Actually, we had a three part trip, so lots of travel which has been more fun than my scientific writing background can properly express. We had a great weekend in Portland where the Rubinstein's treated us to an awesome pre match dinner (by the way, if you are into model trains or cars, you NEED to become fast friends with them and get an invite to see Rick's collections!). This definitely got us ready as we swept George Fox and Pacific and on a beautiful day everyone got to play against George Fox. Our depth showed as we won 10 singles matches and 5 doubles (counting and exhibitions combined)!
Then, it was sleep and an early plane flight to SoCal. Again, we immediately enjoyed some family time as we flew into Long Beach and were close enough to have some time with the Websters. As a coach in my 5th year, seeing not just the players come together, but how close our tennis family gets with our family families is one of the most rewarding parts of what I do.
Still, we were there to play tennis and started our trip with the #3 team from the Central region, Washington University in St. Louis. As with Fox, it was super positive to be playing 5 doubles and 9 singles matches. Thanks to Coach Kelly and Wash U for such a great start to the trip. Wash U came in ranked #12 in the country and we learned two things from this match. 1) you can't let a top team have too many chances or they are likely to take the match from you, which they did as they earned every bit of their 7-2 victory, and 2) we're not "on our way" to belonging with the best teams in the country, we are here as we felt this match could have easily fallen our way despite the scoreline.
So, the next day with those things in mind and the memory of a 4-5 loss last year that the team remembers as the kind of atmosphere, support and intensity that college tennis should always be like, we took to 4 courts at Pomona Pitzer to play Trinity (TX). Like last year, we got up in doubles with strong wins at 1 and 2. Alyssa and Courtney were battling hard with a team they've played a couple times and were just pulling away 7-5 when TU sophomore star Mackenzie Knoop re-injured an old injury and retired. We had already won at 2 with Morgan and Maddy showing the same fight and teamwork they displayed in winning vs Wash U. Again, like last year, #3 was close and TU pulled it out. This time, after being down 2 breaks, Katrina and Rubes regained the momentum and forced a tie break which was close until the Trinity player hit two huge first serves to win the match. In singles, on four courts, the atmosphere was again great with players from both sides cheering their teammates on. Morgan kept us going at 3 with a very businesslike straight sets win. Alyssa followed suit to extend the lead. Her leadership on and off court has been brilliant this year, a significant step up from last year when she was about as good as you can get. At #4, Jenna had a tough match where she just wasn't finding her shots, but those days happen in tennis and her attitude is possibly the most positive I've ever seen, so with her work ethic and talent this will no doubt be something she grows from. These matches took quite a while and as the day wore on, with Rubes in control up a set 6-2 at #5 and KKP just starting at #6 on serve 2-2, Courtney stepped on the gas after a battle in the first set to clinch the match and give us our first top 15 win in my career, and in as long as I can find records for at Whitman. A total team effort, everyone was doing their jobs and the preparation was outstanding. I couldn't be more proud of how together our team is.
Still, I was a bit nervous about how we would react after a great win. Were we spent from these matches or would we overlook UT Tyler who we are ranked above, but is a very good team that we had a battle with last year? The answer was neither as we took care of business sweeping the doubles. Then, our top half singles went to work and all scored quick victories. The match was decided pretty quickly, but throughout singles, you could hear the team cheering each other on as. Then, with 5 and 6 left and both up a set, KKP was forced into a super tie break for the third. She fought bravely and came up just short. So, the last match was Rubes and it was a good one. Apparently, her opponent had played a marathon match the day before to clinch a win for UTT and she was at it again, extending points longer and longer and just not missing balls. Kate stayed focused, imposed her game and showed an incredible amount of physical and mental toughness to take the match and extend the score to 7-2.
Our recovery from playing and spectating was aided by the Webster's, what hosts! We were fed, housed and go a boat tour of Long Beach! How much fun are we having?
Apparently, we can have more because Saturday at 3pm we play UCSC at the East fieldhouse courts and Sunday we take on Redlands at 10am also at UCSC on the East courts.
These matches are a great opportunity as we've beaten UCSC once, but they are looking really strong lately and Redlands has been on a tear which moved them from #22 to #13 in the country.
More to come after the weekend....
John
