It feels like an instant and also an eternity since Sunday afternoon when we defeated host Linfield 5-1 for the NWC tournament championship and an automatic qualification into the NCAA tournament May 11-13th (site and opponent TBD).
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| NWC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS 2012! |
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| Court, Sara and Had earlier in the season |
In the past two days, I've had some time to reflect not just on the match, but on how special this team and entire program are. The first thing that comes to mind is that even on the road, we had 13 players there all with a singular goal and focused on keeping our combination of support, fun and intense competition that lifts both our tennis and relationships. I must mention that I decided that staying home to focus on her academics would be better for Sara as an individual. It is easy to say, but hard to believe and act on all of us being stronger by taking care of ourselves and as much as anyone on the team I am so proud of Sara this weekend for focusing on her studies and constantly keeping in touch with us on the road. Seeing her proud smile yesterday as a conference tournament champion was just as rewarding as lifting the trophy. Our focus on team and process provide extra challenges, but in our ultimate pursuit of the NCAA National Championship, it is the trust, support and efforts of every person on the team that make what we do each day so special.
Looking at the tournament matches, our focus as a team was absolutely to continue our championship habits. Each day in practice, fitness, meetings and matches our team works as if we are national champions. And, though this is definitely a learning process and we have much room to continue growing, we knew that if we focused on our habits and process that we had the skill to win this tournament.
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| Morgan's forehand |
In the semifinal vs Whitworth, we knew we were facing a deep team with a lot of pride and program history (3 consecutive NWC championships). As always, we were excited to come out strong in doubles and it was a great display from the start with great teamwork at all three spots. While the #2 match was the closest matchup in terms of tennis and both teams wanted to be aggressive but had to deal with intense midday sun that made overheads and serves on one end very difficult, Emily and Morgan played brilliantly and were able to pull it out. Emily was playing amazing all around doubles as usual and and Lil Mo really impressed me with her ability to seize the moment and finish points at the right times. With one dubs rolling, it was the match at three that I was most impressed with. Fighting back and forth early, HP and Maddy really came together to play some of their best dubs to pull off an 8-4 win and get the sweep we wanted.
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| Erin and Hadley |
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| Maddy getting fired up |
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| Annie and Kate |
In singles, we came out fired up in 1,2,3 and on courts next to each other it was a race to finish. Both Courtney and Morgan played great with Alyssa striking the ball really well and moving well. Her movement was really impressive because earlier in the week she had a weird injury that kept her from having a full practice until Friday. For someone who is so meticulous about her preparation, this was yet another sign of her tremendous growth as a player because she really stepped up and was beating a very good player even not at 100%. The courts were such that Maddy and Kate were next to each other and both were down a set and a break, battling quality opponents who showed that Whitworth is deep in singles. At 6, it was a tale of two sets with Emily on an isolated court losing the first set 6-0 before finding her range and going up 3-1 in the second. As playoffs to decision stop at 5 points, when Morgan won to put us up 5-0, matches were halted and our thoughts turned to the Sunday final vs Linfield. Saturday was such a great day of bright sunny weather (too much sun for many players serves and overheads) and Whitworth is such a classy great opponent with awesome depth of talent and character. We enjoyed tremendous support from players not playing, the many parents and alums who came out to watch and cheer and had a great dinner together after the match.
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| Had and Erin take the opportunity to train balance |
So, the stage was set for a 10am Sunday rematch with Linfield. The two big stories going in were that they had swept us twice in doubles this year and that their #3 singles player who plays #2 doubles was battling a wrist injury and it was uncertain whether she would play or not. These situations can be tough because you're not sure who you're going to play or how much the injury will hamper them. Our whole team did a terrific job of staying focused on our tennis and our doubles which was key as we went up 2-1. The way we did it was absolutely typical of great college tennis. Coming out a bit flat or nervous at one we went down 0-3 and started trading games and playing better tennis before Courtney and Alyssa really stepped up to take control and come back from 3-6 to win 8-6! Hannah and Maddy almost did the same thing but it was an even fight all the way. I was so impressed with their match by both teams and many people watching told me that was the best doubles match. Unfortunately we lost the last two close games but the way we played will win a lot of doubles matches in the future. Emily and Morgan continued their hot play and I think they would have beaten just about any team that day, but they did also take advantage of the Linfield injury to take a commanding 8-1 win and get us on the board.
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| Morgan and Seth |
Very pumped up being up 2-1 instead of down 0-3, we found out that their 3 player was pulled from singles, which didn't change 3,4,5 very much but did leave Emily with a less experienced but tough player at 6. Alyssa was facing one of the top players in the West and did have a bit of a loss of focus after going up 3-2 to lose the first set 6-3. This was more like the matches they had played the last two years and honestly I was a bit concerned until I went to Alyssa's bench after she won the first game of the second set and the look in her eyes was so clear and focused, I knew she had her game under control and would win the match. It's wonderful to see confidence, you can feel it coming from the team and it is contagious among them. Kate certainly had it as she went up in the first set by a break 4-1, then her opponent battled back and forced a tie break which Kate mixed both big offense and tough defense to win 7-5. Maddy was the opposite as she started slow before coming back to force a tie break which she lost 7-4. Both were such good battles going into the second set. Emily true to form on her little island of court 6 rolled through the first set 6-1. By the time these second sets were going, Courtney had won 1 and 2 to put us up 3-1 and shortly after Morgan followed with a 6-1,6-3 win to place us at the edge of victory 4-1! I give so much credit to everyone for focusing and moving around and cheering on Alyssa as she was up in the second with set points and Kate and Maddy who were both early in the second sets of great battles. It was so fitting that Emily would be at 4-3 just having pulled out a tough game with emotions running high. As she and her opponent dealt with the nerves of the moment, Em was brilliant, possibly playing her best two games of the match with the final game being a fluid balance of offense and defense but Em always in control and when the last point was won the celebration started! The other matches stopped and with a ton of respect for a great Linfield team, we enjoyed the fruits of our hard work and dedication.
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| Emily clinches it and we celebrate |
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| Taking the trophy to Walla Walla |
I am so happy for the Whitman Tennis Family of friends, alums, families and fans who all get to celebrate this win and look forward to NCAA's. The tournament is a 49 team tournament and the sites and draws will be announced May 7th with the first three rounds of play slated for Friday, Saturday, Sunday May 11-13th and the quarters, semis and finals May 21-23 in Cary, NC. Sometimes round one starts on Thursday as they try to accommodate graduations and schools who don't play on Sundays. Keep an eye on Super SID Dave Holden's articles on the Whitman Web Page.
Thanks so much to Dena, the Websters, Lawless', Annie Kunkel, Liz Bates, and the Rolston's for coming to cheer us on and enjoy the weekend with us, it was very special to have so many fans on the road.
To view photos of the weekend, I'll be loading many that Sandy Seaman took on the
flickr page and
facebook. If you have any you'd like to share with everyone, send them my way!
Looking forward to NCAA's!
John
