California here we come. On the coattails of back to back NWC victories vs. PLU and UPS, we are ready for some non conference matches in California.
While we've had wonderful semester of sunny skies and warm outdoor matches in Walla Walla, my family in Ca keeps telling me how much it is raining. Well, our fingers are crossed for good weather because we know we can bring great tennis!
Toady was a tremendous opportunity to play meaningful matches where I was able to make some lineup substitutions in order to rest our horses (or ponies, kangerotto's and lemurs) while getting a chance to see people step up in the lineup and face the pressure of counting matches. This was terrific for Dena and Charlotte who each got to play both singles and doubles. They had a good day of doubles but it was marked by lulls of inconsistent play. It is a testament to their big point execution and wonderful heart that they made it to two tiebreaks, but as aggressive as they were, we still could now notch a win.
Against both PLU and UPS we played a combination of consistent and aggressive doubles which was gratifying to see but even better to watch their smiles as the hard work in practice showed through.
There are so many singles matches to describe, so I'll just say that Elise and Alyssa took care of business at #1 with Elise playing very smart and Alyssa just catching fire as she was first off. Hadley's #2 match vs. PLU was very interesting, her opponent played extremely well, but even when she found the rignt gameplan, it was difficult to consistently execute it. Div put on a clinic today with wonderful ball striking and great recognition of what it would take to win points. Emily played a solid match vs PLU but form the middle of the first set to 5-0 in the second I was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO impressed and even though she let it slip a bit we were treated to shades of Emily playing how Emily should play. Kate was also a stalwart today, not only increasing he aggressive net play in doubles, but also being very tough from the backcourt with some very successful forays into the net.
All in all, it was a great day. Wonderful to have Mr. Div, Evan and Dena's brother Joe, and especially the Scotts there to watch and cheer us on, and the snacks in Yakima on the way over were Perfect, thanks Annie!
Talk to you all soon,
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.