An Instant Classic

Hello everyone!

This past weekend we were thrilled to host 5 nationally ranked teams at home for our annual Whitman Winter Classic.  There is no way that I can recap all the tennis, but Gregg Petcoff in our sports communication department did a tremendous job recapping the matches and getting scores posted as well as live streaming the matches.  You can read the recaps on our webpage here.  Except for some rain and chilly weather that kept us indoors, the weekend went really smoothly and so much of that is due to our training staff and coaches.  Maddy and Tom were everywhere helping out, driving teams to/from the airport, setting up a wonderful family/alum dinner and oh yeah....coaching.

For us, this entire season is one that is all about discovering who we are and what we can do.  We know we have incredible talent, desire, support and sportsmanship; but how would we fare against top ranked teams?  The answers are both exciting as we build confidence, but also motivating as we answer questions and see how great we are.

The weekend started with a match against #35 Trinity. The Tigers in my opinion just didn't have the schedule last year to start with a higher ranking, plus they added some great pieces in recruiting so we knew it would be a battle...and a battle it was.  After playing great doubles to take a 2-1 lead, both teams settled into singles and eventually it came down to 4-4 and Allie was so composed and within herself to get her match to a third set.  Unfortunately, her opponent responded with an amazing set and Trinity got the match 5-4, but every one of our 10 players was fully engaged from start to finish and to have a match this big be contested from the first ball to the last is something we needed and is huge to get it early in the year.  Everyone contributed and grew so our Whittie of the Match was a 10 way tie, I'm so proud of how our team competed and started the weekend off.

Saturday we had the early start to accommodate a busy match schedule which went from 8am to 10pm.  The Bulldogs from Redlands play solid doubles and while every match was contested to the end, going down 0-3 gives us plenty of motivation to improve on the doubles court even though I thought we played some great tennis at all 3 spots.  So many teams would go away down 0-3, but we fought back to take 3 singles matches with Jenna going deep in 3 sets at #1.  We're a team that can win at every spot and loves the challenge of fighting together.

Before the finish to the tennis, Maddy planned a dinner downtown for the team, families and alums.  We had some wonderful local alums with Christy Krutulis, Kate KP and Danielle Garbe as well as semi locals (Seattle), Morgan and Courtney Lawless.  The Hills, Dobrins, Wallins, Val Brodeck and the Lockwoods were all with us at DaMa Wines.  Mary Derby and her staff at DaMa  were such wonderful hosts and it was so enjoyable to spend time with everyone!

Back on court Sunday, the team had decided that the finale to the Winter Classic and the start to our Northwest Conference Title Defense vs Linfield would be our Think Pink match.  They did a midweek bake sale and took donations at the match to give to St. Mary's Cancer Center in Walla Walla.  Everyone was involved, but Allie took a huge leadership role in making this happen and with pink shoelaces and hair ties, we set out to start the NWC season strong!  That's exactly what we did, sweeping doubles against a very good nationally ranked Linfield team.  The singles were awesome with Linfield being very strong at 1 and 2 where Jenna played possibly the best tennis I've seen before falling in a heartbreaking super tie break 8-10 to the #22 player in the nation. Jenna is right there and will have her breakthrough soon; I'm so proud of all her hard work and everyone is inspired by her play and leadership.  While the scores didn't show it, Cello's game is developing the nuances she needs to get to the next level and to be this good now and getting so much better each day is incredibly exciting.  The same goes for Jana who has been working so hard to expand her game.  When you're brave enough to do this, there can be bumps in the road.  Jana hit some of those this weekend, but I am so thrilled to see her meet many of her goals and do the things that will benefit herself and the team in the long run.  The character, talent and desire of all four new players is off the charts and we've got so many great things ahead to look forward to.

Over the weekend, we also found out what we knew from practice, that we can play great dubs and that Hanna and Mary are a legit force at #1 going 2-1 on the weekend with a huge win over the #8 team in the nation who have been to 2 fall nationals and NCAA individuals together.  Mary also gained great experience in going 3-0 in singles at #3 displaying not just her talent but also her increased fitness and her mental consistency.  Speaking of undefeated, Lori went 2-0 at #7 singles and Lindsey was a perfect 3-0 this weekend!

Thanks so much for those who came to our matches, and if you watched online or followed tweets, I hope we kept you entertained.  The fun keeps on going as we've got a short week to stay on top of our studies and keep our momentum going as we head to Lewis and Clark and Willamette for conference matches this weekend.

If you're in the Portland area, you don't want to miss this Friday's 4pm match at LC between the top two contenders in the conference!

Bye for now!
Coach John