Hello Whitman Supporters,
Today was senior day in Walla Walla with Elise (our lone senior/woman in charge) Otto's final home match. Elise has been tremendous for us and I can't say enough great things about her as a player, leader and a person.
Pacific's record in conference is not great, but both times we've seen them it hasn't shown. They are a tough team led by two juniors who play wonderful tennis and compete really well as evidenced a few weeks ago when we escaped Forest Grove with a 5-4 win. Today we were at home and definitely ready as we got out to a 2-1 lead after doubles. Em and Kate led the way at #2 with an 8-4 win and at #3 Lizzy and Hannah went back and forth losing 5-8 while at #1, Elise and Alyssa avenged a 6-8 loss by coming back from 0-3 to win 8 straight games to put us ahead. At the same time as doubles, Maggie got an efficient 8-0 exhibition singles win as she continues to steadily improve.
Singles started strong at 1 and 2, Elise getting the first set 6-4 and Alyssa 6-3. Kate and Em each lost their first set 6-1 and then both quickly split putting us in great spots on all 4 courts. Emily was off with a great 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 win and Alyssa extended the lead to 4-1 with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Cat Goya (again avenging an early season loss). After a strong second set, Kate looked good to start the third before her opponent got on a roll to win 6-1, 3-6, 6-2, so as Lizzy and Hannah came on at 5 and 6, we needed one more point. Elise was still battling in a long second set which went to a tiebreak that Megan Yoshimoto won 8-6 minutes before Hannah iced the match with a solid 6-2, 6-1 win. The final two matches were so different. As Elise and Megan traded long baseline rallies using spin and angles, Lizzy and Stephanie Velligas just pounded away at each other with aggressive shots. Momentum played a larger part in the #6 match with Lizzy winning 0-6, 7-6 (4), 10-5!
Nearly 4 hours after the close of doubles, having squeezed every last minute of home court time she could from the match, Elise stepped up her hitting and tactics in the third to claim her final home win 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3. What a performance.
Tonight we're in Spokane enjoying the Otto family hospitality and getting ready for a showdown with conference leader Whitworth tomorrow at noon.
All our best,
John
News from Coach John Hein
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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.