Hello everyone.
We finished up our weekend on the road in Oregon today with a 6-3 win over Willamette. We've been playing really good doubles but the quality of the conference has kept almost every proset close. Today we didn't have the best day at 2, and 3 again fought through a tiebreak, but the real story was at 1, where Elise and Alyssa were down 3-6 to the team that took out Div and Alyssa in the semi's of the fall tournament. To be fair, it was close each game to 3-6, but they made the subtle adjustments to gain steam and roll to an 8-6 win. Going up 2-1 was huge after having to fight back yesterday.
At Willamette, the courts are on 2 levels, 3 up a few feet from the other 3. We got on top using straight set wins on the top courts by Div at 4, Kate at 6 and then Elise at 2 to clinch the match. Alyssa showed she can play with the best in the conference by taking the first set and battling right to the end of the third with Natalia Agarycheva who has a HUGE game for D3. It just wasn't Emily's day at 5, but she almost pulled out the second and would have carried a lot of energy into the third. Speaking of energy in the third, after splitting and with the match decided shortly after starting the third, Hadley kicked her movement and her game into another gear, taking out Katie Huber 6-1 to finish the Whitman victory.
We also got a very strong, yet slightly inconsistent performance at 4 doubles from Dena and Charlotte, an exciting team that is putting the pieces together but lost in a tiebreak today. Dena came back strong to pull out an 8-5 exhibition win at #7 and her confidence seems to grow daily.
Regardless of results, the team played with great effort and enjoyment of the game both days and the trip would not have been so wonderful without the support of the Ly's and Kaur's, with the latter helping us achieve our goal of eating Indian food in Portland (actually Elise's goal, but a good one). A big thanks goes out to them.
I must also acknowledge Zoe for her multitasking during the match. With an ailing back keeping her off the court, she was charting doubles, cheering for everyone AND using my phone to provide match updates for you via twitter on the blogsite. Thanks ZZ.
One more week til spring break! Our Whitties will hit the books and get ready for one more NWC day and our trip down to California to play Santa Cruz, Whittier, Bowdoin, LaVerne and Redlands!
Best wishes to all,
John
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Coaching Philosophy
To me, being a college student is about opportunity and growth. As a coach, I consider myself lucky to spend 4 years providing opportunity while nurturing growth. We use common goals, hard work, open communication, respect and accountability as means to building meaningful relationships and improving each player’s skill set on and off the court. This means embodying championship virtues to inspire athletic, academic and personal growth that not only happens while you are at Whitman, but becomes a part of who you are throughout life.