles five matches from the end of this season. The switch had seemed to work against him, as he had been playing with a lot of confidence at #3 singles, and had been riding a 13 match winning streak there. The switch to #2 singles had then provided a 3 match losing streak, which he only broke in the last match of the Wabash Invite last Saturday. Going into this Sectional match, I was very nervous. He would be playing a senior with a lot of confidence, as Jake Ward had won the NSC Conference Championship at #2 singles on Monday night.

And in the first set, my fears seemed to be well founded. Abe couldn't get his feet moving, couldn't attack, couldn't get his serve going. He fell behind 5-2 and looked to be headed to a short match. In truth, any hopes we might have in the match hung on either him or #2 doubles, and both had started out down. Not helping matters were what seemed to be very close or very questionable calls against Abe at crucial points in the match. With it being Sectional, Abe didn't want to risk the calls being the difference in the match, and he didn't want to be worrying about whether they were right or wrong. So he called for a line judge, then lost the next point to lose the first set.

But the second set was a completely different story. Abe broke serve to begin the set, then held quickly with big serves for a 2-0 lead. Then it was 3-0, 4-0, 5-0, then 6-0 to send it to a third set. Throughout the second, Ward had been frustrated and hitting a lot of errors. In between sets I told Abe that this wouldn't continue, that he'd have to win the third with good tennis. He began the third with a great game. We've been working on Abe's rally shots and feet and they looked impeccable to begin the third set. Soon it was 4-0 in the second! Ward settled down at this point too, and he and Abe split the next 2 games. Fortunately for the Bruins, that was enough to give Abe a 6-2 third set win!

Which meant that the team match came down to what happened in the third set of Ike Lehman and Dan Gongwer's #3 singles match. Ike, despite his big lead in the first set, had to survive a super tight tiebreak in which he fought off one set point to win 9-7 in the breaker. In the second set, it had continued to be close, but Ike couldn't pull out the final points needed to close out the match.

So to a third set, where in the Sectional, it's usually the player who is more aggressive and energetic about imposing their style on the game wins. Ike fought through the first game, having several points to get off to a 1-0 lead, but instead fell in deuce. He then fought back to take the 2nd game and tie it at 1-1. But Gongwer was playing impressive tennis, the best I've seen him play in our limited matches against them the past two years. In fact, his level was probably better than when he played against Nate at #1 singles last year in the Sectional. Ike continued to battle, falling down 3-1 but then bringing it back to 3-2. Soon, he began to battle cramps in his calf as well. With the score 3-2, Gongwer played two excellent aggressive games. This put him up 5-2 on serve with a chance to win it for the Jimmies.

But boy, did Ike ever dig in to battle. First Gongwer, took a lead in the game, giving himself 4 different chances to close out the match. But each time, Ike was able to find a way to win the point. At deuce multiple times, Ike finally gave himself a chance to pull a game back when he crushed an overhead. Unfortunately, at the same time, he cramped and fell down on the court. Gongwer returned the overhead, but from laying on the ground Ike was able to see the ball fall out. Ike recovered from his cramp, then won the next point to pull back to 5-3.

But that was as close as it would get. On Ike's serve in the next game, he had a chance to make it 5-4, but couldn't convert. Then in the deuce, Gongwer dropped balls short in front of Ike that he just couldn't get up to in order to keep the match alive. Throwing himself at the last short ball, Ike's lunge floated long and Jimtown won.

Heartbroken is a good word to describe the end. As I've said in seasons before, you form a bond with each team in a special way. At the end, you know that this group will never be the same again. But it's not the end. It's never the end. You've got tons of love to remember. You've got a Bear warmup shirt :-) You've got your swag :-)

And Nathan gets to keep playing. So, really, it's not the end yet for Bruin Tennis 2012.

I'm proud of the team, and you'll have to check out the other post that I'll make today for more on that.

Let's always continue to win at love.

Scores
#1S - Nathan Brendle - 6-4, 6-1 - Austin Ward (12)
#2S - Abe Thorne - 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 - Jake Ward (12)
#3S - Ike Lehman - 7-6 (7), 3-6, 3-6 - Dan Gongwer (12)
#1D - Himal King/Parth Patel - 2-6, 3-6 - Brett Aller (12)/Cole Peterson (12)
#2D - Joel Gerig/Hans Miller - 2-6, 4-6 - Michael Hobbs (12)/Augie Farwig (12)

#19 - The Regular Season's End

The last Monday of the regular season, we traditionally host the Cadets of The Howe School. This year, we were planning on the same. But in the morning, things got turned around and we were headed to Howe for the first time to play. We'd been warned of horrible courts with gaping cracks, with weeds growing as high as your knees. But, nonetheless, we headed out to our last regular season match.


When we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised. The courts were beautiful! And there were 6, which meant that the match might move even faster than we'd originally expected. And certainly, as the matches started, it looked like they'd move quickly.


At #1 singles, #3 singles, and #1 doubles, the Bruins were breezing through the first sets without losing points (for the most part). Sol and Justin simply had too good of groundstrokes for their opponents, and Landon and Wade were taking care of their opponents from the net. At #2 singles, Tristan lost the first game but recovered to win the next 2. And #2 doubles were up 4-1. It looked like a good, quick win for us.


And the success, continued right on through the match for #1, #3, and #1 doubles. Without losing a game, those 3 positions were done in about 40 minutes. Their opponents were gracious in defeat, with a great deal of laughing and volunteering to play again going on. But in very little time, we had sealed the varsity win, #13 on the season for us.

But two varsity matches were still going. Tristan, looking half asleep, had lost the first set 6-4. And #2 doubles, Neel Bhagat and Ethan Lapp, were ahead in the second set after winning the first. Tristan's opponent was causing him all sorts of trouble. He was hitting the ball back every single time and just waiting for Tristan to make an error. At times, he would hit beautiful lobs over Tristan's head as Tristan tried to attack the net. Like often happens when we play this type of opponent, Tristan was getting frustrated. So like the beginning of the season, we talked about the necessity of letting bad shots go and instead getting excited about good ones. Trailing 2-5 in the second set, Tristan began little fist pumps. No shouts of joy, no screamed "C'mon," just a little energy. His feet began to pick up, his shots began to gain pace and placement, and suddenly he was playing great and his opponent could not stay in the match. Tristan won 10 of the next 11 games to close out a third set win.

Unfortunately it was not that easy for the #2 doubles team. They got very nervous and pushed the ball all the way through their second set tiebreak. In the third set, they were still nervous, but were playing well enough to stay close in the set. Trailing 4-3, I let them know that the key to winning tight matches is to continue to stay loose and aggressive. So hit through the ball. That is what they did, and in the next 3 games they only lost 4 points total. That gave them a close third set win, and the team a 5-0 victory.

In JV, Noah Hochstetler and Jack Erlacher both took home 8-0 victories. Roberto Ramos also captured a singles victory in his first singles match of the season. Paul Krabill got his first win of the year as he took on a chattering doubles combo from Howe with senior Wade Troyer. This gave Paul one more win in his freshman year than Wade got :-) We had a delicious meal, and then headed home, with the JV and the regular season complete.

Scores
Varsity
#1S - Sol Brenneman - 6-0, 6-0
#2S - Tristan Clark - 4-6, 7-5, 6-2
#3S - Justin Zehr - 6-0, 6-0
#1D - Wade Troyer/Landon Weldy - 6-0, 6-0
#2D - Neel Bhagat/Ethan Lapp - 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-4

JV
#1SJV - Noah Hochstetler - 8-0
#2SJV - Jack Erlacher - 8-0
#3SJV - Roberto Ramos - 8-6
#1DJV - Delan Schrock/Jacob Rudy-Froese - 1-8
#2DJV - Wade Troyer/Paul Krabill - 8-4

Sectional Draw 2012

As you see, we've drawn Jimtown in the 1st round, Wednesday night at 4:30. I'm already starting to get excited. It's my most favorite part of the year!

T #02 - Champions

It was cold, windy and threatening rain all throughout the tournament this morning and afternoon. It was a tournament that we were not favored to win. Entering the tourney, Wabash had only lost 1 duel match all season, and the same was true of Taylor.

But for all the outside circumstances, we were ready. We knew this was a chance for us to practice, to play in circumstances that would be a lot like our Sectional this coming week. We knew that we had practiced well and hard throughout the week leading up to this match. We knew that we had to focus and battle.

First Round - vs. Taylor
In the first match, we played Taylor. Turns out, we got a little bit of a break. Their regular #1 singles player, Nathan Gotshall, had to attend his sister's wedding. This forced Taylor into some lineup changes, but they were certainly a formidable team nonetheless. Nathan Brendle would faceoff against an undefeated #2 singles player, sophomore Jack Lipchik. Though he didn't know it at the time, Lipchik would go on to win his next two matches at the tournament, so he was definitely a talented opponent.

Taylor then split up their #1 doubles team to play #2 and #3 singles. These players had both played singles before, with Logan Barnes who was playing #2 slated to play singles during the Sectional and Regional series. At #3 singles was Drew Hansen, who had played #1 singles 2 years ago.

But we were ready to perform. Nathan played absolutely beautiful tennis. Playing long points with Lipchik, he worked him all around the court and breezed to an unbelievable 6-1, 6-0 victory. At #2 Abe couldn't seem to find the answers to Logan Barnes touch and placement. But at #3 singles, Ike attacked and counter-attacked with precision against Hansen. After a close first set, he piled it on in the 2nd set to pull away for our second win.

At #2 doubles, Joel and Hans eased to a victory over 2 players normally slated for the Taylor JV. At #1 doubles, Himal and Parth got off to a great start to the day. They attacked, stayed patient and played well under pressure. Despite cold and windy conditions, they came from behind in each set to get a two set victory.

The early round victory against Taylor set up a big match in the second round against Wabash. They had also won their first round, and so it looked like perhaps this match would decide 1st place for the tournament. I was really proud of the way we were ready to play, no matter the conditions or opponents.

Taylor Scores
#1S - Nathan Brendle - 6-1, 6-0 - Jack Lipchik
#2S - Abe Thorne - 2-6, 3-6 - Logan Barnes
#3S - Ike Lehman - 7-5, 6-1 - Drew Hansen
#1D - Himal King/Parth Patel - 7-6 (5), 6-3 - Austin Douglas/Casey Glick
#2D - Joel Gerig/Hans Miller - 6-2, 6-2 - Chris Cheeser/Camden Kindler

Second Round - vs. Wabash
In our second round, players went out onto the courts as their opponents were ready. Because their were only 7 courts in use in the first round, only #1 and #2 singles were ready quickly, while we waited on Wabash and Eastern first rounds #3 singles and doubles matches to finish. So Nathan and Abe got a quick start on the match.

And Abe got a quick finish. Playing junior Edward Dillard, a player who was 13-1 on the season, Abe couldn't get anything going. He tried to play with depth, and couldn't win a game. He tried to play with pace, and couldn't win a game. He tried to attack, and couldn't win a game. Dillard was great, playing with precision control.

Meanwhile, #1 singles was a great match as well. Apache senior David Driscoll had worked tirelessly during the off-season, and was a much improved player. Sporting a record of 12-2 on the year, he played out long points with Nathan and was in no mood to give away easy errors. This became especially true as the wind kicked up in the second set. While Nate had been aggressively taking points in the first, the wind seemed to make him more tentative. With Nate leading 4-1 in the second, Driscoll took 3 very consistent games to tie the score. Nate was able to hold serve, but couldn't get the break to win. Holding again, he became more aggressive, and built himself a love-40 lead in Driscoll's last service game. Two points later, the second round was tied 1-1.

And the doubles matches were just starting, but not in a way that looked good for us. It was clear that both matches would be close matches. While #1 doubles took a 3-2 lead, #2 doubles fell down 5-2 in the first set. Suddenly, #1 doubles couldn't find their volleys and they were trailing 5-4. In the course of the next 10 minutes, we found ourselves down a set at both positions.

Meanwhile, Ike got started in his #3 singles match. Looking for his second win of the day, he quickly took a 4-1 lead and looked like he would cruise to victory. That meant we needed to make a comeback at one of the doubles positions.

How about both of them? Early in second set, it looked like both teams had found their games. At #2 doubles, Joel and Hans actually began to dominate. Looking like the much better team, they began to attack the net and put away balls left and right. Adding to their good play was the frustration of the Wabash team. As the wind picked up more and more, the Apache team seemed to be more and more disrupted. Joel and Hans took all that momentum and wrapped up the second set, 6-2.

#1 doubles continued to play well in spurts, but the consistency wasn't there to take the lead in the set. While Joel and Hans entered the super tiebreak to decide their match, Himal and Parth were down 5-2.

In the tiebreak, Joel and Hans started out strong. They won the first 3 points, then took a 4-2 lead into the switch of sides. They quickly built that lead again, going up 7-3, then 8-4 at the next switch. The whole tiebreak was more of the same from the second set. They were simply the more aggressive team. They were finishing points and staying confident. With the lead at 9-4, they faltered for 2 points, but they were able to finish it with a Joel overhead. That gave our team the dramatic 2-1 lead.

Looking over at Ike's match, he had gone from 4-1 up in the first set to 4-1 up in the second set. He was easing through his match and getting little resistance. Soon we had our third point, while #1 doubles wrapped up their match. They made it interesting, as they took 2 games to pull within 5-4. Unfortunately, they couldn't pull it out. But the Bruins were 2-0 in the tourney, with wins over the best two teams in the tournament.

Soon, we learned that Taylor had defeated Eastern. That meant that no matter what happened in the last round, we would win the tournament. We had two wins already, and the best that Taylor or Wabash could do would be two wins. The first tiebreaker was head-to-head, and head-to-head, we beaten both teams. We were champions, but the only way it would be truly satisfying would be if we could pull out the last game. Then we'd feel like champions. It wouldn't be simple, we'd need to always focus...

Wabash Scores
#1S - Nathan Brendle - 6-1, 7-5 - David Driscoll
#2S - Abe Thorne - 0-6, 0-6 - Edward Dillard
#3S - Ike Lehman - 6-1, 6-1 - JD Boone
#1D - Himal King/Parth Patel - 4-6, 4-6 - Stephen Elits/Jack Stein
#2D - Joel Gerig/Hans Miller - 2-6, 6-2, (10-6) - Breyton Nealis/Kody Fuller

Third Round - vs. Eastern
While #1 and #2 doubles and Ike were finishing up their matches, Abe got started with our final match with Eastern. And it was a quick start. In the wind and growing sunshine, Abe took little time getting through his match. Before any of the final 3 Wabash matches were done, Abe got us a victory in the Eastern match.

As soon as Abe cleared off his court, Nate took his place. And in about the same small amount of time, Nate was coming off the court with his 20th win of the season. His opponent, Connor Young, tried to meet Nate's attacking style and hit several amazing shots for winners. But Young couldn't continue to win points with as much risk as was needed. Nate got an easy win, and the team was up 2-0 with only one more win needed.

After their exciting matches against Wabash, our final three positions went into the final matches very confident. The opponents that we had beaten from Wabash had defeated the Eastern players from the same positions, so we were pretty sure of victory. After all, we only needed one more position to win the match.

And Joel and Hans got up 3-0 in their first set, and it looked to be easy. Then they lost 6 straight games to lose the first set. And Ike, who had beaten Wabash 6-1, 6-1, didn't even get a game in the first set until he was down 5-0. He couldn't find the court with attacking balls and was a bit slow with his feet. His frustration level was growing as well.

And many of the team's were as well, as #1 doubles also lost their first set. To win the match we needed to get these matches to super tiebreaks, and win them.

Of course, to our credit on this day, we did. All three positions made second set comebacks and played their best tennis of the day. #1 doubles played especially well in attacking a #1 doubles team that was undefeated on the day. #2 doubles had to go to a tiebreak in the second set, but again they played their best under pressure. Ike stormed through his second set, and entered his tiebreak third set with a lot of confidence.

In fact, it was Ike who clinched the final match for us. After attacking through the second set, he went right into the tiebreak and took a 5-1 lead. Soon he was up 9-3 with 6 match points. It took him two to finish the match, but he pounded away the final overhead.

We went from cheering for Ike's tiebreak to cheering for Joel and Hans. Again, they attacked the net well under pressure and took a big lead in the final set tiebreak. In the end, they sealed their second tiebreak win of the day.

That gave us the 4-0 lead in the final match, and we went to watch Himal and Parth in their third set tiebreak. Despite playing one of their best matches of the season, Himal and Parth couldn't keep up the error free play in the final set.

But it was an awesome day for the Bruins! A trophy and lots of pictures were in store for us. Hopefully that was practice for Sectional week as well.

Eastern Scores
#1S - Nathan Brendle - 6-0, 6-1 - Connor Young
#2S - Abe Thorne - 6-1, 6-0 - Logan Colwell
#3S - Ike Lehman - 1-6, 6-1, (10-4) - Austin Chase
#1D - Himal King/Parth Patel - 3-6, 6-2, (6-10) - Joel Coffman/Josh Evenson
#2D - Joel Gerig/Hans Miller - 3-6, 7-6 (4), (10-6) - Robbie Walling/Zach Walker

#15 - Always Focus

Our team cheer is pretty simple:

Always focus. Always battle.

But like many rituals, they don't become meaningful unless you live it. Tonight, against Bremen, we didn't live the cheer. Tonight, we couldn't focus on a cold, blustery night. Tonight, we couldn't battle against the the wind. Tonight, we couldn't focus after a heartbreaker to Fairfield. Tonight, we couldn't battle against ourselves.

In many ways, this is disappointing. But only if it's the end of the story. Perhaps tonight was just about the knowledge that we must always focus and always battle, with no excuses or other copouts.

Notes & Stats
- Nathan Brendle came away with another impressive scoreline in this match. He's continued to dominate opponents, and got another "6-0" set. His focused play (at #1S nonetheless!) should be a great example and motivation for his teammates.

- Ike made a switch to #3 singles today, and Abe went up to #2 singles. The switch wasn't all that successful tonight, with neither player able to secure victory. Ike pushed it to 3 sets, but couldn't find quite the finishing shots.

- The JV won another match, giving them 5 wins in their last 6 matches. They are now at 6-8 on the season.

- Sol Brenneman continues to lead the way with JV wins, but Tristan Clark played a really great, mentally strong match tonight. After leading 5-0, he saw his opponent come back and make the match close, within one game. But Tristan fought through to the end, keeping his cool and claiming the victory.

- Wade Troyer has continued to inch his way to the top of the all-time JV wins list. He now has 26 JV wins in his career. Matt Amstutz holds the career record with 30. Unfortunately for Wade, he'll end with 26 because this was our last official JV match.

Scores
Varsity
#1S - Nathan Brendle - 6-0, 6-3 - Brad Foster (12)
#2S - Abe Thorne - 2-6, 4-6 - Jalen Bayer (12)
#3S - Ike Lehman - 2-6, 7-6 (5), 3-6 - Wes Burkholder (12)
#1D - Himal King/Parth Patel - 1-6, 2-6 - Nate Strehler (12)/Bryce DeVine (9)
#2D - Joel Gerig/Hans Miller - 1-6, 3-6 - Krent Hueni (11)/Tommy Foster (10)

JV
#1SJV - Sol Brenneman - 8-2 - Tyler LaFlash (11)
#2SJV - Tristan Clark - 8-6 - ???
#3SJV - Justin Zehr - 6-8 - Tyler LaFlash (11)
#1DJV - Wade Troyer/Landon Weldy - 8-2 - ???
#2DJV - Neel Bhagat/Ethan Lapp - 4-8 - ???

Senior Night

Senior night is always one of my favorite nights of the season. Last night, we got to honor 5 seniors who have put in great time and effort for the Bruins over the past 4 (or in Nathan's case 3) years.

Here's a little bit about each of them, and some thoughts I shared last night.

Ryan Minter
JV Record: 7-16-1
Varsity Record: 2-0

For 3 years, Ryan was a part of the tennis family as a player. Then last year, an injury ended his season early. This year, he has a different role - the student assistant coach. And I can't tell you how valuable this job has been for the team. From leading drills to feeding balls, Ryan has made us better at practice. He's had fun doing it too, as I still see him getting involved in drills and games. Some of my best tennis camp conversations over the years have been with Ryan as well, as he is a deep and critical thinker, attributes that I really enjoy. I know that he is well prepared for success in the future, and I thank him for helping us achieve success this season.

"In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant..." - Philippians 2:5-7  

Wade Troyer
JV Record: 25-25
Varsity Record: 4-4

The Tower of Power, Wade has been one of my favorite players since he started on the team 4 years ago. With his recent wins, Wade has moved up on an all-time list as well. He is currently 2nd in all-time JV wins. His attitude has always seemed to be the perfect balance of enjoying tennis and enjoying his teammates. He also gives all the effort he has, despite his self-professed lack of athletic ability and coordination. Because of his effort, his attitude, and his positive presence, he has always been a favorite of his teammates as well. How many times have we all cheered on his awesome points, yelling out Power of Tower or vice versa on his slams and putaways? He also has a quiet personality, which makes his additions to the team even more powerful when he speaks them. We've had so much fun having Wade on the team, and he'll certainly be a person we remember and miss in the upcoming years.

"This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: 'In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength...'" - Isaiah 30:15


Himal King
JV Record: 10-17
Varsity Record: 7-8


Over the past 2-3 years, Himal has consistently committed himself to improving his athletic and tennis skills. From individual lessons with me several summers ago, to group lessons, to Insanity after school, Himal has always sought to improve. I'm so happy to have him playing regularly on the varsity this season, and watching him continue to improve at that level. Himal is dedicated to his tasks, and comes to them with a positive attitude. He takes instruction seriously, and has great common sense and concern for others. He has been an excellent leader on the team this year.

"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me." - 1 Corinthians 15:10 

Ike Lehman
JV Record: 3-12
Varsity Record: 18-19

Despite his one missed season while on exchange in Paraguay, Ike has been one of the most consistent players on this team. He has been consistent in his off-season effort, working out and preparing himself. He has been consistent with his time put in at practice during the summer. He has been consistent in his ability to listen and learn. And he has been consistent on the court. You always know that Ike will play his hardest and attempt to figure out any match. He is a leader by this example of consistency, this intensity, and his enjoyment of the whole process - from practice, to being with teammates, to the court. We will miss Ike's presence on the team as we head into the off-season.

"You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them." - John 13:13-17

Nathan Brendle
JV Record: 16-2 (as a freshman at Northridge)
Varsity Record: 46-11

One thing that I always enjoy about Senior Night is reflecting on how each senior has changed. With Nathan, he has always been our most skilled player, since he joined as a sophomore. But watching how he has matured mentally over the years has been incredible. Making amazing strides in self-control, focus, and patience, he has both solidified his tennis game and put himself in a great place to succeed post-tennis. I've always enjoyed his honesty and desire to be a player who is concerned with the team. As such, I've enjoyed watching him celebrate his personal successes (like the Merrillville Tournament championship) as well as his teammates successes (like Joel and Hans win over Elkhart Central!) The other thing that has been great about Nathan is his willingness to teach. He has a gift of helping others, especially with their serves, and seeing him use that gift has been awesome. With his Fairfield win, Nathan is now the all-time leader at Bethany for varsity wins. So we will miss his incredible talent. But we will also miss the other gifts he gives to the team.

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." - John 14:27

CONGRATULATIONS SENIORS! WE LOVE EACH OF YOU!


 

#14 - What's Left to Do?

With banners flying high for Senior Night, with a good feeling from this weekend's tournaments, with the encouragement of the crowd as each senior was introduced, we entered this matchup against Fairfield with as much energy and excitement as we could muster

And yet, by the end of the match, we couldn't get the positions needed to pull out a team victory. So as we head toward Sectional next week, we are the proud holders of 3-2 losses to Goshen, Jimtown, and Fairfield... and a "3-0" win over NorthWood. It looks like it could be an awesome Sectional for us, full of close matches. So as we head towards that, let's reflect on what we have left to do this season, and what this Fairfield match told us about that.

#1 - Get our feet and strokes into the rhythm of the match.
This has been a theme of mine all year. Every year. Your match will go the way of your feet. No place was that more evident last night than Abe Thorne's match. Early in the first set, his foot movement was awful. It looked like he wasn't into the match at all. Constantly leaning back on shots he hit with very little bite on his shots. As a result, his opponent Landon Knepp was controlling every point and forcing Abe all around the court. Abe was a step slow on getting to those balls as well. But beginning in the second set, Abe took control. He moved into position, he kept his feet into the point, and by doing so, Abe was able to move Knepp and dominate the rallies. This little change in footwork dramatically changed the match. Abe got a key win for the Bruins by sweeping the final sets, 6-0, 6-1!

#2 - Allow our aggressiveness and power to build as the match goes.
When we come out of our huddle cheer, everyone is ready to go with energy. As the match starts, you have visions of your awesomeness in your heads. And so, too often we go too big early in the matches. This is especially true in our baseline play. In Nathan Brendle's match, this was the case early. With Jordan Hochstetler moving all around the baseline, Nathan tried to end points too quickly early in the match. But the other truth about the beginning of a match is that you are cold. You haven't yet developed the rhythm, and going for the big shots too early can hurt your rhythm.

With Nathan, this meant he had to play slightly longer points. He had to set up his points a bit more. Rather than powering through the first short ball with all his might, he had to pick up the rally as he went. Little by little, he worked angle upon angle. Little by little, he worked his pace up. By the end of his first set, he was in a great rhythm. By the second set, he was able to be more aggressive and finish things. We must all build as the match goes on.

#3 - Hit the ball.
We're not a team of pushers. And when we get lazy with our feet, don't get in position, and don't swing through our shots, we get defeated rather easily. Ike Lehman discovered this as he trailed in his match against Austin Christner. When he tried to push the ball deep in the court, Ike found himself making a lot of early errors and giving Christner a lot of free points. As the match wore on, Ike began to hit through the ball. He HIT the ball deep in the court, he HIT approach shots, he HIT overheads. Only being confident and swinging the way you are supposed allows for this. You may not win every point, but hitting is the only way to improve.

Sol's match was a great example of this as well. Sol pushed his way into a tiebreak, being very tentative despite opportunities to finish the match before the breaker. But in the tiebreak, he finally swung through the ball. This gave extra pop and pace that his senior opponent, Drew Cosby, had not been expecting. It also gave Sol the early lead in the tiebreak, which was difficult to overcome. This aggression in big points was awesome, especially because it paid off. Which leads to the next point...

#4 - Win the big points.
We get to deuce so often as a team. In fact, we get our Ad often as a team. But we don't win the big points because we often don't play SMAGGRESSIVELY enough in them. We often do far too much hoping we win the point and not enough of the work to win the point. I'm not pointing to anyone in particular, but we've got to find ways to finish games. This means readiness and split steps on returns and at the net. It means taking a chance on cutting off the middle as your opponent attempts to crank a big cross court ball. It means hitting out and working the backhand corner of your opponent with aggression. It means salivating over the short ball that you are going to win the point with. It means relaxing and enjoying the end of a game, having fun with every opportunity to put another point on the board!

#5 - Play with faith in the face of facts.
The truth is we're going to have to pull an upset or two if we really want to win the Team Sectional. But those facts cannot dictate our play. We must continue to battle, even when we trail a team that we think is better than us 4-1 in the second set. We must continue to have fun, even when we lose a heartbreaker of a second set to send us into a third. We will continue to believe, as Arthur Ashe once said, that even if we trail 6-0, 5-0, love-40... the match is not over. We will continue to believe, even if we seem to be completely deluded, until Carmel eliminates us from the State Finals.

Scores
Varsity
#1S - Nathan Brendle - 6-4, 6-1 - Jordan Hochstetler (12)
#2S - Ike Lehman - 2-6, 1-6 - Austin Christner (11)
#3S - Abe Thorne - 4-6, 6-0, 6-1 - Landon Knepp (12)
#1D - Himal King/Parth Patel - 3-6, 1-6 - Dillon Lockwood (12)/Taylor Yoder (12)
#2D - Wade Troyer/Hans Miller - 4-6, 1-6 - Marcus Rodes (11)/Adam Yoder (10)

JV
#1SJV - Sol Brenneman - 9-8 (4) - Drew Cosby (12)
#2SJV - Tristan Clark - 0-8 - Matt Yoder (12)
#3SJV - Justin Zehr - 6-8 - Samuel Clayton (11)
#4SJV - Jacob Rudy-Froese - 0-6 - Joseph Line (10)
#1DJV - Landon Weldy/Ethan Lapp - 4-8 - Nathan Azzarito (10)/Joseph Line (10)
#2DJV - Neel Bhagat/Jack Erlacher - 6-8 - Andrew Hoover (10)/Landyn Nunemaker (10)
#3DJV - Noah Hochstetler/Roberto Ramos - 3-6 - Connor Hochstetler (12)/Aaron Miller (9)
#4DJV - Delan Schrock/Paul Krabill - 0-6 - Nathan Azzarito (10)/Matt Yoder (12)

Area Scores

Sectional

Elkhart Memorial 3, Goshen 2
#1S - Mazin Hakim (M) def. Austin Stutzman 6-3, 6-1.
#2S - Spenser Gilbert (M) def. Adam Bratten 6-1, 6-0.
#3S - Chirag Patel (M) def. Hudson Kay 6-2, 6-1.
#1D - Sylas Buller/Sam Stegelmann def. Elliott Denton/Trevor Tavalali 6-4, 6-2.
#2D - Derick Hostetler/Zach Granger (G) def. Stephen Tefft/Jon Bailey 6-1, 6-4.

Jimtown 5, SB Washington 0
#1S - Mikey Pawlak beat Austin Cossel 2-6, 6-1, 6-3
#2S - Nick Beron beat Tanner Cornelis 0-6, 6-4, 7-6.
#3S - Washington forfeit.
#1D - Nick Floyd-Ryan DeShoe beat Chris Moreno-Frank Smith 6-0, 6-1.
#2D - Washington forfeit.

NorthWood 4, Wawasee 1
#1S - Kyler Love (W) beat Mitchel Keiser 0-6, 2-6.
#2S - Quinn Stillson (NW) beat Chase Myers 6-2, 6-1.
#3S - Abe Robinson (NW) Todd Hauser 6-0, 6-0.
#1D - Jayson Linhart-Brennan Angle (NW) beat Isaac Rigdon-Dylan Houser 6-1, 6-1.
#2D - Devyn Maugel-Caleb Yoder (NW) beat Doug Hapner-Roz Kunkle 6-1, 6-3.

On Our Schedule

Angola 5, Westview 0
#1S - Jake Stump beat Kohle Christner 6-1, 6-0
#2S - Cameron Hall beat Andrew Yoder 6-1, 6-1.
#3S - Blake Trusty beat Hunter Christner 6-1, 6-2.
#1D - Markus Arnold-Craig Nofziger beat Stephen Gierek-Asher Gingerich 6-1, 6-0.
#2D - Chris Calvelage-Matt Brownbeat Zach Schrock-Taylor Eash 6-3, 6-2.

Plymouth 3, Northridge 2
#1S - Gabe Vervynckt (P) beat. Chris Robbins 6-4, 6-2.
#2S - Josh Garfein (N) beat Matt Flynn 7-6 (5), 6-1.
#3S - John Hunter (P) beat Jed Miller 6-2, 6-2.
#1D - Andrew Gingerich-Byron Slabach (N) beat Jack Holloway-Kendall Fosler 2-6, 7-5, 6-2.
#2D - Kameron Eisenhour-Ryan Johnson (P) beat Michael Eash-Eric Beck 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (0).

Warsaw 3, Concord 2
#1S - Nick Pollock (C) beat Kyle Wettschurack 6-4, 6-3.
#2S - Evan Miller (W) beat Matt Kotva 7-5, 7-6 (7-2).
#3S - Alek Jansen (W) beat Jack Hinkle 6-1, 6-4.
#1D - T Cunningham-Trevor Warren (C) beat AJ Herendeen-Sam Rice 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (7-2).
#2D - Will Petro-Connor Singrey (W) beat Tony Fenech-Jared Searer 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Fremont 5, Prairie Heights 0
#1S - Jenkins d. Johnson 6-0, 6-0
#2S - Frye d. Bennett 6-0, 6-0
#3S - Bookwalter won by default
#1D - McClain/B. Miller d. Burnell/Elliott 6-0, 6-0
#2D - Kolberg/L. Miller won by forfeit.

Teams from Merrillville Invite

Tournament is over, so I don't want to write all the results, but...
Chesterton 5, Lowell 0
Highland 3, Michigan City 2
Hobart 3, Merrillville 2
Centerville 5, Richmond 0

Teams in the District Rankings

Local
Knox 4, North Judson 1
Culver Military 5, Glenn 0

T #01 - 2 Champs, 3rd as Team

1, 2, 3.

In our 1st tourney of the season, we had 2 champions and finished 3rd as a team!

It was really an excellent day for the varsity. Right from the beginning, it seemed that we were ready to play good tennis. A nervous time for me, our draw turned out really well for every team except #1 doubles. I always kind of dread playing the best teams in the first round, I'd rather see us get warmed up a little bit. Only #1 doubles drew one of the best in the first round, and everyone else drew opponents I thought we could do well against.

I didn't expect the scores and performances that we got however.

Nathan drew Highland, Ike drew Lowell, and Abe drew Wawasee, all teams that had losing records but we didn't know much about. As the singles and doubles were at different sites, and the singles started first, I decided to watch the beginning of these matches. I quickly realized that they were going to be okay in the first round. In the 10 minutes that I watched, Nathan was up 5-0, Ike 3-0 and Abe 3-0 as well. Feeling at ease with these matches, I headed over to the doubles.

I got there in time to see Joel and Hans open up with a great match. Playing Merrillville, they took the first set 6-0 and got up 1-0 in the second. #1 doubles, meanwhile, was struggling against the same Triton team they had faced earlier in the season. Serving relatively well, they were only down 3-2. But then some mistakes and some big plays from the Trojans closed the set at 6-2. 

As the first round matches continued, I was encouraged. Generally in a 3-match tournament like this, you're going to play well at times and you are not going to play well at times. We started out at most positions playing relatively well, winning relatively easily, but nobody had maxed out their potential in the first round. Ideally, you want to build as the day goes on, and that looked like a possibility for us on this day. 

Still, we had few close matches in the first round. So the 2nd round held more intrigue, especially at #1 singles, #2 singles and #2 doubles. From my pre-tournament scouting (which was pretty intensive) I had each of those positions playing the best at their positions in the 2nd round. Nathan would face off with Centerville's Eric Josephson, a talented baseliner that he had beaten in two very close sets in 2011. Ike would face Centerville's Jason Thompson, an all-court counterpuncher whose game reminds me of Fairfield's Austin Christner or Angola's Cameron Hall, both players Ike has struggled with. At #2 doubles, we faced a 13-1 Portage team who did something rarely seen at #2 doubles - they attacked the net.

Watching singles first, Nathan got off to a brilliant start. After splitting the first 2 games, Nate reeled off 5 straight games to win the first set 6-1! He was playing the smartest tennis that I've seen him play all year, working his groundstrokes to perfection and staying very patient. Josephson had very few losses on the season, only losing to state-ranked teams for the most part.  But Nate was just better.

Not so much for Ike. His opponent had all the right answers. Ike played a very consistent style and Thompson attacked. Ike attacked and Thompson passed him. Like a great counterpuncher, he had every answer. Ike really couldn't get close, which was too bad.

What was really too bad was that unexpectedly, Abe was having his struggle of the afternoon in this second round as well. Playing Triton's #3 Jared Fisher, who he had beaten 6-2, 6-0 during the regular season, he trailed 5-4 in the first set. Abe had been struggling in his recent matches because he was playing "#3 singles style" instead of "Abe style." After receiving my pep talk, he won 2 games in a row and looked like he was going to roll up the set. But of course it wouldn't be that simple, and a tiebreak ensued. But Abe got it rolling in the tiebreak. Two big forehands gave him the set. 

So I headed back to the doubles, only to find that #1 doubles was 2 points from winning their 2nd round match already. They had played Lowell, and apparently had played quite well. #2 doubles, as predicted, was in a dogfight of a match. Up 3-0 in the first set, they had surrendered 6 straight games to Portage. That's the problem with coaches running back and forth, you've got no one to help stem the runs. They were holding a 3-2 lead in the second when I arrived, and it looked like they were playing the better tennis. They continued to trade games until 5-4. But Portage had an answer. Like the veteran doubles team they were, they played aggressively at the end of the second set. That enabled the Portage duo to take the last three games. 

I got word that Abe was in a 3rd set, so I zoomed back over to the singles to find them all sitting under our tent eating lunch. So I joined. Abe had won the second set, so he and Nate would both be playing in the finals of their flights. Ike and #2 doubles would be playing for 3rd while #1 doubles would be playing for 4th.

 I got word that the doubles had begun again, so back over to watch Joel and Hans. They were playing against Darren Harrell and Jake Oldham, the Triton team that they had beaten 6-4, 7-6 in our September 1st match-up. Today, they were much more aggressive and assertive, playing with more authority and pop. By the time I left to head back to the singles, it looked like they had 3rd place wrapped up.

At the singles, things had started out well for both Abe and Nate. They both had 3-0 leads when I got back. Ike was in a super close match, that would continue the rest of the afternoon that way. Abe was smashing deep balls, very different from his dinking 2nd match. He was also really using his serve well.

And Nathan, well... Nathan was the talk of the tournament. He was simply dominating all day long and his final against Merrillville's Nygel Jackson was no different. I can't tell you or really describe how incredible he played. He looked as dominant as Leonard Matthews had looked last year. He took the first set 6-0, making that the 13th "6-0" set he's had this season (in 15 matches). He was unbelievable and by the end of the day, he was a champion!

But #1 doubles was struggling, so back over there I went. Down 1-5 in the first set, the advice was simple: "Play solid doubles." And so they did. And as they attacked the net, hit solid balls and kept their serves in, they won 6 straight games to take the set. So with that done, I went back to the singles site.

There I found Abe in a 3rd set tiebreak and Ike as well. Doing some quick calculating in my head, I realized that if these 2 and #1 doubles could win, we could finish in a tie for first place. So, Ike's match was close and drew my attention and before I knew it, Abe was finishing and shaking hands. We couldn't tell if he won or not, because he just sat down on the court. Asking his opponent, we found out that Abe too was a champion on the day. His beautiful deep, attacking, powerful game had won the #3 singles bracket - usually reserved for the "dinkers."

So now we needed Ike and #1 doubles to have a chance. Ike had fallen down 8-4 in his 10 point tiebreak. But 4 straight aggressive points tied it up. Then he hit a ball out to give his Highland opponent a match point. But he denied the match point with an overhead. Then Highland got another chance at 10-9 to end it. But Ike fought back for the tie. At 10-10, Ike came to the net and had an overhead to putaway in order to give himself a match point. But the overhead clipped the tape. On the next point, Highland's Jeff Michner hit a great corner ball, and Ike fell 12-10 in the super tiebreak.

He had played so hard and really seemed to deserve the win. It was hard to see him lose in that match. We also knew that we couldn't challenge for 1st, which was kind of a bummer. Back over then to #1 doubles, where we now found them down 2-5 again. They won 2 games in a row, but soon found themselves in a third set super tiebreak as well.

This tiebreak went back and forth the whole way. Finally, at 9-8, the Bruins had a match point. Unfortunately, a double fault prevented them from getting their chance. Again, back and forth they went until 12-11, where again we had the serve, but this time to deny Highland the match. But it was another double fault, and we fell to 6th place.

For as great of a day as it was, those were 2 hard matches to end the day on. As it turned out, Centerville won a consolation bracket match at #3 singles that would have denied us the tie for the win anyways.

But honestly, I was so proud of the team. They all did a great job. And the best feeling is that I think we're rounding our team into its best play as the season goes on. We've still got room to grow this year, so hopefully, we'll peak just in time for the Sectional this year.

And for now, we'll take the wonderful 3rd place that eluded us last year. Last year we had our first flight champion in Blake Shetler, and this year we got 2. Maybe next year we'll get 3 and win our first tournament championship!

Scores

#1S - Nathan Brendle - 1st place - 3-0

def. Aaron McFarland, Highland - 6-0, 6-1

def. Eric Josephson, Centerville - 6-1, 6-2

def. Nygel Jackson, Merrillville - 6-0, 6-3

#2S - Ike Lehman - 5th place - 1-2

def. Delmer Fleming, Lowell - 6-0, 6-2

lost to Jacob Thompson, Centerville - 1-6, 1-6

lost to Jeff Michner, Highland - 7-6 (6), 2-6, (10-12)

#3S - Abe Throne - 1st place - 3-0

def. Doug Hepner, Wawasee - 6-0, 6-0

def. Jared Fisher, Triton - 7-6 (5), 6-3

def. Zach Smith, Portage - 6-3, 4-6, (10-7)

#1D - Himal King/Parth Patel - 6th place - 1-2

lost to Jeff Ross/Pete Kauffman, Triton - 2-6, 1-6

def. Jayson Savich/Jared Hopkins, Lowell - 6-1, 6-1

lost to Tyler Porter/Ben Wood, Highland - 7-5, 4-6, (11-13)

#2D - Joel Gerig/Hans Miller - 3rd place - 2-1

def. Micah Burgstahler/Jacob Swierc - 6-0, 6-1

lost to Chris Klink/CJ Haupt, Portage - 3-6, 5-7

def. Darren Harrell/Jake Oldham, Triton - 6-3, 6-1

Area Scores

Sectional

On Our Schedule

KNOX INVITE
1. Wabash 49 
2. Fremont 33
3. Knox 24
4. Northwestern 21
5. Tippecanoe Valley 20
6. Hobart 16
7. Whitko 13
8. Griffith 4

Wabash Results
#1S - David Driscoll - 1st
def. Fremont - 6-0, 6-1
def. Tippecanoe Valley - 6-3, 6-1
def. Knox - 6-3, 1-6, (12-10)

#2S - Edward Dillard - 1st
def. Whitko - 6-1, 6-1
def. Northwestern - 6-1, 6-1
def. Hobart - 5-7, 6-1, (10-5)

#3S - JD Boone - 2nd
def. Hobart - 7-5, 6-0
def. Tippecanoe Valley - 7-6, 6-0
lost to Northwestern - 2-6, 7-5, (4-10)

#1D - Stephen Elits/Jack Stein - 3rd
def. Griffith - 6-1, 4-6, (10-8)
lost to Fremont - 4-6, 6-7
def. Tippecanoe Valley - default

#2D - Kody Fuller/Breyton Nealis - 1st
def. Knox - 6-3, 4-6, (10-7)
def. Northwestern - 6-3, 7-5
def. Tippecanoe Valley - 6-2, 6-2

JEFFERSONVILLE INVITE
Jeffersonville 36
Evansville Memorial 35
Northeastern 27
Mississinewa 24
Plainfield 22
New Albany 22
Greenwood 17
Eastern 0

Teams from Merrillville Invite

Finished with us in 3rd!

Teams in the District Rankings

#1 Canterbury 4, #2 Penn 1

#1 Canterbury 4, Culver Military 1

#1 Canterbury 5, Angola 0

#2 Penn 4, Angola 1

#2 Penn 4, Culver Military 1

#5 SB St. Joseph won the Apple Open in Romeo, Mich.
#6 Mississinewa was 4th in the Jeffersonville Invite
#8 Kokomo 5, Richmond 0
#8 Kokomo 5, Muncie Central 0

Local
SB Riley 4, E. Chicago Central 1

Pictures from Elkhart Central Match in Elkhart Truth

Hey guys, check out this article and the pictures taken from our match last night. Thanks to the Elkhart Truth!

http://www.etruth.com/article/20120914/SPORT01/709149936

#13 - The Beauty of a Team

2-2.

But we had the momentum.

Nathan had completed his important match, beating the a very well rounded competitor in Nick Burton in two sets. #1 doubles had fought brilliantly, getting close in the second set, but hadn't been able to prolong their best play. Ike had played a 2 hour match and only gotten through 2 sets, but was final undone by the consistent depth of sophomore Eric Burton. But Abe had rallied through some mental lulls in his match to pull out the second point for the Bruins.

And Joel and Hans... well, after trailing 4-3 in their second set, they turned the tide with double attacking tennis. While they had often been aggressive with one at the baseline, one at the net, in the second set they began to both come to the net. The smaggressive play in the pressure situation worked, forcing the Blazers to tighten up a bit and giving the Bruins some energy. At one point, Hans at the net was able to drill the volley at the Blazer net player. A smart, aggressive, and correct play. Three game wins gave us the second set, and it was onto the third.

A third set for the match.

A third set to decide the team match as well.

But Hans and Joel didn't know that, they just knew that they needed to stay aggressive. The rest of the team began gathering round to watch the final match play out. In the first game, the Blazers served really well and took a 1-0 lead. But Hans served really well in the next game, and then we aggressively returned to take the 2-1 lead. Frustration was growing for the Blazers, but the match stayed tight, 3-2 at the next changeover. We went up 4-2 after Hans next service game, but couldn't pull away and changed over again at 4-3.

It was Joel's serve. The Central coach had warned Joel about foot faults, and went over to watch the line. I reminded Joel that not foot faulting would actually help his serve. And help the serve it did. Joel had his best service game that I can remember, putting real power and authority into his serves. Hans missed a volley though, and Joel missed a baseline shot and the game went to 15-40. It looked as if a 4-4 tie was coming. And Joel missed his first serve, giving the Blazers a shot at the game on a second serve.

But Joel pounded a second serve unexpectedly into the forehand corner of the service box. Break point saved. Then another big serve caused a Central error. Back to deuce. Then two more great serves followed by return errors and we were within one game of the set, match, and team win. The team excitedly watched each following point, giving out encouragement and watching the awesomeness unfold. Hans pounded a return. Love-15 for the Bruins. Joel returned down the line and the Central volley squirted wide. Love-30 for the Bruins. A double-fault. Triple match point for the Bruins. Joel's next return tipped the tape and bounced wide. But Hans next return dropped deep in the court forcing a forehand error, and the #2 doubles had sealed a tight 3-2 win for our team.

And the beautiful thing was the whole team was there to watch. They flooded out onto the court to give Hans and Joel hugs and congratulations. Nathan ran around pumping his fists with the excitement. Everybody was smiling. It was a good night to be part of the Bruins team.

Nights like this are why I still love to coach. The wonder of a group of oh-so different guys coming together around a common goal and celebrating joyously together. We've suffered together too, whether through workouts, or close losses, or fatigue. Now, tonight we got to experience the other side of it. It reminds me of the way that church is supposed to work. Sharing the suffering, sharing the joy, being one, joined in Christ. The tennis team became a beautiful picture of that oneness tonight, and that's something we hope to remember.

Notes & Stats
- The JV won tonight 5-4. The top 5 positions all won their matches which were decently close. The JV has been improving so much throughout the course of this season. They are now 5-8 on the season but have won 4 of their last 5.

- Tonight saw Josh Weaver's coaching debut for the Bruins as well. Josh just joined the team for practice on Monday, and tonight was his first match. He got to see quite a match.

- Sol leads the JV now with 9 victories. Nathan is leading the varsity with 12.

- I'm so excited for the tournaments this weekend. Is that a note that I should include?

Scores
Varsity
#1S - Nathan Brendle - 7-6 (1), 6-1 - Nick Burton (12)
#2S - Ike Lehman - 4-6, 2-6 - Eric Burton (10)
#3S - Abe Thorne - 7-6 (5), 6-4 - Jake Mullins (12)
#1D - Himal King/Parth Patel - 2-6, 2-6 - Riley Futterknecht (12)/Alex Moon (12)
#2D - Joel Gerig/Hans Miller - 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 - Mikey Namisnak (12)/Will Riblet (10)

JV
#1SJV - Sol Brenneman - 6-4 - Curtis Hill (9)
#2SJV - Tristan Clark - 6-4 - Alex Boyer (9)
#3SJV - Neel Bhagat - 6-4 - Christian Lankford (9)
#4SJV - Jack Erlacher - 0-6 - Curtis Hill (9)
#5SJV - Paul Krabill - 0-6 - Christian Lankford (9)
#1DJV - Wade Troyer/Landon Weldy - 6-2 - Matt Morrison (12)/Scott Hanberg (10)
#2DJV - Justin Zehr/Ethan Lapp - 6-0 - Riley Norris (9)/Josh Santos (9)
#3DJV - Roberto Ramos/Noah Hochstetler - 1-6 - Matt Morrison (12)/Scott Hanberg (10)
#4DJV - Jacob Rudy-Froese/Delan Schrock - 2-6 - Riley Norris (9)/Josh Santos (9)

Area Scores

Sectional

Fairfield 5, Westview 0
#1S - Jordan Hochstetler beat Kohle Christner 6-2, 7-5
#2S - Austin Christner beat Andrew Yoder 6-1, 6-2
#3S - Landon Knepp beat Hunter Christner 6-4, 6-2
#1D - Dillon Lockwood-Taylor Yoder beat Stephen Gierek-Asher Gingerich 6-0, 6-0
#2D - Marcus Rodes-Adam Yoder beat Taylor Eash-Zach Schrock 6-0, 6-1

Plymouth 4, Goshen 1
#1S - Gabe Vervynckt (P) beat Austin Stutzman, 6-0, 6-0
#2S - Adam Bratten (G) beat Tom Felke, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
#3S - John Hunter (P) beat Hudson Kay, 6-0, 6-2.
#1D - Matt Flynn-Jack Holloway (P) beat Sylas Buller-Sam Stegelmann, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
#2D - Kameron Eisehour-Kendall Fosler (P) beat Derick Hostetler-Zach Granger, 7-5, 6-2.

Jimtown 5, West Noble 0
#1S - Austin Ward beat Tyler Rothhaar 3-6, 6-4, 7-6
#2S - Jake Ward beat Quinn Groff, 6-0, 6-4
#3S - Dan Gongwer beat Josh Gaff, 6-3, 6-2.
#1D - Brett Aller-Cole Peterson beat Grant Moser-Ryan Kendall, 6-1, 6-0
#2D - Augie Farwig-Michael Hobbs beat Jacob Musselman-Jared Swank, 6-2, 6-2.

Warsaw 5, NorthWood 0
#1S - Kyle Wettschurack beat Mitchell Keiser, 6-1, 6-2
#2S - Evan Miller beat Quinn Stillson, 6-0, 6-2
#3S - Alek Jansen beat Abe Robinson, 6-0, 6-2.
#1D - AJ Herendeen-Sam Rice beat Brennan Angle-Jayson Linhart, 6-2, 6-4
#2D - Will Petro-Connor Singrey beat Devyn Maugel-Caleb Yoder, 6-1, 6-3.

On Our Schedule

Concord 3, Northridge 2
#1S - Nick Pollock (C) beat Chris Robbins, 6-1, 7-6 (2)
#2S -  Matt Kotva (C) beat Josh Garfein, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
#3S - Jack Hinkle (C) beat Jed Miller, 0-6, 6-3, 6-3.
#1D - Andrew Gingerich-Byron Slabach (NJ) beat T Cunningham-Trevor Warren, 7-5, 6-4
#2D - Eric Beck-Michael Eash (N) beat Tony Fenech-Jared Searer, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.

Fremont 4, Lakeland 1
#1S - Tyler Jenkins (F) beat Bret Balka 6-0, 6-3
#2S - Brandon Miller (F) beat Dalton Schmidt 6-1, 6-2
#3S - Logan Miller (F) beat Austin Buonocore 6-2, 6-0
#1D - Glen McClain-Tanner Frye (F) beat Blake Balka-Robbie Arend 6-2, 6-3
#2D - Sam Miller-Ian Sonner (L) beat Mason Kolberg-Keith Bookwalter 7-6, 2-6, 6-2.

Adams Central 3, Blackhawk Christian 2
#1S - Barger (AC) d. Jak. Fiedler 6-0, 6-0
#2S - Hoover (BC) d. Weil 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-4
#3S - Ramsey (BC) d. Ripley 6-2, 7-6 (1)
#1D - Luginbill/Lengerich (AC) d. Bailey/Brandenberger 6-1, 6-1
#2D - Harris/Kaehr (AC) d. Jar. Fiedler/Smith 6-3, 6-1

Carroll 5, Columbia City 0
#1S - Marano d. Hinen 6-0, 6-2
#2S - Garrison d. Rongos 6-2, 6-2
#3S - Legere d. Fearnow 6-4, 6-2
#1D - Chase/Daman d. Benedict/Paul 6-1, 6-1
#2D - Quade/Fernando d. Coverstone/Woll 6-1, 6-2

Angola 5, Churubusco 0
#1S - Stump d. Lu. Lillmars 6-0, 6-0
#2S - Hall d. Luttman 6-0, 6-0
#3S - Trusty d. La. Lillmars 6-1, 6-0
#1D - Arnold/N/A d. Wormcastle/Pearson 6-1, 6-1
#2D - Brown/Calvelage d. Heaton/Brown 6-1, 6-2

Teams from Merrillville Invite

Elkhart Memorial 5, Wawasee 0
#1S - Mazin Hakim def. Kyler Love 6-2, 6-0
#2S - Spenser Gilbert def. Dylan Houser 6-0, 6-0
#3S - Chirag Patel def. Roz Kunkle 6-1, 6-0.
#1D - Elliott Denton/Trevor Tavallali def. Isaac Rigdon/Chase Myers 6-3, 7-5.
#2D - Stephen Tefft/Jon Bailey def. Doug Hapner/Todd Hauser 6-1, 6-2.

Highland 5, Kankakee Valley 0
#1S - Aaron McFarland (H) d. Anthony Zoppetti 6-0, 6-1
#2S - Jeff Michner (H) d. Briar Smith 6-0, 6-2
#3S -  Nick Polster (H) d. Adam Sayers 6-4, 6-0.
#1D - Tyler Porter-Ben Wood (H) d. Kyle Banazak-Cameron Fritts 6-1, 6-0
#2D - Luke Turoci-Andy Campos (H) d. Matt Dancho-Ben Cole 6-1, 6-1.

Michigan City 3, Merrillville 2
#1S - Nygel Jackson (M) d. Tyler Richards 6-0, 6-0
#2S - Sam Dinka (M) d. Zack Biggs 6-3, 6-1
#3S - Mohammad Hakim (MC) d. Mike Spicknall 6-2, 7-5.
#1D - Josh Palmer-Will Harber (MC) d. Alex Swierc-Ronnie Mayersky 6-2, 6-2
#2D - Nick Sebert-Ryan Lewis (MC) d. Robert Taylor-Micah Burgstahler 6-0, 6-0.

Portage 5, Chesterton 0
#1S - Jeff McElfresh (P) d. Mike Clemens 6-3, 6-4
#2S - John Fannin (P) d. Trey Moffett 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-4
#3S -  Zach Smith (P) d. Zac Nabben 6-4, 6-3.
#1D - Tyler Soberg-Patrick Derr (P) d. Ryan Seaut-Christian O'Brian 6-0, 6-3
#2D - Chris Klenk-C.J. Haupt (P) d. Brent Sargent-Remy Hoang 7-5, 6-0.

Centerville 5, Union City 0
#1S -  Eric Josephson (CEN) def. Hunter Hartman 6-1, 6-0
#2S - Jacob Thompson (CEN) def. Trey Hannebaum 6-0, 6-0
#3S - Adam Spencer (CEN) def. Brandon Scott 6-0, 6-0.
#1D - Chandler Howell/Brady Wagenknecht (CEN) def. Austin Fuller/Adam Ripberger 6-1, 6-3
#2D - Mickey Barnes/Alex Hill (CEN) def. Devin Pinney/Dillon Miller 6-0, 6-0.

Teams in the District Rankings

#2 Penn 4, #5 SB St. Joseph 1
#3 Carroll 5, Columbia City 0
#7 Homestead 3, Bluffton 2

Local
SB Adams 5, Mishawaka 0
Marian 4, SB Riley 1
Laporte 4, Lake Central 1

Area Scores

Sectional

Triton 3, Jimtown 2
#1S - Jeff Ross (T) beat Austin Ward, 6-1, 6-2
#2S - Dean Howdeshell (T) beat Jake Ward, 6-2, 6-2
#3S - Dan Gongwer (J) beat Jared Fisher 6-2, 6-2.
#1D - Pete Kauffman-Lucas Shafer (T) beat Cole Peterson-Brett Aller, 6-4, 7-5
#2D - Michael Hobbs-Augie Farwig (J) beat Darren Harrell-Austin Sellers, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.

On Our Schedule

Bremen 5, Mishawaka 0
#1S - Brad Foster beat Matt Dickson, 6-0, 6-0
#2S - Jalen Bayer beat Adam Baker, 6-0, 6-0
#3S - Wes Burkholder beat Chris Nicodemus, 6-0, 6-0.
#1D - Joe Zeltwanger-Nate Strehler beat Pierce Frick-Brandon Hailsley, 6-0, 6-1
#2D - Tommy Foster-Krent Hueni beat Eric Eggerbrecht-Dennis Feitz, 6-0, 6-0.

Wabash 4, Peru 1
#1S - David Driscoll (9-2) def. Joe Comerford, 6-0, 7-6
#2S - Edward Dillard (10-1) def. Logan Primerano, 6-3, 6-4
#3S - Austin Finacle def. JD Boone (4-2), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
#1D - Stephen Eilts (6-5)/Jack Stein (4-2) def. Jack Zvers/Kreaghton Ray, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0
2 Doubles Kody Fuller (9-2)/Breyton Nealis (8-0) def. Brandon Bales/Zach Hill, 6-1, 6-2

West Noble 5, Howe 0
#1S - Rothhaar d. Phillips 6-0, 6-0
#2S - Swank d. Payne 6-0, 6-0
#3S - Gaff d. Samora 6-0, 6-0
#1D - Kendall/Groff d. Hayes/Davis 6-1, 6-1
#2D - Musselman/Moser d. Baker/Harrison 6-1, 6-0

Teams from Merrillville Invite

Centerville 5, Tri-High 0
#1S - Eric Josephson (CEN) def. Jarrett Proctor 6-1, 6-0
#2S - Jacob Thompson (CEN) def. Jason Marshall 6-1, 6-0
#3S - Adam Spencer (CEN) def. Lane Rust 6-0, 6-0.
#1D - Brady Wagenknecht/Chandler Howell (CEN) def. Bryce Hoffman/Riley Casteel 6-0, 6-0
#2D - Mickey Barnes and Alex Hill (CEN) def. Tim Rigney & Corbin Pew 6-0, 6-1.

Teams in the District Rankings

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Local
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Elkhart Central Preview

Details: Thursday, September 13, 4:30 at Elkhart Central High School

Last Season Review: Last season the Blazers beat us 4-1, as we got our lone win from Nathan Brendle despite being very close at #2 doubles.

3 Interesting Facts:
#1 - Last year's Central team had 11 juniors. I know that some of them are not playing this year, but it will be interesting to see how many seniors they have.
#2 -We added Elkhart Central to our schedule last year, which means currently the only Elkhart County school that we do not play is Elkhart Memorial.
#3 - Nick Burton, Central's #1, had a very good match with Nathan last year and looks to have a good one again in this match.

Elkhart Central Details: The Blazers are 7-8 on the season, coming off a 4-1 loss to Jimtown and then a 5-0 win against Mishawaka. We certainly have some positions against them where we should have good success. They are strongest at #1 singles, which happens to be our position of strength as well.

Bethany Christian Details: We are now 8-4, with the win against Blackhawk under our belts. We've continued to play good tennis and meet the challenges posed to us. Those are going to pick up in the coming weeks, and I'm confident that we'll start that off with a good performance against the Blazers.

Projected Elkhart Central Lineup:
Individual Records in Parenthesis
#1S - Nick Burton (10-4)
#2S - Eric Burton (9-5)
#3S - Jake Mullins (3-10)
#1D - Riley Futterknecht/Alex Moon (8-6)
#2D - Mikey Namisank/Will Riblet (7-7)

Outlook: These should be close matches throughout the lineup. These are the types of matches that really excite me, teams that look very much like us. One way or another, this is going to be a very memorable match. I can't wait to see the excitement and energy we bring to a match that I hope can become a county rivalry for us. Let's go!!!

#12 - Old and New

In a match against new opponents, we battled some old challenges tonight. In a long drive to a new match, we topped off the night with a victorious return to an old favorite restaurant. And though we took some new directions to get the victory, we continued our "old" winning ways, running our winning streak to 6 matches.

In an attempt to actually play our allotted 22 matches this season, we scheduled the Blackhawk Christian Braves as they were one of the few teams around who had an opening on their schedule and were willing to play another match. By this time in the season, most teams are focused on their conference races and upcoming tournaments. So we made the hour and a half drive down to Kreager Park in Fort Wayne.

After a quick warmup, some old patterns held true. For the 8th straight match in a row, Nathan Brendle won a 6-0 set. This is absolutely incredible, for those of you who don't follow a lot of tennis. And while their have been weaker opponents in this stretch, it also includes traditional rivals like Fremont, Jimtown, Triton, and NorthWood. Nathan is having an outstanding season. I love to see him play relaxed and so, so well.

In new news, our lover of the close match, Ike Lehman, seemed to decide that he'd take the short route in this one. He got up 5-0, confidently attacking the match. With too much of a lead for his liking, he became tentative and stopped attacking, allowing Hoover to find his stroke and tighten up the match at 5-4. After a long game to take the first set, Ike loosened up and hit out and finished off the match rather quickly.

In #1 doubles, the old team would have trouble facing the serve of our opponents and then get nervous on our own serve. In this match, we confidently held our own serve while seeking to find ways to get that break of our opponents. In the first set, Parth and Himal couldn't find the break. But they performed well under pressure, taking a close tiebreak on a double fault by the Braves. Growing in confidence with the set under their belt, the Bruin team took 2 breaks of serve in the second set, attacking returns and poaching at the net on them. The second set breezed by faster and another win was added to their victory column.

While #1 doubles grew in aggression as the match proceeded, #2 doubles did a bit of the opposite. In the first set, they cruised to a 6-1 win, rarely losing points on serve and actually doing a lot of watching the Braves make mistakes. In the second set, the Braves stopped making mistakes and we weren't sure how to finish off the points. But we were enough better than the other, younger team to win the close second set.

And then their was Abe's match, which hearkened back to his very first match playing #3 singles, when he went into a third set tiebreak with Concord. Tonight, Abe went the distance again, all the way to a third set tiebreak as his teammates anxiously awaited our departure to the Magic Wand. His opponent tonight, Chase Ramsey, was a brilliant combination of a pusher and a passer. Ramsey literally pushed the ball like a volley on every groundstroke until Abe took the net, then he would switch tactics and fire a passing shot low over the net. All night, Abe had to wait patiently for the right approach shot, then make a good finishing shot. Ramsey had great anticipation and speed, which made the whole adventure much more difficult.

The third set went back and forth and when Abe took a 4-3 lead, I thought he'd finish off the match. Then it got tied, then Abe went up 5-4 and I thought it was over, but no. Then a 6-5 lead, but no finish. In the end, Abe actually dominated the tiebreak. He had the right shots at the right times. And that is an excellent new pattern for this varsity. We seem to be coming through with the right shots in the right times.

The JV finally got an easy win tonight. Some of the matches were close, but for the most part, we took care of business. Sol is playing excellent as of late and pushing for a varsity spot in reality. He cleaned up his 8th JV win of the season, and will be moving up very high on the JV all-time win list if he keeps up his pace. Tristan Clark has gotten so much better the last few weeks, especially as he concentrates on his footwork. Really, the more our team is doing that the more we look like we're ready to play varsity next year. I was also really proud of the way that Justin finished off a close match, a match where he trailed 5-4 before reeling off the last 4 games with, again, aggressive tennis.

We ended this night with the Magic Wand. Nothing like a Magic Burger with the creepy clowns to make a team happy. Good job Bruins!

Scores
Varsity
#1S - Nathan Brendle - 6-0, 6-1 - Jake Fiedler (11)
#2S - Ike Lehman - 6-4, 6-1 - Jeremy Hoover (10)
#3S - Abe Thorne - 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4) - Chase Ramsey (11)
#1D - Himal King/Parth Patel - 7-6 (5), 6-2 - Ben Bailey (10)/Conler Brandenberger (11)
#2D - Joel Gerig/Hans Miller - 6-1, 7-5 - Jared Fiedler (9)/Triston Mills (10)

JV
#1SJV - Sol Brenneman - 8-0 - Nick Berry (11)
#2SJV - Tristan Clark - 8-2 - Ryan Overbeck (9)
#3SJV - Justin Zehr - 8-5 - Adam Smith (9)
#1DJV - Wade Troyer/Landon Weldy - 8-2 - Adam Smith (9)/Ross Norton (9)
#2DJV - Neel Bhagat/Ethan Lapp - 8-4 - Bailey Brouwer (9)/Joseph Angelo (9)

Area Scores

Sectional

Fairfield 5, West Noble 0

#1S - Jordan Hochstetler d. Tyler Rothaar, 6-0, 6-4

#2S - Austin Christner d. Quinn Groff, 6-0, 6-0

#3S - Landon Knepp d. Josh Gaff, 6-3, 6-0. 

#1D - Taylor Yoder-Dillon Lockwood d. Ryan Kendall-Grant Moser, 6-2, 6-0

#2D - Adam Yoder-Marcus Rodes d. Jacob Musselman-Jared Swank, 6-1, 6-0. 

Concord 4, Goshen 1
#1S - Nick Pollock (C) def. Austin Stutzman 6-0, 6-0.
#2S - Matt Kotva (C) def. Adam Bratten 6-2, 6-0.
#3S - Hudson Kay (G) def. Jack Hinkle 6-4, 7-6 (7-1).
#1D - T Cunningham/Trevor Warren (C) def. Sylas Buller/Sam Stegelmann 6-1, 1-6, 7-5.
#2D - Tony Fenech/Jared Searer (C) def. Derick Hostetler/Zach Ganger 6-2, 6-3.

Northridge 4, NorthWood 1
#1S - Chris Robbins (NR) d. Mitchell Keiser, 6-0, 6-1
#2S - Josh Garfein (NR) d. Quinn Stillson, 6-0, 6-0
#3S - Abe Robinson (NW) d. Jed Miller, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(10)
#1D - Byron Slabach-Andrew Gingerich (NR) d. Brennan Angle-Jayson Linhart, 6-4, 6-0
#2D - Eric Beck-Clay Schnell (NR) d. Devyn Maugel-Caleb Yoder, 6-2, 7-6 (9).

On Our Schedule

Elkhart Central 5, Mishawaka 0
#1S - Nick Burton def. Jon Dickinson 6-1, 6-1
#2S - Eric Burton def. Andrew Furlow 6-0, 6-0
#3S - Jake Mullins def. Michael Furlow 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (10-8).
#1D - Riley Futterknecht/Alex Moon def. Andy Dong/Jarrett Demonia 6-3, 6-0
#2D - Matt Morrison/Mikey Namisnak def. Tyler Staples/Nathan Vaughn 6-2, 6-1.

Wabash 5, Manchester 0
#1S - David Driscoll (8-2) def. Connor Eichenauer, 6-2, 6-1
#2S - Edward Dillard (9-1) def. Max Karg, 6-4, 6-0
#3S - JD Boone (4-1) def. Brayton Spann, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
#1D - Stephen Eilts (5-5)/Jack Stein (3-2) def. Riley Woods/Dalton Day, 6-3, 6-2
#2D - Kody Fuller (8-2)/Breyton Nealis (7-0) def. Noah Cain/Morgan Metzger, 6-3, 6-2

East Noble 4, Columbia City 1
#1S - Hinen (CC) d. Stallman 6-7 (7), 6-0, 6-2
#2S - Hart (EN) d. Rongos 6-0, 6-4
#3S - Manns (EN) d. Benedict 6-2, 6-3
#1D - Dills/Biggins (EN) d. Fearnow/Coverstone 6-1, 6-1
#2D - Kramer/Toles (EN) d. Woll/Paul 6-2, 6-2

Fremont 5, Churubusco 0
#1S - McClain d. Luttman 6-0, 6-2
#2S - Miller d. Lillmars 6-1, 6-1
#3S - Fremont by default
#1D - Miller/Frye d. Pearson/Wormcastle 6-2, 6-0
#2D - Kolberg/Bookwalter d. Heaton/Brown 6-3, 6-3.

Glenn 5, Laville 0
#1S - Joe Jaworski d. Brandon Haisley, 6-0, 6-0
#2S -  Ben Weiss d. Pierce Frick, 6-2, 6-2
#3S - Andrew Sheffer d. Chris Nicodemus, 6-1, 6-0.
#1D - Evan Rhodes-Calvin Kretchmer d. Adam Baker-Matt Dickson, 6-0, 6-0
#2D - Hunter Jaworski-Drew McDonald d. Eric Eggerbecht-Dennis Feitz, 6-0, 6-0.

Westview 5, Prairie Heights 0
#1S - Kohle Christner d. Tyler Johnson, 6-0, 6-0
#2S - Andrew Yoder d. Justin Clark, 6-1, 6-1
#3S - Hunter Christner d. Nick Bennett, 6-0, 6-2.
#1D - Stephen Gierek-Asher Gingerich d. Nick Dornell-Braxton Elliott, 6-3, 6-1
#2D - Westview wins No. 2 by forfeit.

Triton 5, New Prairie 0
#1S - Jeff Ross d. Kyle Lowman, 6-1, 6-0
#2S - Dean Howdeshell d. Chase Keller, 6-4, 6-0
#3S - Jared Fisher d. Ben Jones, 6-3, 6-2.
#1D - Pete Kauffman-Lucas Shafer d. Kris Marciniak-Ian McSherry, 6-2, 6-2
#2D - Darren Harrell-Jake Oldham d. Alex Suppinger-Grant Goethals, 6-3, 6-2. 

Teams from Merrillville Invite

Warsaw 5, Wawasee 0
#1S - Kyle Wettschurack d. Kyler Love, 6-2, 6-4
#2S - Evan Miller d. Todd Houser, 6-0, 6-0
#3S - Alek Jansen d. Chase Myers, 6-1, 6-0.
#1D - A.J. Herendeen-Sam Rice d. Isaac Rigdon-Dylan Hauser, 6-1, 6-0
#2D - Will Petro-Connor Singrey d. Doug Hapner-Roz Kunkle.

Highland 4, Lowell 1
#1S - Aaron McFarland (H) d. Ben Roesel 6-1, 6-3
#2S - Delmer Fleming (L) d. Jeff Michner 6-4, 6-2
#3S - Nick Polster (H) d. Zeb Johnson 6-2, 6-3.
#1D - Tyler Porter-Ben Ward (H) d. Jayson Savich-David Delgado 6-4, 6-3
#2D - Luke Turoci-Andy Campos (H) d. Jared-Hopkins-Tyler Damm 6-3, 6-0.

Portage 4, Merrillville 1
#1S - Jeff McElfresh (P) d. Nygel Jackson 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
#2S - John Fannin (P) d. Sam Dinka 6-2, 6-0
#3S - Zach Smith (P) d. Michael Spicknall 6-1, 6-0.
#1D - Alex Swierc-Ronnie Mayersky (M) d. Tyler Soberg-Patrick Denn 6-4, 6-4
#2D - Chris Klenk-C.J. Haupt (P) d. Robert Taylor-Jacob Swierc 6-0, 6-0.

Teams in the District Rankings

#2 Penn 5, SB Washington 0
#3 FW Carroll 5, #7 Homestead 0
#4 Marion 4, Madison-Grant 1
#5 SB St. Joseph 5, Mishawaka Marian 0

Local
North Judson 5, Kankakee Valley 0

SB Riley 3, SB Adams 2

LaPorte 4, Michigan City 1

Plymouth 4, Elkhart Memorial 1