Fall Rankings Tell Only Part of the Story

Dear tennis fans,

Rankings can be complicated and interesting things. Some players use them as incredible motivation, sometimes they can get in the way of just playing in the moment and being the best you can be.  Our team has done such a terrific job of using rankings as validation of their hard work and talent, but also to set new goals.  Even better, they understand that the sport is about playing together and if we play our best each day, we'll keep improving and having fun and wins will take care of themselves.  So, here is my insider's guide of the validation provided by the recent fall ITA rankings.

Tree launching a bomb at regionals

Court crushing her way to top 5 singles and doubles rankings

First, team rankings in the west are solely based on last year, as no West teams played dual matches in the fall.  Thus, our #16 national ranking and #5 West Ranking affirm the pride in what we did last year, but we know that every year is new and we'll have a lot of work ahead to keep improving.  Still, the numbers help us set goals and starting last year at #28 this group knows what it feels like to look ahead and move forward.

In singles, our players only played the Fall USTA/ITA tournament and in Texas some teams played a second tournament, so the West rankings are almost completely from one weekend of play in three separate regional and then the small college nationals.  I LOVE THIS.  It is so easy in tennis to fall into pecking orders.  Whether it is one team that has had success against another or someone in the lineup has been in one spot so they identify with it.  This is something we strive always to avoid.  We are a team and each player is working to improve to help the team.  Ideally, we can beat each other on any given day, keeping us sharp and hungry.  Playing a singles tournament provides the opportunity to showcase how hard each player works  and how that work builds.

For Courtney to be #3 having dominated the regional and battling another experienced national level player at nationals shows that she is not going away, but rather she is hungry to build her game and at regionals especially, she did things she has worked hard on and I'm sure in the Spring, she'll be using her new weapons better and better at the national level.
With Morgan focusing on doubles as she rehabs her back, we had several players make a mark in singles, led by Katrina!  To have Tree ranked #21 in the West says volumes about her and our team.  Tree is a player who we all knew had a huge upside and while making a huge contribution in the doubles lineup last year, she was so patient using her practice and singles opportunities to mature and develop her game.  She was excited about her upsets of the #7 and and #10 seeds, but is probably more motivated by knowing that she is close to another breakthrough as she battled the #2 seed quite well.  Tree has announced she is a force and I couldn't be happier for what she's done or more excited to see what she continues to do.

Hello #12 ranked doubles team; you look so nice but hit so hard!

Effort and Attitude - Morgan leads the way

In doubles, she teamed with Erin to earn a #12 ranking in the West.  The teamwork and leadership they both displayed to pick each other up was brilliant and we were able to see glimpses of the talent and competitiveness E Bell brings to us this year.  And of course, speaking of doubles and leadership, the #3 team in the West of Courtney and Morgan showed just how much fun tennis is.  Watching them play doubles reminds us of how the game should be played and I was so proud of their communication and feel for the game.  With all the talent and great doubles players on this team, Coach C-Patt and I will have an enviable challenge to find the best partnerships.  Fortunately, if you read my last post, we have a terrific schedule with so many opportunities for great matches that our depth and flexibility will not only be fun to have, but necessary.





So, be proud of our ranked Whitties, but know that they are playing for each other and the successes of Erin, Katrina, Morgan and Courtney are not only validations of their talent, but the love and hard work the whole team shares to push each other each day.

Best,
John

Family Weekend Fun

I want to thank all the families who came to Walla Walla last weekend.  It was truly one of those special times that puts the big picture of what we're doing into such great perspective.

Over the weekend I was able to watch Liv in the Orchestra (if you didn't see it, not only were the students amazing, but the new professor on the piano was out of this world!).  Many of us watched Whitman Volleyball and it was so fun to show the new courts and our NWC Championship Banners to some of you!

The highlight for me though was for Jen and I to be able to host the team and families for a brunch.  Just getting together and enjoying some relaxing time together is so much fun.  We are blessed to have wonderful family support and I couldn't ask for a better group of players to coach.  As they work on their own, I'm counting the weeks and days until we take off for Hawaii and get back to work together!

Happy Halloween!

John

2014 Whitman Women's Schedule is online

Well, it's not all there as we have to tie up some loose ends with court times etc., but you can check our revamped WC Athletics website and look at our schedule at:

http://athletics.whitman.edu/schedule.aspx?path=wten

The fall season showed me that we have another tremendous group of dedicated student athletes.  We also have what I feel is our most talented team in terms of depth.  It is so rewarding to go to practice and see the competition level between everyone being so hard fought.  That intensity has only brought us closer together as the team is showing great leadership to a person and we just love being together on or off court and it makes the work so much fun.

Because of our desire and potential, we not only have a great conference schedule that includes home and home matches with #33 ranked Lewis and Clark (OR), but we have added

• Chelsea's alma mater in DI Eastern Washington University
• #2 DII BYU Hawaii on our preseason Hawaii Trip
• 9 nationally ranked DIII matches including - 
• #5 Claremont Mudd Scripps on our preseason Hawaii Trip
• #14 UC Santa Cruz and #28 La Verne at home for our Whitman Winter Classic over Presidents Day weekend
• #3 Amherst, #6 Bowdoin, #10 Pomona Pitzer and #30 Denison on our California Spring Break Trip

This season will be such a wonderful test of our growth as a team and embracing this level of competition is something I'm incredibly excited for as it should bring out the best in us.

I'm still working to organize a home family/alumni weekend (one of our last two home weekends usually) and of course if you will be at matches at home or on the road, let me know.  We can also do team/family/fan/alum dinners or events if enough people are coming.  The team loves all the support you all provide.

Here's to a productive off season and an exciting 2014!

John

Tough Tennis at the USTA/ITA Small College Nationals

It has been a couple of days now since day one of the fall USTA/ITA small college national championships.  This year, our twins from Texas Morgan and Courtney dominated the fall regional in doubles and Courtney repeated as singles champ.  So, it was off to Florida to fight for a spot in the rest of the weeks action.

And, a fight it was, as the singles play in match featured last years #25 and #26 nationally ranked players, with the winner entering the main draw as the #3 seed.  After a shaky first game, Texas Lutheran's Sofia Vega settled down and battled through some long games to a 6-1 first set as Courtney tried to find her strokes.  Our brave Whittie showed signs of her normal play midway through the set, but still had trouble finishing off points as consistently as she usually does.  This was not the opponent to be off at all against as evidence by the score.  The second set had Courtney resolved to dig in and fight and these two battled in what was one of the longest, most physical sets I've seen.  After a close start, Sofia looked like she might take the match in straight sets going up 5-3, but Courtney stepped up her first serves and backed them up with more free flowing aggressive tennis while maintaining all the tough defense needed to not give away free points.  Suddenly it was 5-5 and another great service game put her up 6-5 before she broke to force a third set.  Something in the third fell off ever so slightly and Sofia again took advantage winning almost all of the close games en route to a 6-1 third set. The match took a full three hours in 89 degree heat and humidity.   The heat rule would have kicked in at 90 degrees to give them a 10 minute break between sets, but neither player asked for it and they soldiered on and displayed their fitness and mental stamina.

Courtney, however had to come back and play in one hour for doubles with Morgan against a very talented UT Dallas duo.  Showing no effects of the marathon singles match, we jumped out to a quick start, being aggressive during a great first set which we would have run away with if not for UTD tightening up their game and making it close; still a 6-4 first set had us close.  The second set was back and forth with UTD taking advantage of a bit of first set hangover from us, getting an early break to lead 2-0.  Jumping right back in we broke back to tie it at 2-2, but then a close game to go up 3-2 gave UTD confidence and they took another break to lead 5-2 and win the set 6-2.  We made some good plays early to 3-3 in the match tie break with both Courtney and Morgan displaying tremendous net play.  Some huge plays by UTD and a couple loose points from us put Dallas up 7-3 and then I have seen some terrific efforts, but as UTD played better and better, the twins willed themselves through sheer determination back into the match, closing to 6-7 before finally falling 7-10.

It was a tough end to come up short on two matches where we played well and competed with so much heart, but in the end it just wasn't our best tennis at the right times and with the quality of opponent across the net, nothing was going to be easy.  We enjoyed a couple of days watching the main draw between studying and it was especially cool to cheer on our men's doubles duo of James and Andrew to the national finals where the dropped a tough match to my college coach and his new team at Middlebury.

All four Whitties represented our teams, Whitman and the Northwest with great pride and determination and I'm so proud of them.  As we travel home for a much needed 4 day weekend to catch up, we are thankful to have had the opportunity to compete nationally and I am especially proud of Morgan who rehabbed her back enough to play doubles and she showed she belongs on the national stage, so I can't wait until Spring. 

Our next competition will be in late January in Hawaii as the team travels to train, bond and compete in matches vs BYU Hawaii, Chaminade, and for a top 25 showdown with West region #1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

Special thanks to C-Patt for planning her college tennis reunion in Florida (we got lucky on that one), so she was able to stay and be at the matches and also to Sandy Seaman for coming out for the tournament and taking some wonderful photos which you can view here on our flickr site.

Best regards to all from a proud proud coaching staff.

Fall USTA/ITA Small College Nationals Starts Tomorrow

Hi everyone,

It is incredible both how quickly time passes and how much can be fit into a couple weeks.  After returning home from a terrific regional USTA/ITA tournament in Portland, it was so much fun to watch the Whitman Men play on campus as host's of their event.  This was the first competition on our newly refurbished outdoor courts and the guys didn't disappoint, playing some great tennis and having both doubles finalists and all-Whitman semifinals too.

We then had our last week of fall practice where we got to enjoy the new courts.  Of course, Courtney and Morgan were preparing for the fall Nationals this week, but it was so much fun to get at it with this group and see how motivated they are after the fall regional; in fact the whole fall has really brought the team together in a great way.  There has been so much leadership and contribution across the board and it shows both in how productive we've been on court and how the friendships and bonds on the team keep growing stronger off court.

As of right now, Mo, Court and I are on east coast time, arriving in Florida today with play in matches at Fall Nationals tomorrow.  You can follow on the ITA and Whitman websites, but as usual; more recent updates will be on twitter (@coachhein) and facebook (Whitman Women's Tennis).

The small college nationals are such a special event as it may be the only event in college sports that combines every division with DIII, DII, NAIA and JuCo with the winners going on to play in the DI championships.  Men and Women all compete at the same site so tomorrow's schedule is:

Singles play in's:  Courtney vs Sofia Vega (TLU) 11am EST; Andrew LaCava (WC) vs Paxton Duel (Trinity)

Doubles play in's: Courtney/Morgan vs. Johnson/Tran (UTD) 2pm EST; Andrew/James (WC) vs Guin/Thompson (Trinity)

Go Whitman!

Defining Success at the Fall USTA/ITA Regional

So far, just a few short weeks into the 2013-2014 campaign, we have been working really hard on court and having a ton of fun together as a team.

These are always two huge goals and so I've decided to decrease the amount of team meetings and mental work we do and maximize our on court and fitness time.  Coach Chelsea has been instrumental in this because she plans and executes workouts with a joy and intensity that is paying early dividends and works so seamlessly into our overall plan to develop better players.

There is probably no better test of everything that makes tennis so special than the fall ITA.  It is grueling to play up to 11 matches in 3 days.  It is physical, mental and spiritual to face different opponents in various situations.  I told the team that success would be defined by their effort and what we both demonstrated in Portland, but also by what we learned and could take back to work on before the Spring season.  I find myself so invested in the work they've done and how much of themselves they put into everything they do that to lose even one match is devastating.  This is unrealistic as we had 8 players and only one of 64 singles and 32 doubles could win the tournament, but having this goal provides insight into what will take each game to the next level.

Maggie was our lone senior in the draw and she played a great match against a seed from UPS and game for game was in it, moving and playing some of her best college tennis in a tough two set loss.  The consolation was different as she fought toe to toe with a talented first year player and lost a heartbreaking 9-7 proset.  Doubles with Seana started brilliantly with great teamwork before their opponents turned it on to take the match winning the last several games.

Speaking of Seana, what a singles tournament.  If I was excited about her potential before, I'm ecstatic now.  She toughed her way through a first round win and against a seeded player who had a huge game.  After being broken in the first set, Seana held serve convincingly to start the second and played a beautiful game blending power and angles to break to go up 4-1.  From there, each game was close as the second set fell to Pacific 6-4.  What a start for Seana, it was a fun match, both players enjoyed the level and this is something she can really build on.

Our other first year, Allie, came in seeded 9th and moved through the first day of singles and doubles displaying her many weapons and fiery competitiveness.  Sunday proved to be frustrating in both singles and doubles as our talented freshmen expects a lot of herself and had winnable matches in both.  In both matches, her opponents showed poise in staying really solid and stepping up at key moments to fend off Allie's charges.  So, while she lost to very good players who played well, this weekend she's learned some things about her own game as well as what it takes to mature into the college tennis player we know she'll be.

Her doubles partner Jenna had a similar tournament, with so much work over the summer on her game, we knew our 4th seed was a threat to win the whole tournament, but due to rain, we played 10 point tie breaks on Sunday and one bad set had Jenna fighting for her place in the quarters.  After a great battle she, like Allie fell in a match tie break and was disappointed, but I'm not sure anyone is more positive than Jenna and she was immediately back out there cheering on her teammates.

Two of those teammates played each other in the round of 16.  Erin announced herself to our conference as the 10 seed and won her fist match easily before dropping a strange first set and having to come back to dominate the second and the match tie break.  This put her up against probably the most dangerous unseeded player in the draw, her doubles partner Katrina.  Tree had also played a match tie break Saturday where she won a 12-10 thriller over the 7 seed from Linfield, one of the toughest players in our conference.  Tree carried this momentum against her doubles partner and beat Erin in straight sets to move on to the quarters.  What a tournament for her as she was up an early break and battled the 2 seed who in the end just had too many answers for Katrina's game.  This is something I love about this tournament, that it doesn't matter what number anyone played last year in their singles lineup, if they have done the work and improved, they can show it, and Tree certainly did!  In doubles, these two big hitters played fun aggressive tennis through Saturday and Sunday to earn a place in the semis on Monday morning.  I wouldn't say they had a slow start because they played a great game to hold and nearly broke to go up 2-0, but instead, several back and forth games had them down 1-4, then I think 3-7 before they found the rhythm again to fight back to 6-7 before the 2 seeded team from Whitworth had a terrific hold of serve to win the match.

The reward for Whitworth was a date with Courtney and Morgan in the finals.  This two of three set match was physically tough as the Pirates get a ton of balls back and fight hard, but the twins ability to get to the net and finish points was the difference in a convincing 6-1,6-2 win.  In the start, Courtney's serving got us going and in the second set, Morgan's big net play had a huge impact.  I'm so proud of them both, especially Morgan who has earned all-American status for the first time and will compete with her sister at the small college nationals in Fort Meyers Florida in a week and a half.

Representing the Northwest in Florida for singles will also be Courtney.  The number 1 seed and defending champ not only rolled through the draw without dropping a match, but to me, I saw in each match the display of some of the things she has worked hard on which she learned at NCAA's last year.  More work needs to be done to keep the consistency of all her shots at the highest level, but last weekend was a terrific display of focus and playing the plays she needed not only to win but to be successful at the next level.

While the on court success was terrific, we talked about how we would show up as a team and represent Whitman with sportsmanship and support.  This was on display throughout and it led to one of the most fun road trips I've ever been on. 

Another huge part of that was spending time with family and friends.  Thanks to the Bell's, Dobrin's, Alice Allick, Tom Sawatski and our many alums who came out to support and hang out with us in Portland.  Thanks to everyone and keep following us here, on twitter and facebook as Courtney, Morgan, Chelsea and I head to Florida Oct 9th-12th.

-Coach John

Day 2 of the Fall USTA ITA

Hi, just a quick note before we start the day.  Yesterday was a long but very fun day.  It was dry to start, but rain throughout the day off and on had us split at 2 sites, as it will today: Lewis and Clark College and Tualatin Hills Parks and Rec Center in Beaverton.

Leading the charge in singles through two rounds are Courtney, Jenna and Allie who all moved into today's round of 16 with straight set wins.  Erin Bell shook off a first set tie break loss to roll in the second set and match tie break of her second match.  She now faces teammate and doubles partner Katrina who got down an early break, fought back vs the #7 seed from Linfield and then suffered a late break to go down a set 4-6.  Tree stuck to her game, served and finished beautifully and forced a deciding match tie break that was full of great shot making and close play.  She battled it out to win 12-10!

Earlier, Maggie played a wonderful match losing to the #16 seed from UPS 6-3,6-1, but showing great movement and tough play as every game was competitive.  Seana found her way through the nerves of her first college match and then squared off a talented first year from Pacific in a battle of big hitters that was MUCH more competitive and entertaining than a 6-2,6-4 scoreline might indicate.  From what I saw yesterday the future is bright for this young Whittie.  I'm proud of Seana and Mags as they also played some terrific doubles, but the momentum swung to George Fox at the end and they couldn't quite pull it back in an 8-5 loss.

Our other three teams all advanced through the first round of doubles.

Today is round of 16 singles and doubles, here is the schedule and you can see the tournament website for updates: http://www.lcpioneers.com/sports/wten/2013-14/releases/20130920jdk21x

9am singles:
Courtney vs Jenna Gerdsen at Tualatin Hills
Jenna vs Marisa Friedman at Lewis and Clark
Katrina vs Erin at Lewis and Clark

10am singles
Allie vs Taylor Pena at Tualatin Hills

12:30 singles consolation
Maggie vs Mackenzie Fraser at Lewis and Clark

Second singles to follow for winners and doubles after that with two rounds today.

Let's go Missionaries!

Fall USTA/ITA Tourney starts TOMORROW

After three awesome weeks of practice, we are so pumped.  The work in the off season was great and we took it to another level back at school.

As of now, I don't think there is a tournament webpage, but check the Whitman and Lewis and Clark (host school) websites.  I'll be updating via the blog daily and twitter @coachhein all weekend as well as facebook when we can.

Here is the singles draw (assuming rain which is highly likely)

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1747255/Fall%20USTA%20ITA%20Regional%202013%20Singles.pdf

Doubles draws should be posted today, but we're at the mercy of rain so hope to get two rounds of dubs in but may get one Saturday.

If you're in Portland, come cheer us on, we'd love to see you!

Coach John

Another Wonderful Week of Training and a Special Visit

Hello everyone,

Last week was a special week.  Not only did we welcome new Assistant Coach Chelsea Patton to the family, but we had a visit from David Wagner to campus and practice which was an outstanding treat.

A Special visit.  Throughout life, there are times when you meet an amazing person, someone whose charisma and character just light up a room and inspire you.  Having David on campus gave that chance to about 25 local youth tennis players and our entire team as well as several parents, friends and members of the campus

David Wagner, 3 time Paralympic Gold Medalist

Coach Chelsea on court with the kids

community.  Thanks to the Whitman Athletic Department for bringing David to our campus as he spoke to a public gathering about his journey from being a kid in Walla Walla to becoming paralyzed during college then taking up wheelchair tennis where he is one of the top players in the world.  Read more about David at www.davidwagner.us

Still smiling, while pushing and finishing a forehand... Man does David love tennis

He passed around a gold and silver medal from London 2012 and talked about his pride in competing and doing his best, it was so special.  Then, what we were really ready for, was to see a full time professional athlete on the court.  David trains 6-8 hours a day or more and it shows as he just flew back from the USOpen as quad doubles champ and singles runner up.  Every kid played with him in "Up Down" doubles where the player in the chair gets two bounces.  Then, at the start of practice, he talked to the team and did some warm up with us. Coach Greg from BSU would have been proud to see our team and his daughter out there doing roly poly with David!  Many thanks go to College Place Schools and Gear Up for bringing David to Walla Walla and thanks David for sharing your story, athleticism and smile with us.

Lil Mo lining up a volley

Practice update - we are so tantalizingly close to the new courts being ready, but as they are getting their finishing touches, we have alternated between playing indoors in Bratton and outside across town.  Even a 5 minute car ride gets me so fired up for our upcoming trip because each person has such great personality and I can't wait for a weekend together to strengthen bonds and forge new friendships.  And oh yeah, they play some pretty mean tennis too.  We've been working hard to get in match shape with our shots and fitness and it shows.  The focus and determination of this team is beyond any I've had the pleasure to coach and with Coach Chelsea there to add an extra pair of eyes at practice, new ideas on fitness and a quick smile and laugh, we are well on our way.  In fact, C-Patt was so on fire last week and made such an immediate impact, the team demanded that she be named Whittie of the Week!  Congrats Chelsea!

Fall USTA/ITA Regional - is this weekend in Portland; or rather its hosted by Lewis and Clark at Taulatin Hills Park and Rec center in Beaverton, OR.  I hope anyone in the area can come and watch and cheer us on.  I imagine the format will be 2 singles Friday starting at 8 or 9am with doubles to follow going into the evening and the same on Sunday with Semis and finals on Monday.  I'll blog a preview when the draws come out (probably Wednesday), but keep in touch with me if you plan on coming or would like more details, we'd love to see you!

The team with David

New Season, New Leaders, New Coach, New Whittie of the Week

WoW indeed.

This week's Whittie of the week was Morgan.  See the link here to read more about how Morgan took her leadership and team play to a new level in her first week as an upperclassmen.

We had a wonderful first week of practice.  Definitely, there was some rust to shake off, but the focus and fitness level coming off of the summer were both outstanding.  Seana, Allie and Erin fit right in and we got to work.  With the first week of practice we did short practices so the teams ability to focus was tested early and as we played more and more at the end of the week it was apparent that they were ready to go.  Especially impressive were our group of seniors.  The senior year is challenging as players have extra academic responsibilities to graduate and they are working hard to be ready to transition from Whitman to beyond.  Liv, Hannah and Maggie were all great, playing some of the best tennis I've seen from each of them in four years.

Going from experience to a new beginning, I cannot say how excited we are to have Chelsea Patton join us as our assistant coach this year.  I've worked summer camps with Chelsea and she was a dream hire for us with both knowledge and enthusiasm for the game that are second to none, Chelsea is showing that she will help us bring our work ethic and attention to detail up while laughing and enjoying every minute.  Welcome Coach Chelsea!

I have to get busy blogging, because we also had berry picking at Hutch's last week and loved hanging out with the guys and getting out to a beautiful setting off campus, Coach Jeff took some photos here.

And, I am incredibly excited about Wednesday when we host 3 time Paralympic Gold Medalist David Wagner on campus for a community tennis event.  David went to school here and had an injury as an adult but didn't miss a beat and has become one of the best wheelchair tennis players in the world.  I am excited to welcome David back to Whitman and for the teams and students here to meet him!

More to come, it is that exciting time of year, welcome to Missionary Tennis 2013-2014 baby!!

-Coach John

Welcome to Whitman

Welcome, welcome, welcome!

It's new student move in day here at Whitman and as they get to know their roommates and move into their dorms, I'd like to introduce our two first years and junior transfer.

Allie Wallin, Salt Lake City, UT

From Salt Lake City, Utah, Allie Wallin has been a factor in Intermountain tennis for yearsand comes to Whitman not only with several years of top 50 and top 100 sectional rankings, but also a semifinal finish for East High School in the State singles tournament her senior year.  Allie brings tremendous ball striking and a joy for the game and the people around her that you feel instantly.  As excited as I am about her level of play right now, her potential to keep growing and growing is tremendous.

Seana Minuth, San Francisco, CA

Seana Minuth is a familiar name as she has followed her sister Erin and high school friend Katrina from San Franciso to Walla Walla.  What we have found in her visits to see her sister is that she is incredibly caring and engaged.  On court, when I first saw her play she hit a great ball but could be all over the place, and it showed in her results; the work she's done with her coaches and really just herself has led to a greater maturity and a top 100 ranking in NorCal 18's.

Erin Bell, Granite Bay, CA

Two years ago, I recruited a player from my home area (anything within a 2 hour drive of Paradise, CA feels like my childhood home).  She was a perfect fit for the team, bright, engaged in her academics but also focused on her tennis.  She did, however, try the UC route at Santa Barbara where she played club tennis, competing in nationals and focused on school and engaging in her community.  When she contacted me that things weren't really working out as she'd hoped and the close community and engaged academics and tennis of a smaller school were what she wanted, I knew the time was right.  Erin Bell from Granite Bay, CA fell in love with the game at age 8 and like Seana and Allie brings that love to the team.  I'm sure she will transition back to competitive tennis smoothly and she is super excited to engage in her Sociology major and volunteering with youth and schools in Walla Walla.


Look for more from these three and the rest of the team, except for Maddy who is in Copenhagen for the Fall in our fall regional USTA/ITA singles and doubles championships in Beaverton, OR Sep 20-23rd.

My best to all,
Coach John

Whitties in the World

Hello everyone,

This summer has flown by and in my travels in and out of Walla Walla I thought I'd posted a couple times, once on the summer construction with our outdoor courts and once with some of the news our team has been making.  My apologies for the technical breakdown, I'll try to post a timeline of the court construction soon, which you can also read about on Coach Jeff's Men's tennis blog at http://www.whitmantennis.net/outdoor-courts/

BUT, the reason I'm writing you is to let you know what happens AFTER our Whitties leave the Whitman bubble and move on to the 'real world'.  A recent wedding of alums who both spent time as assistant coaches here brought back many former players from their jobs, grad schools, med schools and worldly adventures.

The short version is that both Kate Kunkel-Patterson and Alyssa Roberg have jobs right out of school working in fields that they are passionate about.

The more detailed version starts with KKP, who was recently featured on the Whitman website with a story of her gaining her dream job.  I have to admit when Kate first told me that as a History major she a) did not want to teach and b) was obsessed with the civil war, I was skeptical of whether she would end up doing anything relating to her degree.

http://www.whitman.edu/newsroom/headline-news/my-dream-job

This was one of many lessons I have learned in 5 years at Whitman not to assume anything about these students.  Kate's passion and drive to make her dream happen are not uncommon on campus and as her coach I couldn't be happier for anyone that she is heading to South Carolina with a full time job in Civil War History....WOW.

This trait to discover the things that really fire them up and make them a part of their life both during and after college is not monopolized by Kate.  Kate's fellow 2013 grad Alyssa has just moved to Texas (possibly under the influence of her friends' copious reminders that Texas is the best, or maybe because she met someone special at school who is attending Baylor med school...hmmmm.).  Well, she's in Houston and has excitedly reported already getting a job at the Westview School.  While she did study education along with her Psychology degree, Alyssa wasn't looking to be a teacher per se.  She has had an interest in special education, specifically how people learn (which she did a cool senior thesis on).  During internships the past two summers and now at her job, she is working with students on the autism spectrum.

If anyone has the love of children and the immense patience and caring required to work with autistic children it is Alyssa.  But more than just working, she is gaining experience that she can carry into further study and/or work in special education.  If being a teaching assistant wasn't enough, she is also working part time in a clinic that provides therapy around the verbal behavior of children with autism. In her words:

Basically, I am working at the clinic to get experience with ABA, which is the only autism treatment that has any empirical support... but is very different from what I am trained in (which was Son-Rise), and many people/schools do not like the rote, mechanical therapy that ABA provides. The Westview School does not use ABA, and Son-Rise was basically the opposite of ABA, so I am kind of inherently against it, but obviously need to experience it first hand to develop my own opinions on it. 

There are so many other great stories of what our players are doing: Elise just finished a second year with Princeton in Asia, Charlotte has worked two years in Spain, Lizzy is still doing Americorps in Hawaii, Zoe and Emily are in Seattle loving life, Alex (Duke), Jacquie (Montana State) and Katie (Montana) are in grad school, Hadley is working full time in Sun Valley and Div is still at OHSU Med School.

Now that we've looked back a bit, stay tuned for future posts looking forward to this years team, our new facilities and some other things we've been working on.

Proudly,
Coach John

Wrapping Up Our Adventure at the Zoo

For those of you who have followed us on the team website (thanks Andrew and Jordan), via facebook or twitter or straight from NCAA.com or Kalamazoo Colleges Website, you know it’s been a few days since Courtney and Alyssa finished up a terrific season at the NCAA DIII individual national championships. 

Despite the tolls of a long season affecting our preparation, we felt really good coming into the tournament.  Both players competed last year, getting a win in doubles and one goal was to go at least a round further.  This was achieved  in singles as Courtney backed up her #8 seeding with a solid win over the #1 player from Coe College.  

Courtney did a terrific job staying focused and finding different ways to win points because her opponent was giving her nothing for free.   Court fought through some tough games where she just had to be consistent and in others, she mixed in different types of offense to take the match in straight sets.

For her second match, we knew more offense would be needed verses an experienced senior from Carnegie Mellon.  While playing indoors due to rain was fine for the players, it was disappointing for the fans who had to look through four courts of play to see the action.  Being at the bench, I can tell you that the scoreline of 6-1,6-0 for her opponent does nothing to describe how competitive this match was.  So many games were long battles, including the second game which was over 20 minutes long and showcased the best that both players had to offer with long points ending in winners as the court finally opened up for one or the other.  While not able to sustain this level of offensive effort through the rest of the match, it is really the style of play that will take Courtney to a new level next year.  Better execution of shots would have turned the match her way, but I was also amazed with how many winners her opponent was able to hit while committing almost no unforced errors.  It’s tough to run into a player whose style matches up so well against you and performs at her best, but I’m proud of Courtney’s fight and ability and can’t wait to see how her singles continues to grow.

After some food and a change of venue to Kalamazoo College, Alyssa and Courtney were again on the end court for doubles.  I’m not sure there is ever a good or bad draw in doubles at nationals because all 16 teams are there because they can play and they’ve been incredibly consistent throughout the year.  We found out early on that this team from Washington and Lee was for real as they served and returned big and then settled into making simple plays over and over.  Soon, we were down 2 breaks though we hadn’t played poorly, just not with the intensity we are capable of.  Then, for a few games the spark was lit and we got a break to pull the score to 3-5 before they came up with some big shots to win the first set.  The second set was a bit of a struggle as the momentum went back to W&L as they capitalized on a few missed shots to again take the lead and carry it to a straight set win.

We watched this team defeat a very good Williams team the next day and push the #1 seed to the limit in 3 sets in the semifinal so it was obvious they were playing their best tennis.  That’s really what this tournament was all about, and among the best players in the country, Courtney carried herself with the poise and fight of a champion and Alyssa played a wonderful match to conclude her college tennis career. 

After the tennis, we decided not to change our flights as Courtney’s family was there and we were all happy to spend some time enjoying each other’s company and seeing more of the tournament.  We cheered on our men’s team as they played a thrilling match losing in a third set tie break to the #2 seeds.  We also got to spend some time with Mark and Sandy, which was super fun (by the way, Sandy is now bowling strikes regularly so watch out on the lanes Texas!).  Perhaps the best thing from my perspective was to have a couple more days to be around Alyssa and see her hanging out with Courtney and Morgan.  Alyssa not only has raised the level of competition at Whitman, but her giving and positive personality will be reflected on our team for years to come.  To say we’ll miss her on and off court is an understatement, but the time that she’s had at Whitman has been truly special and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for her.

I’ve heard many people describe college coaching over the years, but two things that have stuck with me from my good friend at Boise State Greg Patton are that, “ours is the best job in tennis” and “we’re in the people business”.  I couldn’t agree more with you Greg, I’m loving this “job” and to be able to coach players as good as Alyssa and Courtney and to know and mentor these amazing young women is the best business I could hope to be in.

This does conclude our 2012-2013 season, and I’d like to thank all of our players, students, faculty and staff at Whitman, our alums and supporters and our terrific team families who have made it a special year.  Summer is starting and I have some exciting news to share in future posts regarding next year when we’ll look to keep improving, but for now, enjoy your summer and thanks so much for your support.

-Coach John

Looking Back on an Amazing Season

We have just returned home to Walla Walla for the end of finals, camp Whitman and graduation.  We had hoped to also be preparing for a team trip to the national final 8 in Kalamzoo, MI, but a tough first round regional match ended our team season.  Fortunately, Alyssa and Courtney will be playing doubles and Courtney will be playing singles at the individual Nationals in Kzoo after graduation.

This season was truly special for this team.  After breaking into the national rankings and NCAA tournament last year, the team challenged themselves to keep growing on and off court and the result was the most special season of tennis I've ever had.  Our team is evolving each year and as good as it was last year and the year before, somehow it feels better and better to be a part of Whitman tennis.  Always known for great sportsmanship, support of each other and fun at all times; the level of play keeps going up and with it, the bonds between these young women become visibly stronger.  Because we performed so well and love being together so much, losing the other day was hardest because it meant the end of the season together.

That end came at the hands of a very deep and consistent Redlands team.  They are a focused hard working team who stayed really tough after winning #2 doubles but being down 7-6 at #3 and 8-7 at #1.  Both Redlands teams dug in to get the doubles sweep and put us in a huge 0-3 hole.

We still had belief going into singles and at #6 KKP jumped out to an early 3-1 lead, Jenna and Morgan were battling and Courtney took the first set with Alyssa at 5-4.  Maddy, Tree and HP provided amazing support and Rubes had high school friends from 3 schools in California cheering her on.  But as Jenna played a brilliant tie break to win a long opening set,  KKP, Rubes and Morgan were each down a set so we needed some 3 set magic and a solid win from Alyssa.  In a scary moment, Alyssa turned her ankle up 5-4 30-15 in the first set and after a tape job and a lot of courage, she lost the first 5-7.  Totally up against the wall, everyone fought so hard and played some of their best in the end, but both Morgan's and Kate R's opponents were on fire and took straight set wins to end the match and our team season.

Out of about 340 teams in DIII, we know only one end the season in celebration and we credit Redlands with playing some clutch doubles and tough singles, but it still hurts to lose winnable matches.  I know for a fact though that our seniors are very proud of their legacy at Whitman and their individual leadership and play throughout 4 years, this season and in this tournament.  We are also a fairly young team with 3 sophomores and 3 first year players contributing to the counting matches.  Combined with the constant growth of our juniors, our team will be deeper and more competitive next year from all of the experiences we gained this season.

I cannot say enough how proud I am of every player on the team and of how Emily has stepped into the role of coaching.  We wouldn't have had the success we did without a total team effort.  Our team also extends beyond us to those of you who are so wonderful in supporting us.  Whether it is emails or facebook messages from alums and friends, people coming to matches or following our twitter and scores it is a special thing to know you're supported and there is no place that fosters support and community like Whitman.  Dena, Mark, Sandy, Bob, Annie, Johanna and Abby it was so great to spend time with you and have you at the match.

Thank you all so much for a special season.  We're not done yet, and there is a lot to look forward to next year, but having you behind us has made this year nothing short of amazing.

All our best,
John and the Whitman Women's Tennis Team

NCAA Regionals Are Set...We're off to California, here's the details

Thanks so much for the many congratulations on our NWC tournament win and then our first win over #7 in NAIA LCSC in my years here.  I'd like to especially thank those of you in the W Club and superfan Charlie Stookey for all the positive vibes!  

The team was excited to hear the news yesterday that we were selected to go to Claremont, CA for the first round of the NCAA tournament.  The team knows that it is a privilege to represent our conference in the tournament and also a great opportunity to play a terrific team this Friday in the first round.  With our focus on Redlands at 2pm Friday, we are having a lot of fun practicing and enjoying our time together.

That is really what this weekend is about for us, enjoying the moments as we prepare to play our best tennis. This is such a competitive group on court, but if you have been around us, you know that how much fun we have together off court creates a positive environment that I am amazed to see this balance in such a high achieving group of young women.

Enough of my rambling, we've got work to do getting ready for the weekend, here are the details about the NCAA Regionals.

Our match schedule is:

Friday 2pm Courts 7-12 (lower courts) at CMS Bizantz Tennis Center vs University of Redlands, who edged us out on Spring Break 5-4.

Saturday 2pm - if we win we play Pomona Pitzer, who has a bye

Sunday 12pm - Regional Final 

If you're coming, let me know, we'd love to see you at the tournament.

There are no paper programs, but the program is online at

http://www.ncaa.com/diiiWomensTennis

The brackets and information are on http://www.ncaa.com/sports/tennis-women/d3

Our great SID Andrew will keep you updated on the Whitman site http://www.whitman.edu/whitman-athletics

Host CMS will have a webpage with live stats (and maybe streaming video if we play Sat/Sun) http://www.cmsathletics.org/sports/wten/2012-13/2013_WT_Regionals/championship_central

We'll also update you on twitter @coachhein  

and facebook  https://www.facebook.com/WhitmanWomensTennis

NWC Champs and Tournament Champs....On to NCAA's!

Hello everyone!  It's very exciting to write knowing our wonderful season will continue as we hosted and won the Northwest Conference Tournament to earn the automatic qualification to the NCAA touranament!  Before getting into the home matches last weekend, I have to give credit to Conor H-B for an amazing sequence of photos!

Alyssa in the last shot of her home NWC career rips a backhand winner up the line to win her match, clinch the team match and send us to the NCAA's!

The emotion comes out and everyone knows what just happened, especially Rubes in the background!  Good job by coach Em playing it cool...though keep an eye out for video of her dancing on court in celebration.

So, as I said, our season continues and that is really everything I could hope for.  This team is just so close and so much fun that we had to move on and continue playing for each other.  Also, the improvement from the Fall to Spring and then from the start of Spring to now has been phenomenal.  I think this was reflected in the way that we were able to take it to some very good teams in the tournament and it is exciting to think about building on it even more in the NCAA regional rounds.

The matches Friday against Linfield and then Saturday against Lewis and Clark showcased one of the best displays I've seen of the entire team focusing and being present in the moment together.  From the warmup, into doubles until the last ball, weather it was cheering, being physically and mentally ready or hitting huge shots, everyone knew their part and played it well.

Against Linfield we played inside on a rainy spring day and the crowd in Bratton had awesome energy for a 10am match.  One and two dubs played solid tennis and the key was Katrina and Rubes fighting there way through a tough 8-6 win.  They were pumped coming in to know that their NWC record of 5-0 at #3 was only surpassed by the Linfield team's 11-0 record.  It wasn't their cleanest match, but they established what they wanted to do early and were able to execute at key times to put us up 3-0.  In singles, while Jenna and Morgan battled to first set wins, Alyssa was cruising at #2.  At #1, Courtney was misfiring repeatedly to go down an early break 0-3.  Fortunately, she has worked a ton to improve her serve the past two years and was able to fight out two holds to get to 2-4 before breaking twice to take the set 6-4. After Alyssa won, Courtney clinched the match and as she went to shake her opponents hand, Jenna returned serve and hit a screaming down the line winner on match point, so we had an unusual match score of 6-0 (playing to 5).

With our job done, we were able to enjoy our home advantage to rest, recover, study and enjoy a family dinner.  It was wonderful to have several families with us in Walla Walla and I can't thank you all enough for your support and love.

With a 9am final and no idea if the rain was done or not, we woke to dry courts and were pumped to be outside in the center of campus.  Often in dubs, our all-American team of Alyssa and Courtney leads the way and with the women's basketball team cheering them on they did recover from being down an early break to take a lead.  But the way that we played at two and three was incredible.  At three, against an LC team who made the semi's of the fall tournament, Tree and Rubes put together probably their best display of executing big doubles.  I couldn't be happier for them becuase they are never satisfied and constantly work to raise their level.  With one in a fight, however, Maddy and Morgan provided the energy in the middle.  Playing a tremendously talented team of highly rated first year players, Morgan and Maddy played off of each other and worked as a team so well that the result could never be in doubt.  This energy from two and stellar play from three dubs carried over to one where we grabbed the momentum to go up 7-4, then eased off a little giving up a break to 7-6 before closing it out, again on a big shot from Alyssa who went for it when it counted.

After her struggles against Linfield, Courtney was all focus and against one of the top players in conference, showed that she is ready to play her best tennis in the playoffs and scored a resounding 6-0,6-0 win to put us up 4-0.  We won first sets at #2 and #4 but at three it was Morgan's turn for a slow start and her opponent played amazing tennis to take an easy first set 6-1.  It's Morgan though, and she set herself to the task at hand.  Despite continued great play from her opponent, she was up 5-0 in the second when Alyssa hit the backhand winner to end the match.

Both LC and Linfield played great and showed how our conference keeps getting stronger while maintaining an outstanding level of sportsmanship and respect.  We are lucky to compete with some very classy teams here in the Northwest.  But, I'm very proud to also coach a team that while competing as hard as anyone, can be a model of what team tennis should be.  Playing on four courts (for the final time outside - new courts this summer!), it was incredible how Rubes and KKP stayed ready.  In fact both days, Rubes was up 1-0 in her match when we clinched and while KKP asked the team to keep her off of the court, she was ready as well.  Maggie was again on top of tweets and HP and Liv were a constant presence of vocal support.  After playing big dubs, Maddy was our finals Whittie of the Match as she cheered constantly to keep everyone pumped up until the end.

The next step is NCAA regionals.  We don't know where we'll go.  We find out May 6th and play May 9th or 10th, and the team is preparing to fly wherever they send us and to play our best match of the season in the first round.

To be ready, we have one more home match before the courts are torn down and rebuilt with the addition of two more courts!  We play LCSC in a rematch of our first match and one of our losses this season.   That is set for Sunday May 5th at noon.

Again, thanks so much to everyone for all your help and support.  The celebration wouldn't be nearly as sweet without you.

-John

NWC Tournament Updates

You can follow the tournament online through the Whitman Website, where we have set up a tournament page with live stats, http://www.whitman.edu/whitman-athletics/2013-nwc-tennis-championships

We'll also keep twitter going with updates during Whitman matches @coachhein for the Women and @northam for the men.

As we have the morning match tomorrow (10am vs Linfield!!!), and if we win, the final is at 9am Saturday, we're providing coffee and donuts to fans, so bring your mug or enjoy a tasty bite if you're at the matches as a thanks for coming out early to cheer and enjoy the excitement.

-John

https://www.facebook.com/WhitmanWomensTennis

NWC Champions and Tournament Schedule

Hello and thanks to all of you who have supported us all year.  The work has paid off as we concluded a perfect 12-0 season in conference this year, winning our first championship since 1997 and first sole championship since 1988!  Read more on our website.

KKP and ShoPo

We don't plan it this way or talk about it while its happening, but it was so fitting that the individual match that clinched a share of the title and hosting was Kate K-P and HP in doubles, then Saturday up 4-0, Alyssa won her singles match to defeat UPS and clinch the outright title; what a well deserved way to conclude their regular season careers at Whitman!


We're not done with these two yet, here is the schedule for the Conference Tournament this weekend at Whitman

Friday - Semifinals

#4 Linfield at #1 Whitman, 10 a.m.

#3 Whitworth vs. #2 Lewis & Clark, 2 p.m.

Saturday - Tournament Final

Semifinal winners at 9 a.m.

The men's tournament will start after the Women's final with the #1 seeded WC Men playing at 1pm Saturday with a Sunday final slated for the Whitman courts.

Back to Business in the Northwest. April match preview

There is a lot going on just a week back from Spring Break.  After a successful trip to California where we went 2-3, but with big wins that vaulted our National Ranking from #27 to #16!!! It's our highest since 1988, when the team finished #15 in DIII.

WC Webpage Article on Rankings

Now, with a great week of training under our belts, we turn our attention back to the Northwest Conference.  After going undefeated through a round of conference play, we sit 8-0 in conference play with 4 matches left over the next two weekends, all at home.  The first obstacle between us and the NWC championship is the Pacific Boxers this Saturday.  It's a Whitman double header as we take on the women at 10am, followed by the #15 in the nation Squirrel (WC) men at 2pm.  Pacific brings a young and improving team who we defeated in Forest Grove to start Spring Break.  Sunday, Whitworth comes to town; the already deep Pirates  have their #6 player back from basketball.  We're excited to see how they have improved and to play our Eastern Washington rival at home.

Match times are: Saturday 10am vs Pacific, Sunday 2pm vs Whitworth

Then next weekend, for our senior weekend, we finish the season with PLU at Friday at 4pm and UPS on Saturday at 11am.  And Friday vs PLU will also be our campus kids day!!!!

This week's Whittie of the Week was an unanimous vote for Jenna! 

Focus on the court...

Smiles off the court, Jenna knows how to work hard and have fun

Whitties Demonstrate Toughness in California

Hello all,

I put up a quick post on facebook about our Spring Break trip and will provide some more details here.  I don't have photos, as I didn't bring a camera but will hopefully get some from parents and players and start posting them on our flickr page and facebook soon.

Coming into the season with a team that achieved so much last year, gaining our first national ranking in years and NCAA tournament win in program history, we could have been satisfied, but we chose to test ourselves.  The players wanted as many tough matches as we could get to show everyone what we know we're capable of and by playing 3 top 15 teams, a top 30 team who could be in the top 15 and an unranked team that is capable of beating top 30 teams; this was certainly the challenge we wanted.  We came away from this trip with so many great memories, so much to be proud of and still a lot to learn from going forward.

As I wrote, our trip in Southern California was amazing.  Great weather, awesome competition and wonderful family and friend support led to a ton of fun, a solid win over regionally ranked UT Tyler and a huge win over #13 Trinity.  As we transitioned to NorCal, new rankings came out with Redlands at #13, Trinity at #14 and us and UCSC remaining at #27 and #28 as little had happened through Sunday which was the ranking cutoff date, except Redlands beat Trinity.

In Santa Cruz, the Slugs were fired up to get back at us for beating them at NCAA's last year and in Walla Walla in February.  The doubles were great with all three tightly contested and the quality of doubles was terrific.  Unfortunately, after positive starts, we dropped close matches at 2 and 3 and were down 4-7 at #1.  Things looked bleak before Alyssa and Courtney showed what they can do with a huge comeback to get to a tie break where they had a match point before losing.  Being down 3-0 can be a terrible feeling, but the belief was high in ourselves as we entered singles and every match was a battle.  Courtney and Alyssa scored big wins at the top, but UCSC stepped up everywhere else to take the match 7-2.

The next day was our last day of the trip and just like a week ago, we had lost to a great team and then got to play the #13 team in the country.  Unlike the Trinity match where we were terrific in doubles, we came out with good energy but just misfiring too often against very solid teams at #1 and #2.  At #3, Katrina and Kate showed amazing fight after being down a break to get it back and force a tie break.  This was the kind of moment we needed as our freshmen stepped up with big tennis to win the match and get us on the board down 1-2 after doubles.

In singles, our top 3 were so resolved and all won their first sets.  As #4-6 were all matched up against very tough opponents, we knew it would be hard to pull one out.  Kate KP and Jenna both battled super hard in each set but dropped straight set matches, though I loved seeing Jenna hit her shots and play her game more and more as she develops into consistently being the player I know she is.  #5 was perhaps one of Redlands' best spots and Rubes played her tennis in spurts, but couldn't quite keep the score close to allow herself a chance to gain control of the momentum. Rubes had an awesome Spring break and while she too is learning to maintain her level consistently, her growth as a player has been phenomenal and she has the promise to keep getting better and better. After straight set losses at 4-6, we were down 5-1 before Courtney won a 10 point tie break by a 10-1 score showing her fitness at the end of a long week, Alyssa won 4 and 4 with a huge running forehand passing shot on match point and Morgan also gutted out a 10 point tie break win where her mental toughness and ability to stick with her game earned her the Whittie of the Match from Em and I.

Certainly there is always disappointment in a 5-4 loss, but not only on this day, but throughout the week, we showed that our foundation of teamwork, support, fitness and great tennis can not just play with but earn wins against this level of national competition.  We also learned a ton about specific things to improve upon and will head home after a much deserved week off this week. Yes, Whitman has a 2 week break so we get to play all these matches and give the team a break which is so important.  I know the next time we face teams of this level we will be improved at every spot because that is the character of this team.  We also have more depth than ever and teamwork and support are just the beginning of what HP, Liv and Maggie provided this week.  Hannah has worked really hard to come back from her fall abroad and with such a strong group of first year players she has been diligent and patient with herself as she not only gets her game back but keeps improvin .   Liv and Mags also played some of their best tennis which will keep our practices productive and competitive and make us better each day and I can't say enough about the guidance, leadership and coaching that Emily is providing, thanks Em!

It's hardly been any time off, but I can't wait to get back to work next week and to reconnect with all of these outstanding young women.  Some people have asked how it is to spend 9 days on the road with the team, and I can only say that it couldn't have been more fun to be a part of this team, to compete with such amazing athletes and to spend time with such wonderful people.  I'm loving it!

Thanks so much to Derry for helping at Redlands as well as all of the Whitman students and friends of our team who came out to watch everywhere we went.  The family thing we have going was also reflected in our amazing team families who came out every match.  It was so special to see you all and share this great week of tennis and fun with you.

-John

WC Spring Break Part 1

Well, if I waited until the end of the week, I'd probably both leave out a ton of cool stuff and also have to write a lot.  So, I'll try and cover part 1 of our break and get you primed for this weekend.

Actually, we had a three part trip, so lots of travel which has been more fun than my scientific writing background can properly express.  We had a great weekend in Portland where the Rubinstein's treated us to an awesome pre match dinner (by the way, if you are into model trains or cars, you NEED to become fast friends with them and get an invite to see Rick's collections!).  This definitely got us ready as we swept George Fox and Pacific and on a beautiful day everyone got to play against George Fox.  Our depth showed as we won 10 singles matches and 5 doubles (counting and exhibitions combined)!

Then, it was sleep and an early plane flight to SoCal.  Again, we immediately enjoyed some family time as we flew into Long Beach and were close enough to have some time with the Websters.  As a coach in my 5th year, seeing not just the players come together, but how close our tennis family gets with our family families is one of the most rewarding parts of what I do.

Still, we were there to play tennis and started our trip with the #3 team from the Central region, Washington University in St. Louis.  As with Fox, it was super positive to be playing 5 doubles and 9 singles matches.  Thanks to Coach Kelly and Wash U for such a great start to the trip. Wash U came in ranked #12 in the country and we learned two things from this match.  1) you can't let a top team have too many chances or they are likely to take the match from you, which they did as they earned every bit of their 7-2 victory, and 2) we're not "on our way" to belonging with the best teams in the country, we are here as we felt this match could have easily fallen our way despite the scoreline.

So, the next day with those things in mind and the memory of a 4-5 loss last year that the team remembers as the kind of atmosphere, support and intensity that college tennis should always be like, we took to 4 courts at Pomona Pitzer to play Trinity (TX).  Like last year, we got up in doubles with strong wins at 1 and 2.  Alyssa and Courtney were battling hard with a team they've played a couple times and were just pulling away 7-5 when TU sophomore star Mackenzie Knoop re-injured an old injury and retired.  We had already won at 2 with Morgan and Maddy showing the same fight and teamwork they displayed in winning vs Wash U.  Again, like last year, #3 was close and TU pulled it out.  This time, after being down 2 breaks, Katrina and Rubes regained the momentum and forced a tie break which was close until the Trinity player hit two huge first serves to win the match.  In singles, on four courts, the atmosphere was again great with players from both sides cheering their teammates on.  Morgan kept us going at 3 with a very businesslike straight sets win.  Alyssa followed suit to extend the lead. Her leadership on and off court has been brilliant this  year, a significant step up from last year when she was about as good as you can get.  At #4, Jenna had a tough match where she just wasn't finding her shots, but those days happen in tennis and her attitude is possibly the most positive I've ever seen, so with her work ethic and talent this will no doubt be something she grows from.  These matches took quite a while and as the day wore on, with Rubes in control up a set 6-2 at #5 and KKP just starting at #6 on serve 2-2, Courtney stepped on the gas after a battle in the first set to clinch the match and give us our first top 15 win in my career, and in as long as I can find records for at Whitman.  A total team effort, everyone was doing their jobs and the preparation was outstanding.  I couldn't be more proud of how together our team is.

Still, I was a bit nervous about how we would react after a great win.  Were we spent from these matches or would we overlook UT Tyler who we are ranked above, but is a very good team that we had a battle with last year?  The answer was neither as we took care of business sweeping the doubles.  Then, our top half singles went to work and all scored quick victories.  The match was decided pretty quickly, but throughout singles, you could hear the team cheering each other on as.  Then, with 5 and 6 left and both up a set, KKP was forced into a super tie break for the third.  She fought bravely and came up just short.  So, the last match was Rubes and it was a good one.  Apparently, her opponent had played a marathon match the day before to clinch a win for UTT and she was at it again, extending points longer and longer and just not missing balls.  Kate stayed focused, imposed her game and showed an incredible amount of physical and mental toughness to take the match and extend the score to 7-2.

Our transition to the weekend ahead (UCSC and Redlands in Santa Cruz), was a drive out to the desert for the night session at the BNP Paribas pro tournament at Indian Wells.  It was unbelievable to watch in person in one day Andy Murray, Juan Martin Del Potro, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic.  On the women's side we all got down close for a late night encounter between Sara Errani and Maria Sharapova as well as men's and ladies doubles.

Our recovery from playing and spectating was aided by the Webster's, what hosts!  We were fed, housed and go a boat tour of Long Beach!  How much fun are we having?

Apparently, we can have more because Saturday at 3pm we play UCSC at the East fieldhouse courts and Sunday we take on Redlands at 10am also at UCSC on the East courts.

These matches are a great opportunity as we've beaten UCSC once, but they are looking really strong lately and Redlands has been on a tear which moved them from #22 to #13 in the country.

More to come after the weekend....

John

Spring Break Preview

So, classes are done, spring break is here and as everyone scrambled to finish papers, midterms and pack, we are now on the road.  Our men's team has often used the 2 week Whitman Spring Break to play a bunch of road conference matches in Portland, then fly somewhere for more matches.  We've always taken a week off which is something I never imagined when I was a player, but with how hard this team works on the court and in the classroom and with the length of the college tennis season, a week off has always had us enjoying our trip and hungry to come home and finish the season strong.

Here are some updated match times along with the new national rankings.  We crept up 2 spots to #27 on the strength of UC Santa Cruz's wins and now we've got our sights set on a great day of NWC matches and the opportunity to play some of the best teams in the West and the country.

Sat 3/9
10am vs George Fox in Newberg, OR
4pm vs Pacific University in Forest Grove OR

Mon 3/11
11am vs #12 Washington University of St. Louis at the Claremont Tennis Club, Claremont, CA

Tues 3/12
10am vs #13 Trinity (TX) at Pomona Pitzer colleges 1st street courts, the Rogers courts.

Wed 3/13
9am vs UT Tyler at Claremont Mudd Scripps (lower courts)
*Then we're off to watch pro tennis at Indian Wells with the BNP Paribas Open

Sat 3/16
3pm vs #28 UC Santa Cruz, east fieldhouse courts

Sun 3/17
10am vs #22 Redlands University at UC Santa Cruz east courts

We're super excited to see some friends and families on the road this week, and if today was any indication, it's going to continue to be an amazing trip as the Rubinstein's got us started off with an amazing dinner and fun evening - thank you so much Jill, Rick and Jenny!

you can follow matches on twitter @coachhein and we'll call in scores so that the Whitman website can be updated.

John

What a Weekend

With a home heavy schedule this year, the team has really enjoyed having more time on campus in front of the Whitman Community.  So, as we prepared for a whirlwind journey through the state of Washington with three matches in 2 days, there was a lot of excitement last week. 

The trip started with a 10am match at Whitworth in Spokane.  The Pirates are a great team, they always compete with class and through all the battles we've had with them, it's always an intense but positive experience.  Saturday was no different as a small traveling squad (for us) of 7 took to the 3 courts in the bubble for doubles.  I was looking to mix up our lineups both to reward everyone who is working so hard and improving so much with opportunities, and also to make sure we're not overworked oncourt or overwhelmed by school heading into our big spring break trip in a week.  In doubles, Morgan and Jenna set the tone with a big win to start us off at #2.  At #3, Maddy and Katrina struggled to find consistency and their opponents made them pay so it was up to Alyssa and Courtney to give us the lead.  They looked comfortable at #1, but a big fight from the Pirates made it close before we secured the 8-6 win.  In singles, we split up to use the three bubbled courts and three outdoor courts as the sun had warmed things up.  Courtney, Alyssa and Morgan were rock solid inside with only Morgan having to battle to win a second set tie break.  Outside, Jenna continued the run of singles wins, putting us up 6-1.  Maddy at 5 and Katrina in her first top 6 singles match at 6 both struggled with frustrating opponents and a huge slow down of speed from inside to outside.  Each lost a close, hard fought match which certainly was disappointing but how they carried themselves was so positive.  It was a tough day for those two, but showing their outstanding character, they gave credit to their opponents who really earned the wins and then they let their teammates support them in preparing for the next step.  The match was fast enough to get us on the road and to Tacoma in time to watch the live stream of our Whit Women's basketball team win the second round of NCAA's to move on to the sweet 16!!!!!

The UPS match on paper looked like an interesting one.  They are such a deep team in singles that I was so excited to get great matches for so many people.  True enough, after sweeping doubles and playing well in a close exhibition loss at #4 (Liv and Erin).  So, up 3-0, wanting to get more players in the lineup, I pulled Alyssa and everyone moved up.  Courtney took care of business at #1, Morgan played a marathon first three games, but came out on top with a straight set win at #2 and it was Jenna's turn to have an off day in singles at #3 so we had clinched the match 5-1.  At the same time, in three close first sets at 4-6, Rubes was down a set but rolling in the second 3-0, Erin was down a set but again trading close games in a VERY well played #5 match and Liv was up a set, taking the tiebreak and also trading close games in the second.  Erin's opponent came up with some great shots at key times, but I was proud of Erin's consistency and mentality, it was a great day for her tennis and a fun match.  Liv continued to play really well, but as her opponent raised her level the match fell to UPS in a third set tie break.  Liv's three setter and Rubes' match were very different.  While Liv battled it out in a match where there weren't many tactical changes, just who would execute, Rubes faced a player who she figured out after the first set, won the second 6-0, then the style changed again and it was a mental and physical battle in the third.  At 4-4, playing really well and gaining momentum, the UPS player hit a couple of lines to go up 5-4 and then was able to finish the match 6-4.  If this is any indication, we'll see continued development and great things from our younger Kate.  In exhibitions, Katrina turned the corner from her close match at Whitworth, winning in a tie break and Maggie played some of the best tennis, if not the best of the season, using her improved forehand to dictate points off her serve.  Unfortunately, she didn't quite figure out her opponent's big serve and lost the proset, but it was a great match for Mags.

With some lunch in the sun watching the Whitman Baseball team playing UPS, we then crossed town to play PLU.  With a different doubles lineup, the Kate's played with tremendous energy at 3 and the twins took care of business at 1 against a very good team of two freshmen and Liv and Mags pulled out a solid win at #4.  Court 2 was back and forth the whole match, with neither team getting more than a one game lead.  On serve late, KKP and Maddy held for 7-7 before a strong PLU hold and a break for the match.  As with UPS, this is the type of match we need to be in and it was great to feel the energy of a close college doubles match.  Singles was more one sided than in the morning with Courtney and Alyssa leading the way.  Morgan rested so Jenna played #3 and was up to the challenge, bouncing back from the am with a solid win.  Maddy's match at #4 looked routine after a 6-0 first set, but we all know in tennis anything can happen and after an amazing back and forth second set with both players getting more consistent and still hitting big shots, the match went to a long super tie break which Maddy pulled out 13-11!  What a mental battle for the sophomore and a great indicator of her toughness.  We also got solid wins from KKP at 5 and Rubes at 6.  Katrina played #8 and rolled in her proset using her serve and offense to create forced errors.  Liv was battling back and forth in a tight proset at 7 before getting a bad blister taped, then cruising in the remaining games for the singles sweep on the road!

It was a ton of tennis, a lot of driving to go both places in a weekend and we missed Hannah who was invited to an environmental law conference in Eugene, OR, but we had a wonderful time and in the van pulling into Walla Walla late at night there was much chatter of how excited everyone is for spring break.  We'll practice hard this week and have another double header on the road this Saturday in Portland before taking on Wash U (St. Louis) a week from today Monday 3/11 at the Claremont Tennis Club in Claremont, CA.

Thanks so much Rosemary and Frank for lunch, and to Layne and Mary for cheering at Whitworth as well as Dena, Jen, coach Dhavan, the Kunkel clan and Alyssa's westside family for being at the matches in Tacoma.  We're a well loved group and we APPRECIATE IT!

Next up from me will be this week's ITA national team rankings and a preview of our Spring Break trip.

Coach John