Monday, February 28, 2011

Tough loss at Linfield

Dear Whitman Faithful,

Now in my third year at Whitman, we have squared off against Linfield 7 times, and while this match ended up with the widest margin of victory for either team, I think we're again neck and neck with each other in the NWC, but we were edged out by a good team yesterday.
Alyssa Serving vs. LCSC

With no less intensity, but a different feel than any of the previous times we've played, each team came out all business and all 3 doubles were close from the first ball.  After going up 5-4 at #2, they ran off a great stretch of play to take the early lead despite Emily and Kate staying at a high level.  Down early at #1 in a rematch of the Fall ITA final, Elise and Alyssa stepped up their tennis to pull ahead.  Meanwhile, down 7-6 at #3, a key point in the match where we had to break to stay in it brought out the best in Hannah and Lizzy; as they took command with a great blend of offense and defense, Hannah went back for a ball at 15-30 and rolled her ankle.  Lizzy got the next one back and we won the point, but after a medical timeout to assess and tape her sprain, Hannah was super tough and not only continued but put away an overhead to secure the break.  Linfield quickly broke back and held for the 9-7 win as Elise and Alyssa secured a point with some great doubles winning 8-6 against a very good team at #1.

Elise has been playing terrific tennis, but at #1 Abby Olbrich came out very steady and strong in the first set.  Twitch dug in in set 2 and was serving at 4-4 when Abby got a break and hold to take the match.  About half way though that, Alyssa was already off at #2 blanking Linfield's new transfer 0 and 0.  What was really impressive was that ShoPo displayed tremendous consistent focus and a tactical maturity that has me really excited about her game.

3,4,5  were all huge battles with Linfield edging us in each one.  Emily just couldn't quite get the upper hand at #3 but fought into a tie break which her opponent really stepped up in.  The second set was also incredibly close and well played by both players to the final ball.  Em is also finding that plays which used to come and go are now consistently a part of her arsenal.  Kate came out firing going up a set and 4-1.  To her credit she didn't let up, though I think she'll learn from the comeback that was waged against her as she lost in a hard fought third set.  #5 was an interesting match with Lizzy winning the first and then falling in three.   At #6 Hadley Scherer took the ball against an experienced Sarah Watanabe.  The first set went quickly as Hadley looked to find her way into the match, which she did much better in the second using her improved serve and great focus to push the Linfield senior who eventually won 6-0, 6-2.  Maggie scored us an impressive exhibition winning one set 6-3 over junior Kiana Nip.  Maggie was very composed as she used her placement really well and controlled many of the backcourt rallies.

It was a tough loss, but this team is so positive and has so many bright spots that it truly was an enjoyable battle.  It was great to travel and continue to enjoy being around each other and it was wonderful to have Arlene Roberg and the Leah's family supporting us.  Thanks so much for your help and support and for the great brunch Kris and Mike! 

We look forward to our next matches which come this weekend as we host UPS at 4pm on Friday and defending NWC champ Whitworth at 1pm on Saturday.  This is our family and alumni weekend which I have some events planned, so please send me an email if you plan on being here as we'd love to spend some time with you.

Cheers,
John
(509) 301-8502

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Whitman on the road at Lewis and Clark

Hi all,

Today we played the first of two weekend matches in Western Oregon, notching a 7-2 win over the host Pioneers of Lewis and Clark.  Seeing Whitney DeBree of the Pios made us miss her sister Hadley who graduated from Whitman last Spring all the more.  It's a good thing next weekend is Alumni/Family weekend as Had will be coming to see us in Walla Walla.

Both teams played well and it was a great match with contributions from everyone.  It is also amazing to be in Portland getting to know Leah's family.  Thanks for the wonderful support and an amazing pre-match brunch. 

We're at it again tomorrow with a match at Linfield at 10am.

Best,
Coach Hein

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Welcome to the Northwest Conference Lizzy Schiller...Whitman tops Willamette 5-4

We've just wrapped up an amazing weekend of tennis here at Whitman which included a wonderful match against LCSC (read here) and about the most exciting start to the conference season we could have had (read here), you can always also check scores on www.itatennis.com under "Awards and Rankings" and click on recent results and look for Whitman team results or DIII women.

I can't possibly go through the details of the weekend without writing a book, so I'll say thanks to the LCSC Warriors, for being just that, true warriors who battled and fought as we played 4 doubles and 10 singles matches, giving all of our players a chance to play.  We saw great tennis and great effort from all.

Then, today vs. Willamette we pulled out a 5-4 victory in the most exciting way.  Up 2-1 after doubles (and winning a gritty 8-6 proset at #4, Emily set the tone with a terrific first set win, Elise followed and was able to win in straight sets to put us up 3-1.  Unfortunately after a tooth and nail battle in the first, Kate fell in 2 sets to a talented Willamette freshman.  So, at 3-2, Alyssa fell in two tough sets and Emily played some inspired tennis but lost 6-4 in the third.  The match was up to our depth and at 6 singles, Hannah was a boss.  She played like a senior never getting rattled and cruising in two sets.  Lizzy had a terrific first set then some adjustments by her opponent and a momentum shift had her in a third set.

A third set for a match tied 4-4 is thrilling as everyone watches and cheer for their team after almost every point.  Sometimes it is about fitness or heart or tennis, but today all three came into play as both players saved their best for last and after an early change of breaks, held into a tiebreak at 6-6.

In her first NWC match, Lizzy banged out some of her best points and had the crowd roaring going up 4-0, then cruising to a 7-2 win to win the match for Whitman.  It was a great individual effort and a wonderful team display.

Then, the team stayed after this marathon to treat local kids to free tennis and prizes for our campus kids day.  Thanks to all the kids, Whitman Students, family members and Walla Wallan's who watched and supported us, it was wonderful both days.  Special thanks to my twitter helper for keeping those who couldn't be here updated.

-Coach Hein

Monday, February 14, 2011

Campus Kids Day this Sunday Feb 20th!

Hi everyone,
If you're local I hope you can come watch some great tennis this weekend as our first home matches are

Sat at 1pm vs Lewis-Clark State College (ID), the #16 ranked NAIA team in the nation.
Sun at 9am vs Willamette, kick off our NWC season with our first USTA/ITA Campus Kids Day with free food, fun activities, and lots of great tennis to watch and play, click here  to see the pdf file with more information.

Go Whitman!

Monday, February 7, 2011

How to get into medical school...by Divneet Kaur

Step 1:  Decide to become a Doctor
Step 2:  Attend Whitman and show up to first tennis practice with no racket
Step 3:  Major in Religion
Step 4:  Choose a medical school and continually shake your fist and yell at it to let you in from the team bus as it goes by.
Div Driving a Backhand at Conference
Step 5:  Win over 100 matches, including several wearing bright colored plastic sunglasses (she swore they were the best to keep the sun out, so we went with it).
Step 6:  Get accepted to your top choice Med school.

easy...right?

Congratulations Dr. Div!  We're so proud and excited that you'll be attending OHSU in Portland next year.  I'm sure I missed some steps that involved a lot of studying, rocking the MCATs, working post grad for Americorps in the Health field in Oregon, and some other important stuff, but I think those were the key steps, especially #4 which you were relentless at.