Turkey Time

It has become a wonderful tradition to meet each year the week before thanksgiving to have a potluck with the guys team.  It's amazing what the players bring as many professors have exams and papers due before we take a week off for the holiday next week.  So, Jeff and I provide some of the main dishes, everyone else pitches in and we all enjoy a relaxed meal as a break from all the studying.

Jeff took photos which he has kindly shared and are linked on our team flick page - click here to view.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week next week; especially Maggie, Hadley and Hannah who are studying abroad.  We miss you but we're excited to hear about your experiences!

John

Fall ITA Rankings. Missionaries on top.

Hello everyone,

I can hardly believe its November!  The Fall season was so much fun and so productive, but it absolutely flew by here in Walla Walla.  Now, the team has settled into the rhythms of mid semester academics, lovely warm fall days broken up by cold spells that tell us winter is on its way and their independent off season training.  This final item makes me initially grumpy because it is just so much fun to be a part of what they are doing every day, but as each week goes by I feel more and more pride in the growing ability as a team to maintain balance between the amazing and dedicated athletes and the engaged students each one of them is.

That being said, everyone needs a fun break...you'll have to ask the team or maybe you've seen their facebook photos of Halloween Costume doubles with the guys.

But wait, this post was about fall rankings.  It is that polling time of year and before yesterday's elections (actually I'm a week tardy on this), the ITA released its Fall rankings.

Our fall season, like most in DIII, did not have any dual matches.  Because a team ranked a couple spots behind us beat two teams ahead of us, we dropped one spot to #29 nationally, but that is a ranking we'll put on the line and work to improve during our Spring dual matches.

Individually, we have had many strong falls, but this one takes the cake and continues to showcase how our team just gets better and better.

First, you can't say enough about what it takes to sweep singles and doubles in the Fall USTA/ITA Regional, and by doing so, Courtney is #3 in the West for singles and she and Alyssa after finishing 4th at Fall nationals have earned the first #1 regional ranking for our team in my time here as coach.

Not far behind is Morgan, who with her regional finals appearances in singles and doubles can be a fan of the number 6 as she is #6 in the West region singles and with Jenna is #6 in doubles - two top 10 doubles teams! go Whitman!

And what about that doubles partner of hers?  Jenna's strong first year fall campaign led her to a quarterfinal showdown with Courtney, where she won more games than anyone that weekend against her teammate and it put her in the West's top 25 at #22.

Certainly, these rankings are early and usually change as we get more results in spring (for example, Alyssa was unable to compete in singles due to a nasty illness and her previous ranking was #3 so you expect a few players around the region to earn a spot somewhere in the next rankings).

However, this is such a strong affirmation of how hard Jenna, Morgan, Courtney and Alyssa all worked this summer and fall and while there is only so much room in the rankings, I believe it also is indicative of what the rest of the team has done this fall.  KKP, Liv, Erin, Maddy, Rubes, Katrina all stepped up and played so well in the the tournament and their level each day in practice and their support during matches helped make these rankings possible.  I also can't say enough about the leadership and coaching talent Emily is showing.  She keeps us on track and pushing forward always with a smile.  What a team!

With tremendous pride,

John

Next blog:  Community involvement

2013 Whitman Tennis Schedule

Hi all,

On the blog, I've posted a pdf of our 2013 schedule.  We're so excited to have so many great matches at home and our February in Walla Walla will be a hot one even if it's cold and we play indoors under our new lights in Bratton.  First off, we host a great DIII weekend Feb 7th-10th that we're calling the Whitman Winter Classic, where nationally ranked UC Santa Cruz will be joined by NWC contenders Linfield and Willamette for matches on our courts.

The following weekend we host greatly improved Lewis and Clark and DI University of Idaho.  This weekend is one I'm looking at for our Family/Alumni weekend so don't hesitate to ask about that as I continue planning.

March is our road month with no home matches as we travel to Spokane, Tacoma and Portland before heading south to California for Spring Break.  It's a split trip starting with Central Region power Washington University (St. Louis), then the two top ranked Texas teams in Southern Cal followed by matches against West contenders UCSC and Redlands in Santa Cruz, CA.

After some much earned time off, we'll get right back to work in April on our home courts with two NWC weekends and we'll finish with the NWC Tournament at the top seed where we'll look to defend our title and earn another May trip to the NCAA tournament.

If you are coming to Whitman for matches, please let me know as we're excited to see our families, alums, friends and supporters.  If you are planning on watching on the road and want to help organize fans or get involved in team meals and fun, again, please don't hesitate to contact me.

I hope you're all enjoying your fall,

Coach John

Another step forward for Whitman Tennis

If you've been reading the posts the past few days, you know that our fall season has been terrific.  As a team we not only enjoyed wonderful weeks of practice, but also our most successful fall regional ever.  This culminated in Alyssa and Courtney heading to Mobile, AL for the USTA/ITA small college national championships.  After a close play in loss in singles, our top doubles team won their first two matches to earn a spot in the national semifinal, which as far as I know ties the furthest a Whitman women's doubles teams has been in a national championship and that was in 1988 when Lynn Greer and Steph Turner finished 3rd at NCAA's!

Alyssa and Courtney in Mobile - 4th in the Nation!

An action shot from Regionals 

Describing the matches brings both pride and some frustration as we were so close in the semi losing 4-6,6-4,10-8.  In this match, as well as we played, Alyssa and Courtney keep setting a higher and higher standard for their doubles and it was tough to fall short even though the effort was tremendous.   After two days of holding serve regularly, building points and finishing them extremely well; the team from Washington and Lee did a great job on returns and keeping the points on their terms.  On the other hand, our duo competed as they always do and did a terrific job themselves of returning and being aggressive to put pressure on the Generals.  While this match easily could have gone either way, and we'll learn a lot from it of how to take the next step for our top doubles duo.  As frustrating as this loss was, Alyssa and Courtney represented our team, Whitman, the Northwest Conference and the West region with stellar play, 100% effort and outstanding sportsmanship.

The second match of the day had even better tennis, but the 4th seeded team from Williams was totally on their game after falling 10-8 in a match tie break to the eventual champions from Emory.  Williams played as a team really well and just executed shots better than us today. So even in losing, the tennis was really great to watch.

Back home in Walla Walla, I couldn't feel better about the wonderful character, work ethic, talent and leadership we have on this team.  We took a big step forward claiming 4th at a national tournament last week, and the drive is there for us to continue moving in the right direction as we pursue our team goals in Spring.  Congratulations to Alyssa and Courtney on leading the way, and thanks so much to our men's team and their parents for cheering in our matches and to Jeff for taking some photos as well as letting us play some disc golf with them!.  Also, this trip was helped by amazing Whitman alum Deborah Hazelgrove and her family who hosted us in Seattle so we could take a cheaper flight.

That's all for the fall, but I'm sure I'll be reaching out again soon as Whitman is always so active and our players are doing great things off the court as well as on.


Best wishes to all!
John

Courtney and Alyssa at the Banquet

Whitman pair moves into National Semifinals

Hello all,

Today at the USTA/ITA small college national championships in Mobile, Alabama; Courtney and Alyssa entered the quarterfinals as the #2 seed and came through with a strong performance and a great win to move on the the semis!

A good account of the match is provided on the Whitman webpage, but really I can't say enough how solid this duo is getting.  They continue to use their natural chemistry and individual skills well, but today as we did yesterday there were just no holes in their game.  They each started points well serving and returning - and this was no small task as Mikayla Becich of Carleton has a cannon for a serve both she and partner Bridget Doyle have great returns.  Once points were started, the ability to defend from anywhere on the court while taking the initiative at the net was outstanding.  From day one of college tennis, Courtney has been one of the best players I've seen in D3 tennis at transitioning on the court and using variety at the net, but she has shown improved power and today displayed it with several strong finishes.  Alyssa, never lacking in the power department, is routinely picking up half volleys off her shoes and making great first volleys to set up the final shots.  This consistent ability of both players to play any role on the court made them formidable today and gives us great confidence heading into what will undoubtedly be a tough battle with a Washington and Lee team in tomorrows 1pm (CST) semifinal matchup.

If we win, we play the final alongside our men's team at 5pm, if not, then we'll play for third at 4pm.  So get ready for a busy day of tennis and check our twitter @coachhein for updates during the matches!

Thanks for those of you who have kept in touch via email/text/facebook etc. and also to our men's team and families for helping us warmup, tweet, cheering us on! Thanks Boys!

-John

Moving on in Mobile

Today was play in day for the Northwest  and Southwest regional winners.  Not showing any nerves, Courtney came out solid going up 3-0, then 4-1 in her singles match against a senior transfer from University of Mary Hardin Baylor.  Courtney was using the court really well and countering her opponents big hard groundstrokes with a beautiful all court game.  After several really long well played deuce games, it was tied at 4-4 and her opponent stepped up to pull out the first.  Always very responsive to adversity, Courtney gave it her all in the second jumping out 3-0 again.  Then, with a fall where she was unable to perform her normal practice and fitness routines, the grinding of the long points took its toll and a very good opponent seized the opportunity.  This would have been a very easy match to go away in as she was not feeling well and her opponent was heating up, but every point she fought hard and played so well.  This was two great players going at it and aside from the score going the wrong way, I feel so good about Courtney's play, her tennis and her place as one of the top singles players in our region and all of D3.

Undaunted by a short turnaround between singles and doubles and buoyed by the energy of Alyssa, Courtney came back to play brilliant doubles.  She was so solid on serve and was a force at the net.  Wait, so was Alyssa as she served great and finished strong.  It was truly a team effort in beating a really good team from Trinity.  One of the best things about this match was the subtle adjustments that they made as a team.  They've had terrific chemistry from day one as a doubles team and now they are really putting things together and maintaining terrific energy and confidence while executing quality doubles.

As soon as we finished, we had time to find a puppy to play with while we watched James and Andrew win their play in match on the men's side (also vs Trinity).  I guess we were too much in sync with the guys as Colton lost his singles play in in what looked like a really close and well played match.

We play tomorrow at 3pm Central (1pm PST) vs Doyle and Bechich from Carleton College.

Preview of Fall Nationals

Well tennis fans, tomorrow will be an exciting and interesting day.  Whitman is no stranger to the play in match at the small college nationals in Mobile, AL.

Now 4 of the past 5 seasons, we've had either the singles or doubles winner from our ITA regional competing here and Alyssa and Courtney had a solid tournament last year so feel really comfortable and excited.  Plus, with our October 4- day break, we were able to fly yesterday with our men's team (James and Andrew play doubles and Colton plays singles) without missing extra classes.  In fact, it has been great to see our players balance the preparation for the national tournament, the fun of being together in the South while getting schoolwork done for the days we'll miss the rest of the week.

I'll do my best to tweet results @coachhein as we start this special tournament. Courtney plays singles at 10 am Central and then doubles will follow.  GO WHITMAN!

-John

Double WoW! Maddy and Jenna come through at Fall Tournament

Because the Fall USTA/ITA Regional championships are such an incredible event that the team puts a lot of effort into preparing for and competing in, we'll use the tournament to link up our final two weeks of team play for the fall.

We love our families and the atmosphere of tennis by Ankeny field

Please check out the pdf of Jenna and Maddy who were co-Whitties of the week.  The whole team really came through to prepare well, compete hard and have lots of fun supporting each other on our home courts. Jenna and Maddy did stand out according to their teammates and so they received our Whittie of the Week at a team dinner last Friday.

Post doubles final handshake

I must also mention that the team openly acknowledged the outstanding performances of both Morgan and Courtney.  First, in getting to the point of playing each other in singles AND doubles! and then in having good matches where they both left it all on the court.  Congrats to the Lawless twins.

Emily and John assessing the matches

Maddy comes through with some encouragement from Jenna

And last but absolutely far from least, I must say that I did not allow the team to vote for Emily, though her coaching debut could not have gone better.  She was a calming and focusing influence to so many players, all while running the Bratton tournament desk.  Awesome job Em.

Thanks to Greg Lehman and Sandy Seaman for photos, I have a ton of awesome ones to post and on my to do list is get them up on flickr soon!

Cheers,
John

Want to look like a Whit Women's Tennis Player?

Each Fall I'm usually spending so much time on court that I don't get around to things like ordering uniforms, so we always get at least one item that the team can all have, usually a long sleeve shirt.  This year, we came up with the design below and the team and fans loved it, so I'm offering to order more for anyone who would like one.

The cost to you will be $30 which covers the shirt, printing, shipping to you and leaves about 2 bucks profit for the team -always feel free to contribute more if you like - but this is not a fundraiser, people just really like these shirts.

They are navy in color, dri fit, and come in women's or mens sizes. The women's cut is slimmer.  Along with the front, the shirts have in yellow our lady missionary logo and a DH for Dave Holden's memory on the sleeve.

To order, please email me at heinj@whitman.edu or give me a call.  Please order by October 3rd and they *might* be ready by Family Weekend on campus Oct 19th.

These are the shirts....and a happy team modeling them

These light blue shirts show the lady missionary that is on the back in yellow of the long sleeves

Hard Work Leads to Big Fun

In looking to recap this year's fall USTA/ITA regional tournament I'll try not to repeat too much of what you can find on the Whitman webpage about results or overall feelings for the tournament.  I will share with you some of  my thoughts on this fabulous weekend of tennis.  Many athletes have said something similar but I remember years ago Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Farve being asked about the pressure of a super bowl.  He said that the game was just fun, you've prepared so much, you know you've done everything you can and so finally getting the opportunity to do it is more enjoyable than stressful.

This is how I felt this weekend.  As players and coaches, we're always looking at each performance to figure out what went well and what could have been better.  Well, the credit of being prepared this year was the perfect combination of individual accountability and coming together to push each other together.  It is very hard to simulate the rigors of playing two singles and two doubles matches each day and the way we handled it mentally and physically was very impressive.

A huge thing I always look for is how are our first year players going to perform?  Well, the answers provided by Katrina, Kate and Jenna were outstanding.  Katrina stepped up Friday night to qualify and we know she has all the shots but I watched her drop a close first set, make a tactical change, get comfortable and win in 3 sets - what composure!  Then after battling the 4 seed in the first round, she had more success in consolation and eventually lost to a good player from Whitworth.  Kate, who won a high school state singles championship but never spent the whole year traveling to every USTA tournament was someone we knew had the talent and mental strength to win matches, but how would she fare in college tennis?  Well, two day one wins over players who played #1 singles for PLU and George Fox last year gave us a quick answer.  Happy, but not yet satisfied, she gave the #4 seed, a very accomplished junior player at the national level a run in the second set losing 6-0,6-3.  Kate turned some heads with her play, but is definitely excited to learn from every match and gain confidence in her strengths and keep improving other areas. especially doubles.  Jenna, with the best junior background and a seed next to her name showed great composure.  She did draw a very tough first round player who ended up winning one of the consolation flights and after losing the first game there was a slight feeling among people watching that, "maybe this kid from Whitman isn't as good as they'd hoped".  12 games later, walking off the court with her first college win 6-1,6-0, that thought was gone.  After cruising in the second round, Jenna was excited to face fellow first year seed Claudia Lew. Claudia is a well rounded player who is great from the baseline and they battled throughout the first set, but behind her big serve and smart groundstroke patterns, Jenna came out on top 7-5 and rolled 6-1 in the second set for one of the biggest upsets of the tournament.

Shortly after Jenna's match on the same court, with the same teams playing, Whittie sophomore and #5 seed Morgan took on the #4 seed Aurora Garrison who had already taken down Katrina and Kate.  Whether she was defending her teammates, her home courts or just playing the only way she knows how at 100% effort, Morgan displayed all of the growth in her game from last year with the super hard work she did in Texas this summer and pulled out an 8-6 first set tie break, then got down a break 2-5, got it back and put the pressure on to win 7-6(6), 7-5 in maybe the best match of the tournament.  The early round draws were not as kind to sophomores Erin and Maddy.  Maddy drew the #3 seed, Caroline Brigham from Linfield and had a lot of close games but the consistency of Caroline was just too much.  Erin's match I wasn't able to watch but both she and Emily said her play was really solid losing a 6-4 first set to a #9 seed from PLU.  The second set got away, but Erin's game is getting more and more solid and she's enjoying her tennis which makes it more fun for her and helps her results.  Both Erin and Maddy played solid in the consolation, each winning matches and falling to crafty senior Izzy Borris from LC.  I could tell you a long story about how amazing Courtney is as a player, and that is apparent as she won the singles title only dropping 8 games in 6 matches, but it is her attitude of always getting better, displaying the highest level of sportsmanship, and helping the team and enjoying the fact that she gets to play a game she loves with people she cares about that are reflective of the entire team, but that she certainly does as well as anyone.  I'll just say that I'm very proud of all our sophomores as leaders, as players and mostly as people.

Our junior class was represented by Liv, as HP, Mags and Had are studying abroad (and sending well wishes!).  Liv did get a win in the singles consolation but her results don't tell the story of how she's improved her composure, tactics and mental game.  Always possessing big shots, we want her to keep those and keep learning how to use them in different situations and I am very excited about what I saw from her this weekend as she battled an elbow injury and some tough opponents but stayed tough mentally.

SENIORS!!!! This story could be one of woe as Alyssa was so strong physically last year in sweeping the singles and doubles titles and while her fitness is just as good or better, she has battled a series of respiratory infections this fall that have kept her off the practice court more than she'd like.  Unfortunately, she had to pull out of singles to avoid running too much and leaving a lung on the court, but she was able to join with Courtney in doubles where they held their #1 seeding and took the title over Jenna and Morgan.  The doubles final was not just a dream for me because we were set to win either way, but the tennis from these four at the end of a brutally long weekend of tennis was the caliber that I'll take into a dual match with any team in the country.  There were very few unforced errors, or free points, and both teams finished their chances consistently.  The difference seemed to be that Alyssa and Courtney had a little more on their aggressive shots and were able to put them away, which is tough because both teams defend so well.  Jenna and Morgan had terrific chemistry, competed wonderfully but also will learn to expand their game as Courtney and Alyssa have worked so hard to do over the past year.

Jenna, Morgan, Alyssa and Courtney feeling great after a terrific all Whitman doubles final

And speaking of doubles titles, KKP and Maddy found themselves in a tough first round against Willamette's #1 team, so moving to the back draw, they gained momentum and confidence each match and beat some very solid teams to take the doubles consolation. In the final, when it was 4-5, they broke serve to tie and Linfield came right back at them forcing their service game to some insanely high number of deuces, but with the home crowd behind them, great communication and positive energy, they stayed aggressive, won the game and carried the next two for an 8-5 win and the title.  For a team who only practiced a couple of days together, this was a terrific performance and a great sign for Kate of where her doubles is at.

I also can't say enough how much fun it is to host.  I was concerned that being at home in an individual tournament and playing some huge matches against each other that we could keep the great team feel that we always have during dual matches.  As with the tennis, our communication in team meetings and the work ethic in practices and team bonding times paid off in what was a terribly fun weekend.  People were able to study and go to class Monday when they needed to, but you could always hear support from teammates, friends and the many family members and alums who made the trip and watched us play.

Thanks to alums Dena Wessel and Katie Collier for being here, and to the Lawless, Dobrin, Rubinstein, Kunkel and Patterson families as well as Liz Bates, Annie Webster and Arlene Roberg.  Your help, support and enthusiasm for everything we do is invaluable.  Thank you all along with our tournament volunteers Jen, Tom, Victoria, Chirs, Ann Beery for court use at the Country Club and our awesome training staff.  Whitman Alum Conor Holton Burke stepped up to write some web articles over the weekend which were terrific and while nothing can replace our friend Dave Holden, Conor and Jim Buchan from the Union Bulletin did a great job.

Now, we look forward to some rest, a productive fall off-season and a trip to the USTA/ITA Fall Nationals in Mobile, AL for Courtney in singles and Courtney and Alyssa in doubles!!!!  Colton Malesovas, James Rivers and Andrew LaCava from our men's team will join us there as they swept their regional as well, congrats guys!

Best wishes from Walla Wallla,
Coach

Qualifying...a new concept for the Northwest Women

Fall Regional Tournament Day 1:
We have always capped the draws at 64 singles and 32 doubles but as the conference continues to improve and get deeper, more teams have good players to play.  Tonight at the outdoor courts we saw that as Olivia and Katrina played qualifying matches to get into the main draw of the tournament.

Both played well, but also showed some nerves; Katrina came back from a tightly contested 5-7 first set to settle down, play smarter and win 5-7, 6-3,6-3.  Liv stayed steady but after losing a close first set she let off the gas slightly as her opponent got better and better, the last few games Liv started to find her rythym, but it was too late as she lost 6-4,6-3.  Liv will play consolation tomorrow afternoon, while Katrina has a 10am showdown with the #4 seed and all the tools to score an upset!

It was a beautiful evening, with great energy from the fans and awesome tennis on court.  What a preview for what is coming tomorrow!

Tournament Draws and Whittie times

Our tournament draw links that will be updated are

Singles

Singles Consolation

Doubles

Doubles Consolation

We also have Katrina and Olivia playing matches TODAY at 5:30 pm to get into the main draw of singles!!!

Saturday singles starts are:
8am: Morgan indoors, KKP outside
9am: Kate R indoors
10am: Katrina indoors, Maddy outside
11am: Erin indoors, Jenna outside
12pm: Liv indoors
1pm: Alyssa indoors, Courtney outside

Doubles start around 5pm for the first rounds and we have all 5 teams with
Alyssa and Courtney seeded #1
Morgan and Jenna block seeded #5-8
also in action are:  Maddy and KKP, Erin and Katrina (team Cal Club, go SF!), and Liv and Kate R

We'll have Saturday consolation matches in the afternoon/evening at the Walla Walla Country Club (thanks Ann and the CC!)

-John

Jumping into the Fall USTA/ITA Regional at Whitman

Ok, this is a cheesy title to the blog post, but last Friday Erin emailed the team that morning that it was "Fun Friday" and on HP's birthday we took some photos to send to her.  Still, the hard work, excitement and true fun this group has with each other is unreal.

Ok, it is tournament week.  What does that mean for a college student?  Well, not just do the normal go to class, go to practice, go to the gym, go to the library, go eat, go hang out with friends....wow, these young women really do an unreal job managing their time; but who wouldn't want their job to be engaging in learning in the classroom and on the court and doing it with friends in this beautiful place.  Still, this week is our only competition this fall so everyone is pumped and knows it will be busy so on top of all those usual things, people are getting ahead on schoolwork to enjoy the tournament on campus this weekend.

Here are links to the draws that I'll update through the weekend.  We're really excited not just to play but also to see many friends and family as we host this event.

Singles Qualifying:
 https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1747255/2012%20Fall%20USTA%20ITA/2012%20NW%20Womens%20Fall%20USTA%20ITA%20Singles%20Qualifying.pdf

Singles Main:

 https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1747255/2012%20Fall%20USTA%20ITA/2012%20NW%20Womens%20Fall%20USTA%20ITA%20Singles%20Draw.pdf

Doubles Qualifying: 

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1747255/2012%20Fall%20USTA%20ITA/2012%20NW%20Womens%20Fall%20USTA%20ITA%20Doubles%20Qualifying.pdf

Doubles Main:

 https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1747255/2012%20Fall%20USTA%20ITA/2012%20NW%20Womens%20Fall%20USTA%20ITA%20Doubles%20Draw.pdf

More to come...
Coach John

PS  I haven't written it up yet, but KKP was our Whittie of the Week last week.  It is the most fun for me to see her growth as a leader and communicator over the past four years, but it was a first year teammate who nominated her for her "awesome, positive attitude and bright smile on and off the court everyday! Her energy and enthusiasm pumps up the team!"  Congrats Kate! Great contributions.

First Fall Whittie of the Week

Each week we're in season, the team nominates and votes for the player who contributed most to the team that week.  Last week was our first week of fall practice and while I was super excited about the effort and level of tennis we're at on the whole, what I'm really proud of is how people are leading while letting others lead.  It's VERY early on, but there is something extraordinary about this group.  You could feel it building last year, and this year the raw exuberance and abundance of leadership talent is coming together each day.

Here are some highlights from the week:

• On her birthday, Liv finishes practice going through the entire team in a game of Wolverine.
• Perhaps the player on the roster with the least doubles experience gets the most points on the whole team as we did bump and switch doubles tie breaks with different partners each time...hello and welcome to college tennis Kate Rubinstein.
• The team supports our buddy team watching men's soccer, goes for a 3 mile run in the wheat fields, then has an outstanding doubles practice.

And, with an amazing attitude on court that lifted everyone and proactive and positive leadership daily, not to mention a well-tuned game after a summer at the Cal Club in SF, Erin is our Whittie of the Week!

Read more about Erin here.

Thanks to those of you who bought raffle tickets to support our team, the W Club golf tournament is this weekend and Whitman Hall of Fame Alum Lynn Greer McKelvey will be in town as a member of the W Club board, hopefully the team gets to spend some time with her.

Next week is the countdown to the Fall USTA/ITA Regional at Whitman, lots of updates and facebook posts to come then!

John

Berries, Birthdays and playing Ball

So......I wanted to do a post every Monday, but wow its already Tuesday night!

It's pretty hard to describe how great this time of year is: excitement is everywhere on campus - from the classroom to the courts everyone is enjoying being back together.  In what has become one of the teams favorite start of the year traditions we joined the men's team and went out to Hutch's place - the home and horse ranch on the Walla Walla River of Biology prof Delbert Hutchison- for team blackberry picking.  Coach Jeff stepped up once again providing an awesome dutch oven pot pie, we had a great fire, and lots of blackberries for cobbler.  Jeff took some photos you can find on his blog (or this link).

What a fun start to the year, and it was the twins birthday!  Then, Monday was our first practice (which is like Christmas for me to be on court with everyone).  It was a great one as we celebrated Liv's birthday and had a great focused, efficient and fun session of singles play.  Liv even finished off the day going through everyone on the team in a game we like to call Wolverine (hint - it's HARD).   The depth we have each year is better and better both from hard work put in by our returners and a great recruiting class.

Today many of us watched our buddy team, men's soccer battle to a 1-1 tie before running out to the wheat fields and playing some doubles under the lights.

Speaking of lights, the new ones in Bratton are just about ready to go, so even with wonderful sunshine, we know our awesome indoor center is now brightly lit with wonderful new fixtures!

Men's coach Jeff Northam and I check out the new lights 

I also must tell you about something I should have long ago, but in preparing for hosting our own fall tournament, I neglected to post about the W Club's annual golf fundraiser.  If you can't make it out to play golf to support Whitman Athletics on Friday September 14th at the Walla Walla Country Club, you can still buy $10 raffle tickets with great prizes including a couple of Walla Walla weekends with lodging and golf or wine tasting!  Plus, every one of your ticket dollars goes straight to the women's tennis budget if you get them from me.  Let me know if you want tickets or are interested in playing.

I hope everyone had a great Labor day weekend and is enjoying life half as much as we are.

Coach John

First Fall Posting - Welcome Back Whitties

Hello all,

Now that school is back (classes start tomorrow, first practice on Monday!!!), I think I'll try to do a Monday blog post to wrap up the week before.

Just because last week was not a practice or competition week did not mean campus and the courts weren't buzzing.  To start, our new light fixtures arrived and are being set up in Bratton.  Some generous donations led to the relighting project and we look forward to our already amazing indoor center being even better with brighter lights!

More importantly, it was move in week and while first years were welcomed while returning students came back to move into new living spaces or settle back into old ones.  It has been wonderful to reconnect with people after the summer and hear about their adventures on and off the court.  For our new players, there is tremendous excitement from them to begin their Whitman experience and for us to welcome this class.  As a class, they absolutely represent everything we're building in our program here.  Along with outstanding tennis and academics it is the excitement to work as a team, create something special together and improve each of their own games that makes me confident we will be an even better team this year. So, without further ado I'll briefly introduce our first year class:

Jenna Dobrin (Rio Mesa HS, Camarillo, CA) is the top ranked junior player in the class this year. With a SoCal 18's ranking of 68 and tennisrecruiting.net has her ranked nationally at #228 in her class and she was just named to the Prince Hot 100 list for July, these two things show that she is one of the highest ranked 2 star recruits in the country and her game is really taking off as she enters college.  Her assets to team tennis come on the court with a 80-10 singles record (they play sets in socal) and a 94-12 doubles record leading her team at Rio Mesa HS to 4 straight league championships and some great runs at the ultra competitive CIF tournament.  She is enthusiastic, caring of her team and community and is already fitting right in at Whitman.

Another California kid, Katrina Allick (University HS, San Francisco, CA) is someone who is just discovering what her tennis can be.  In recruiting her, she comes from the same coach and high performance training center as teammate Erin Minuth.  The way that Steve Jackson runs the Cal Club is a total team atmosphere and Katrina has impressed her coaches there with her increased dedication to the game over the past two seasons.  She made such an impression on my college coach during her time at his summer tennis camps that he says, "she hits a BIG ball and her ceiling is REALLY high".  With Katrina, we get great strokes, an amazing attitude and a player who has incredible potential to both play at a high level now and really grow.

Finally, we have a northwesterner, Kate Rubinstein (Catlin Gabel, Portland, OR).  I saw Kate play at PNW sectionals last year and while she lost to a very good player who is now playing D1, the tools and competitive spirit she showed caught my attention.  In following her tennis during her senior year, she worked hard with her coaches at the Leong Tennis Academy to develop these tools and learn the best ways to compete consistently with them.  Along with being a competitive champs level USTA player, Kate was integral to her high school teams success, guiding her team to to top 5 state finishes each year finishing in the top 3 of singles each year with a state singles championship!

The shared traits of this group are their enthusiasm and potential to improve.  Each will be a great asset to our team dynamic as they all have their own approach to the game and I am so thrilled to have the opportunity to coach and mentor each of them.  These are all young women with huge hearts and tremendous character, I hope you enjoy following them in their college tennis.

They also have terrific families who are very supportive of them.  It was a pleasure to see them all in Walla Walla for move in and it sounds like many families will be here the third week of September when we host the Fall USTA/ITA Regional Championships!

May the Force be with you all,

John

Upcoming posts
-First practice and first Whittie of the Week
-Fall Berry Picking with the Men's team
-Whitman Tennis Century Club
-Fall USTA/ITA Regionals at Whitman

Transitions

For some of the team, the transition from school and tennis to school happened after the conference tournament as the NCAA travel size for NCAA team regionals is 8 and we were lucky enough to have W Club support to take a 9th player to California.  Most still practiced, but not every day so our team unity and trust of each other on individual schedules was tested and let me tell you, we were ready at regionals AND everyone was focused on finals and enjoyed the last few weeks of school, I can't stress enough how important the trust we built through the year was after conference.

For others, the team loss at Regionals signaled the end of the tennis season (and for some the school year was done as well as they'd finished finals).  We said goodbye to HP in California and upon return to Walla Walla, each day more players finished exams and either enjoyed camp Whitman or left for summer break.  Emily and Morgan did a great job helping Alyssa and Courtney prepare for individual nationals and everyone on campus enjoyed seeing Seth, Lizzy, Charlotte, Emily and Zoe graduate.

Then, for Morgan and I along with Alyssa and Courtney, the trip to North Carolina was an exciting first for this era of Whitman tennis.  I'm incredibly proud to report that these two represented the team, Whitman, our conference, and the West region amazingly well at nationals.  Last year, only one of 8 west singles players made it out of the first round and two doubles teams won a match.  This year, as a region, we had two singles semifinalists - one who Alyssa has beaten and the other she's gone to a first set tiebreak with- so we know we're right there to not only compete, but win championships going forward.  Still, in this draw of 32 singles and 16 doubles, there are no easy matches and while both players played great in competitive singles, earning respect from coaches, players and fans across the nation, it was our doubles that was even more impressive.

Coin toss vs Emory

After a very "not our first nationals" type of performance to move to the quarterfinals (note - the West had 3 of 4 doubles teams move to the quarters and one to the semis), we ran into an ultra talented and athletic team from Emory University.  This Eagles duo played terrific doubles, attacking the net, changing formations and being very aggressive with both their offense and defense.  Still, Court and Shopo played brilliantly, showcasing their teamwork, great returns and outstanding net play.  Down 0-5 in the first, we had several deuce games and the combination of big serving (lots of well placed - heavy first serves to set up volleys) and incredibly athletic overheads and defensive volleys by Emory had us down a set.  Still, confident from how we were playing, we got up 0-40 in their first service game of the second set, only to see more big serves and a couple chances slip away to go down 0-1.  Fighting back to 2-2, the rest of the second set looked a lot like the middle of the first set with both teams playing great doubles but EU somehow getting the close games and stretching their lead until they finished off the match 6-2,6-2.  This is a team that I thought would win the tournament if they could play like this, and they did make the finals and got up a set on another great team from Amherst, but a combo of great Amherst play and fatigue from Emory who had one player play an incredible amount of physical tennis in hot humid weather to win the singles championship left Amherst with the title.

Warming up vs Emory

Still, knowing that right now, we're right there among the best doubles teams in the country but also identifying ways we can improve has me feeling so great about this season as well as eagerly looking forward already to next season when Whitman tennis will continue to grown and improve.  Morgan, Alyssa and Courtney will bring back both confidence from seeing how close we are and motivation about how we need to improve that will help the entire team this fall.

I must also say that while Alyssa's mom had to cancel her trip (we missed you Arlene and will work to get to Kalamazoo next year!), thank you so much to Andrew and Jeff from our men's team for cheering on our doubles to the last ball, you guys are the best.  And also to Mark and Sandy for you support, for sending Morgan out to share this experience, for all the photos Sandy took, for great dinners (yes, steak for the Texans), and also introducing another family member to the excitement of Whitman tennis in the twins uncle Johnny.  What great families and fans we are blessed to have!


So, as I transition to summer, I will keep in touch as there is still more news to share from this season as well as some of our off season projects to grow Whitman Tennis through alumni connections, facility improvement, fundraising, recruiting, and planning for next season.  As the players love to say after a big service break or awesome shot....LET'S GO!

First day of nationals

Well, its actually day 2 now but in enjoying the atmosphere and great tennis yesterday, getting to the computer was not a priority.  Things are so so much better than when I was in school and across the country you would wait for a phone call from the hotel (no cell phones or live online scoring) to see how the day 

went.  Now, I absolutely understand anyone out there wanting to follow live and be part of the action so Morgan has been tweeting scores diligently.  But I apologize last night for my phone battery dying at 2-1 in the second set tie break!  It took a while to get to the car, charge it and send the final update that we were moving on to today.  To follow today's doubles match at 3:30pm EST you can check the Meredith college site for draws and scores at  

http://www.goavengingangels.com/information/NCAAChampionships/2012Tennis  and the NCAA has live streaming for some courts, which we may or may not be on to watch online live at ncaa.com under tennis, women and DIII.

So, how did we make it through to today?  Our first round doubles match was a great win over a Wash U (St. Louis) team that has come on in late season play beating one of the top teams nationally at Carnegie Mellon in a dual match.  They were really tough at closing the net hard and playing good doubles but also made some mistakes in the first set.  Alyssa and Courtney's solid play and movement allowed them to stay ahead the whole set and they finished it off really strongly 7-5.  They looked to take that momentum in the second set and got up 4-1 playing with intensity, joy and teamwork (and a lot of heart in pulling out a game with I don't know how many deuces).  Still, serving 4-1, looking strong, give a ton of credit to Wash U for stepping up their game and fighting out a break and getting one of their best holds.  Then it was an absolute battle with us up 5-4, then they won two games to make us hold to get to a breaker.  And it was a brilliant hold.  I can't remember exactly, but I know Alyssa made a huge move at the net and I'm pretty sure Courtney finished it with a touch volley winner and it was all Whitman through the tiebreak taking it 7-1.  Our opponent today is the #2 seeded team from Emory, a very good team who has big shots and plays well together...we are FIRED UP.

Singles was a mixed bag.  It's really hard not to just be so happy to be here among the top 32 players in the country and side by side in their first sets, these two Whitties just battled playing really high level tennis.  Alyssa was probably more on her game but playing an intense competitor from Williams who had just finished her senior year at the #1 spot with 4 team national championships to her credit.  Down a break, Shopo got it back and pushed it deep in the set, finally losing 7-5.  At the same time, Courtney was playing smart tennis and executing pretty well to go up 4-3, then while her level remained steady, her opponent from Middlebury (one of the top teams and rising) really stepped up her execution on big points and hit some great winners and neutralized Courtney's offense well to take the first set and carry the momentum to a straight set win. Alyssa got down a quick 3-0 as her opponent came off of the set break fired up, then it was back and forth to 6-2.  So, we made a great showing of ourselves and feel great about the level of tennis, but we're also learning what it will take to keep moving our tennis individually and as a team to the next level.

I can't stop writing...this is so much fun to be here and play so well. It's almost time to warmup and soak in the heat and humidity.  Here we go....

Time changes at Nationals

Hi all,

It's great to be out in Cary, NC for DIII individual NCAA nationals.  The draws are not posted that I can see, they get made here on site and came out yesterday.  Today has been a practice day, we've soaked in the team finals and gotten ourselves prepared.  The NCAA also does a really nice banquet for the players to honor them on making it this far.  Tomorrow, its chaired matches, national caliber opponents on every court and single elimination fun.

Matches were pushed back an hour because rain today lengthened the team matches.  The men start singles at 9am with Whittie Andrew LaCava taking the courts, then at 11am Alyssa and Courtney will be side by side playing singles against Williams' Kristin Alotta and Middlebury's Leah Kepping respectively.  Round 2 is at 2:30pm and they play doubles against Kate Klein and Corinne Rauck from Wash U in St Louis at 5pm.  We're super excited to get this thing going!  We'll have tweets coming with scores and the NCAA website has live scoring and they do have 3 courts being streamed live, but our first rounds are not on those courts.

Competing at the NCAA tournament

Wow, there is so much on my mind from regionals last weekend and the upcoming singles and doubles nationals.  I could write so much, but I'll leave the match recaps (which hopefully you were able to follow via twitter or the host website) to our wonderful SID Dave Holden.

On our first trip to the NCAA's as a team, we faced my alma mater and great friend in Coach Erin Ness in the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs, pulling out a 5-3 win after going down 1-2 after dubs.
Whitman defeats UCSC 5-3 - click here for story and scores
*this match is a preview of a home and home series with the Slugs in 2013.  In February UCSC travels to Walla Walla for the DIII Winter Classic at Whitman and in March we'll go down to Santa Cruz on Spring Break to compete in the DIII Megabowl (an up and coming invitational that will no doubt be THE tournament to play each year).

In the regional semifinal, we faced off with #1 in the West and #9 nationally CMS.  Going down 0-3 in some great doubles matches proved to be too much as the Athenas triumphed 5-0.  Courtney was a couple points from putting us on the board, Morgan was rolling in her third set and Emily was up a set and on serve looking good so the match was really closer than the score indicates.
Whitman falls to CMS in regional semi 5-0 -click here for story and scores

What I'd like to share with you is a little bit of what it was like to compete at NCAA's.  We often talk on our team about competition being more than the desire to win.  We focus on the process of being prepared to be our best and then using all of our training to stay in the moment of the match.  As a coach, I am blessed to coach 14 young women who each possess an incredible amount of heart, determination and individual competitive spirit.  This makes us a very mentally tough group.  What has happened this season that has been so special is that these 14 individuals have been able to simultaneously push themselves and each other as a team.  There was so much learning this year of how to turn that individual dance between a singles or doubles opponent into a battle for the 5 points that it takes to win a DIII match.

In both matches at regionals I am so proud of the attitude and mental toughness of our team.  Each person came away with a terrific experience to be proud of, but I don't think anyone was satisfied with not having won the event.  This shows both how far we've come and what we've accomplished in this great team season as well as what we need to do to keep moving to the next level.  I'm sure we will be better next year from this experience, but by no means were we "just happy to be there playing hard".  I credit sports psychologist Jerry Lynch for introducing me to so many concepts of competing as a process, or a dance, where both competitors "seek together" to find their best performance.  Our team this year truly competed and played our best against our toughest competition and looks forward to learning from that and being even better next year.

Of course, in flying to NCAA's there is so much more going on and while the team was so focused on their school and tennis, I can't say enough how huge the efforts were of Seth in his coaching role and Charlotte and Erin who got the experience of traveling and found ways to be huge contributors without playing.  And even back home, we felt the presence of Lizzy, Hadley, Liv, Sara and Maggie as their work throughout the year and their constant support via phone and text was so huge in having a great weekend.

We'll also look back on the Family support we've had.  It was amazing to see people fly to California to support us.  Thanks Dena, Mark, and Sandy for coming from afar.  And our SoCal fans included alums, families and friends.  From Art, Johanna and even Abby P to Erin's big family and many friends made stops each day, alum Rex took the time to watch two days.  We even had some future Whitman parents out cheering us on (great to see you Lori and Joel).  Maddy had a host of people out there, even though her junior coach was too busy with his own tennis to come (I guess coaching 4 time defending national champion USC at their regional was a good excuse) and her parents even hosted us on our last day before coming back up, which was an amazing day in Long Beach relaxing, studying, and enjoying being together in the best family environment....I could (and maybe will) write a whole separate post about our great families and friends - which I hope I haven't left anyone out.

The team season is over but with graduation on Sunday, a host of end of season awards and still more tennis at individual nationals with Courtney and Alyssa playing singles and doubles in Cary, NC a week from today, I'm sure I'll be in touch.

Best wishes to all,
John

Going back to Cali

After winning our first NWC Tournament Championship, we found out Monday that we're off to the regional rounds of the NCAA national tournament in Claremont, CA.  Here are the details for this weekend.  

For me, a native Californian who loves the golden state, the Northwest always called to me and Whitman has provided the perfect home and community for building a championship tennis team.  Whitman has also become home to many amazing college tennis players with 5 Californian's on our roster, so it is going home for many of us to play down South.

I can't tell you how excited I am to play my alma mater in UC Santa Cruz as well as being in a regional with all of the West teams who have been battling each other all season long.  Now its playoff time our team is ready to represent the Northwest and do some damage at NCAA's.

Here is the schedule:

Friday 3pm #5 Whitman vs #4 UC Santa Cruz

Saturday 2pm  winner plays #1Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

Sunday 1pm (or 2pm if #3 Pomona Pitzer is in match), Saturday winners.

Dave Holden's NCAA preview is at:

http://www.whitman.edu/whitman/index.cfm?objectid=28882862-DFDE-127E-8B4655852960350C

and the tournament website via host CMS is at:

http://cmsathletics.org/sports/mten/2011-12/releases/NCAA_Regionals_Info

We just got in an order of great navy Whitman Tennis Short and Long sleeve t's.  If you didn't order and plan to be at the tournament wanting one, please let me know and I'll bring them.  Short sleeve are $15 and Long Sleeve are $20.  Email me for size availability and if you'd like to see what they look like.

It's an exciting time, I'll try to keep the blog posts updated regularly.

John

ITA Rankings Released

ITA rankings are released several times throughout the spring season and we have been steadily climbing up the West regional rankings.  It is exciting to chart the teams progress from my first season when we were 15th, then we moved to 12th in my second year and finished last year in the top 10.  Now at #7 it is a personal high for myself and every one of our current players.

I'm proud of this rise, as I feel it reflects the work that our team puts in to constantly improve and push ourselves.  So, I am happy to announce a new chapter in Whitman Tennis as we were just ranked #29 in the country.  We know there is much work to do this season as we await selection Monday to find out where and when we will play in the NCAA tournament, but for now we can enjoy the milestone of being nationally ranked.

In other ranking news, Alyssa is ranked 2nd in the West singles and Courtney is 4th, together they are 2nd in doubles.

Links to ITA rankings can be found at: http://www.itatennis.com/AwardsAndRankings/Rankings/2010-11_NCAA_Division_III_Women_s_Rankings/2011-12_Division_III_Women_s_Rankings.htm

-John

NWC Championship Photos

Sandy Seaman has shared a ton of great photos and I've uploaded them on Flickr at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tennislove/
Thanks Sandy!

Whit Women Win NWC Tournament Title!

It feels like an instant and also an eternity since Sunday afternoon when we defeated host Linfield 5-1 for the NWC tournament championship and an automatic qualification into the NCAA tournament May 11-13th (site and opponent TBD).

NWC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS 2012!

Court, Sara and Had earlier in the season

In the past two days, I've had some time to reflect not just on the match, but on how special this team and entire program are.  The first thing that comes to mind is that even on the road, we had 13 players there all with a singular goal and focused on keeping our combination of support, fun and intense competition that lifts both our tennis and relationships.  I must mention that I decided that staying home to focus on her academics would be better for Sara as an individual.  It is easy to say, but hard to believe and act on all of us being stronger by taking care of ourselves and as much as anyone on the team I am so proud of Sara this weekend for focusing on her studies and constantly keeping in touch with us on the road.  Seeing her proud smile yesterday as a conference tournament champion was just as rewarding as lifting the trophy.  Our focus on team and process provide extra challenges, but in our ultimate pursuit of the NCAA National Championship, it is the trust, support and efforts of every person on the team that make what we do each day so special.

Looking at the tournament matches, our focus as a team was absolutely to continue our championship habits.  Each day in practice, fitness, meetings and matches our team works as if we are national champions.  And, though this is definitely a learning process and we have much room to continue growing, we knew that if we focused on our habits and process that we had the skill to win this tournament.

Morgan's forehand

In the semifinal vs Whitworth, we knew we were facing a deep team with a lot of pride and program history (3 consecutive NWC championships).  As always, we were excited to come out strong in doubles and it was a great display from the start with great teamwork at all three spots.  While the #2 match was the closest matchup in terms of tennis and both teams wanted to be aggressive but had to deal with intense midday sun that made overheads and serves on one end very difficult, Emily and Morgan played brilliantly and were able to pull it out.  Emily was playing amazing all around doubles as usual and and Lil Mo really impressed me with her ability to seize the moment and finish points at the right times.  With one dubs rolling, it was the match at three that I was most impressed with.  Fighting back and forth early, HP and Maddy really came together to play some of their best dubs to pull off an 8-4 win and get the sweep we wanted.

Erin and Hadley 

Maddy getting fired up

Annie and Kate

In singles, we came out fired up in 1,2,3 and on courts next to each other it was a race to finish.  Both Courtney and Morgan played great with Alyssa striking the ball really well and moving well.  Her movement was really impressive because earlier in the week she had a weird injury that kept her from having a full practice until Friday.  For someone who is so meticulous about her preparation, this was yet another sign of her tremendous growth as a player because she really stepped up and was beating a very good player even not at 100%.  The courts were such that Maddy and Kate were next to each other and both were down a set and a break, battling quality opponents who showed that Whitworth is deep in singles.  At 6, it was a tale of two sets with Emily on an isolated court losing the first set 6-0 before finding her range and going up 3-1 in the second.  As playoffs to decision stop at 5 points, when Morgan won to put us up 5-0, matches were halted and our thoughts turned to the Sunday final vs Linfield.  Saturday was such a great day of bright sunny weather (too much sun for many players serves and overheads) and Whitworth is such a classy great opponent with awesome depth of talent and character.  We enjoyed tremendous support from players not playing, the many parents and alums who came out to watch and cheer and had a great dinner together after the match.

Had and Erin take the opportunity to train balance

So, the stage was set for a 10am Sunday rematch with Linfield.  The two big stories going in were that they had swept us twice in doubles this year and that their #3 singles player who plays #2 doubles was battling a wrist injury and it was uncertain whether she would play or not.  These situations can be tough because you're not sure who you're going to play or how much the injury will hamper them.  Our whole team did a terrific job of staying focused on our tennis and our doubles which was key as we went up 2-1.  The way we did it was absolutely typical of great college tennis.  Coming out a bit flat or nervous at one we went down 0-3 and started trading games and playing better tennis before Courtney and Alyssa really stepped up to take control and come back from 3-6 to win 8-6!  Hannah and Maddy almost did the same thing but it was an even fight all the way.  I was so impressed with their match by both teams and many people watching told me that was the best doubles match.  Unfortunately we lost the last two close games but the way we played will win a lot of doubles matches in the future.  Emily and Morgan continued their hot play and I think they would have beaten just about any team that day, but they did also take advantage of the Linfield injury to take a commanding 8-1 win and get us on the board.

Morgan and Seth 

Very pumped up being up 2-1 instead of down 0-3, we found out that their 3 player was pulled from singles, which didn't change 3,4,5 very much but did leave Emily with a less experienced but tough player at 6.  Alyssa was facing one of the top players in the West and did have a bit of a loss of focus after going up 3-2 to lose the first set 6-3.  This was more like the matches they had played the last two years and honestly I was a bit concerned until I went to Alyssa's bench after she won the first game of the second set and the look in her eyes was so clear and focused, I knew she had her game under control and would win the match.  It's wonderful to see confidence, you can feel it coming from the team and it is contagious among them.  Kate certainly had it as she went up in the first set by a break 4-1, then her opponent battled back and forced a tie break which Kate mixed both big offense and tough defense to win 7-5.  Maddy was the opposite as she started slow before coming back to force a tie break which she lost 7-4.  Both were such good battles going into the second set.  Emily true to form on her little island of court 6 rolled through the first set 6-1.  By the time these second sets were going, Courtney had won 1 and 2 to put us up 3-1 and shortly after Morgan followed with a 6-1,6-3 win to place us at the edge of victory 4-1!  I give so much credit to everyone for focusing and moving around and cheering on Alyssa as she was up in the second with set points and Kate and Maddy who were both early in the second sets of great battles.  It was so fitting that Emily would be at 4-3 just having pulled out a tough game with emotions running high.  As she and her opponent dealt with the nerves of the moment, Em was brilliant, possibly playing her best two games of the match with the final game being a fluid balance of offense and defense but Em always in control and when the last point was won the celebration started!  The other matches stopped and with a ton of respect for a great Linfield team, we enjoyed the fruits of our hard work and dedication.

Emily clinches it and we celebrate

Taking the trophy to Walla Walla

I am so happy for the Whitman Tennis Family of friends, alums, families and fans who all get to celebrate this win and look forward to NCAA's.  The tournament is a 49 team tournament and the sites and draws will be announced May 7th with the first three rounds of play slated for Friday, Saturday, Sunday May 11-13th and the quarters, semis and finals May 21-23 in Cary, NC. Sometimes round one starts on Thursday as they try to accommodate graduations and schools who don't play on Sundays.  Keep an eye on Super SID Dave Holden's articles on the Whitman Web Page.

Thanks so much to Dena, the Websters, Lawless', Annie Kunkel, Liz Bates, and the Rolston's for coming to cheer us on and enjoy the weekend with us, it was very special to have so many fans on the road.

To view photos of the weekend, I'll be loading many that Sandy Seaman took on the flickr page and facebook.  If you have any you'd like to share with everyone, send them my way!

Looking forward to NCAA's!

John