Good evening. Wow, many predicted that the Northwest Conference would be tight this year with so many teams getting better and deeper. Today, we had our 3rd 5-4 match of the season and this time we came out on top!
After another day of really well played doubles, our new lineup yielded a result that was not indicative of how well we played. As with Linfield, all 3 were close to the end, with the quickest match being an 8-6 LC win over Emily and Div at 2. The others went to tie breaks and at 1, Elise and Alyssa played outstanding tennis and came back from 2-6 to 6 all in the breaker before falling. Meanwhile at 3, Hadley and Kate found their game in the tiebreak to salvage a point going into singles.
The top matche showcased amazing tennis with Alyssa fighting hard but losing to NWC 2 time player of the year Amalia Nilsson. Hadley was bested by her younger sister at 3, with Whitney playing very solid tennis. With Junior Elise Otto winning in straight sets at 2, we were down 4-2 and needed all 3 matches on court. Sophomore Emily Rolston had a great day playing with incredible focus and energy to win in 3 sets. She was followed by Senior Divneet Kaur who was down 2-5 and calmed herself to come back and win the first in a breaker. The second set she jumped out to a 4-1 lead and then found herself down 5-6 and had a huge hold to force another breaker. Down 2 set points again she stepped up and pulled out a 9-7 tiebreak. Almost in unison, 1st year missionary Kate Kunkel-Patterson rounded out our 4 wins by 4 classes with a straight set win at 6 for the dramatic 5-4 comeback.
Tomorrow we are at Willamette at 11am.
-Coach Hein
News from Coach John Hein
Summer Tennis Camps and Events:
Team Photo's on Flickr!
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.