NWC Tournament wrapup

Well, its been a day now, and I've reflected a lot upon our tournament semifinal vs. Linfield which ended in a 5-2 loss to end our dual match season.  Overall, I'm really happy with how we played, the effort, support and intensity were all there and we certainly didn't give the match away so I give a ton of credit to a very tough Linfield team for taking it. 

The match began on Whitworth's 3 outdoor courts with doubles and mid way through we got rained on and moved indoors into the bubble that covers the other 3 courts they have.  After several years of the tournament being in Yakima, the transition to having it on campus was very smooth thanks to great efforts by our hosts in Spokane and even though we were not at one of our own campuses, the match had a great atmosphere to it.  In the doubles, Elise and Alyssa came out on fire, efficiently going up 5-0 or 6-0, then holding on as Linfield made a run to win 8-4.  This was key because after close games to start, a combination of solid play from very experienced 2 and 3 Wildcat teams and some nerves from us led to two losses so #1 really kept us in it.

This year, we have had tremendous contributions from everyone in singles so we knew it would be a tight match and it lived up to that expectation with Kate and Elise winning their first sets while Alyssa fought a seesaw match at #1 where she went up 5-4, down 6-5 and played brilliantly to get into a tie break only to go down 0-5.  True to form, she reeled off several big points to knot it at 6-6 before it slipped away 8-6.  Kate's opponent found her game at #3 and as they split, Elise won her match to tie the score at 2-2.  From their the tennis was close and hardfought with Kate going up a break 3-2 in the third before losing 6-3.  Alyssa was again super close in her set before going down 7-6, 6-4, so now we were facing our last chances with Emily, Lizzy and Hannah on court all needing to win.  HP got us going with another solid showing at 6, winning the first set 6-2.  Emily lost her first by the same score, but after the first couple of games had worked out what she needed to do and the second set promised to be a matter of how consistently she would execute her shots (and she was looking good).  Unfortunately, it never got that far as Lizzy faced senior Sarah Click who was incredibly fired up and came out serving huge and really attacking very well.  By the time Lizzy got her bearings on Sarah's serve, the match was very far along and a quick Linfield win sealed things and halted Emily and Hannah's matches.

Today, Linfield went on to upset (slightly, their earlier match was 5-4) the #1 seeded Pirates from Whitworth, so as well as we played, we ran into the hot team early.  I am so proud, however, of our efforts.  Throughout the season we faced many challenges and I can say with complete conviction that the ability of this group of young women to respond, stay positive and enjoy each moment was as incredible as I've experienced since my playing days on an amazing National Championship team at UC Santa Cruz.

It was inspiring to have a great atmosphere and the cheering and support of all the families, friends and fans who supported us was unbelievable, so thanks to everyone who cheered, emailed and called to wish us well.

I also want to give a very special thanks to Coach Jeff Northam and the Whitman Men's tennis team as they prepare for a trip to NCAA regionals after winning their tourney at home today; not every team is fortunate enough to share courts with such a special team.  From the day I set foot on campus at Whitman, Jeff and  these young men have been gracious, polite and open to us and there is a feeling that the two teams are not only supporting each other but also pushing one another to be our best.  The Squirrels give us a great example of how to do things and we certainly appreciate their presence in making Whitman a wonderful place to play tennis.

Good luck to Whitman and Linfield in representing the NWC at the NCAA's!

Coach John