Defining Success at the Fall USTA/ITA Regional

So far, just a few short weeks into the 2013-2014 campaign, we have been working really hard on court and having a ton of fun together as a team.

These are always two huge goals and so I've decided to decrease the amount of team meetings and mental work we do and maximize our on court and fitness time.  Coach Chelsea has been instrumental in this because she plans and executes workouts with a joy and intensity that is paying early dividends and works so seamlessly into our overall plan to develop better players.

There is probably no better test of everything that makes tennis so special than the fall ITA.  It is grueling to play up to 11 matches in 3 days.  It is physical, mental and spiritual to face different opponents in various situations.  I told the team that success would be defined by their effort and what we both demonstrated in Portland, but also by what we learned and could take back to work on before the Spring season.  I find myself so invested in the work they've done and how much of themselves they put into everything they do that to lose even one match is devastating.  This is unrealistic as we had 8 players and only one of 64 singles and 32 doubles could win the tournament, but having this goal provides insight into what will take each game to the next level.

Maggie was our lone senior in the draw and she played a great match against a seed from UPS and game for game was in it, moving and playing some of her best college tennis in a tough two set loss.  The consolation was different as she fought toe to toe with a talented first year player and lost a heartbreaking 9-7 proset.  Doubles with Seana started brilliantly with great teamwork before their opponents turned it on to take the match winning the last several games.

Speaking of Seana, what a singles tournament.  If I was excited about her potential before, I'm ecstatic now.  She toughed her way through a first round win and against a seeded player who had a huge game.  After being broken in the first set, Seana held serve convincingly to start the second and played a beautiful game blending power and angles to break to go up 4-1.  From there, each game was close as the second set fell to Pacific 6-4.  What a start for Seana, it was a fun match, both players enjoyed the level and this is something she can really build on.

Our other first year, Allie, came in seeded 9th and moved through the first day of singles and doubles displaying her many weapons and fiery competitiveness.  Sunday proved to be frustrating in both singles and doubles as our talented freshmen expects a lot of herself and had winnable matches in both.  In both matches, her opponents showed poise in staying really solid and stepping up at key moments to fend off Allie's charges.  So, while she lost to very good players who played well, this weekend she's learned some things about her own game as well as what it takes to mature into the college tennis player we know she'll be.

Her doubles partner Jenna had a similar tournament, with so much work over the summer on her game, we knew our 4th seed was a threat to win the whole tournament, but due to rain, we played 10 point tie breaks on Sunday and one bad set had Jenna fighting for her place in the quarters.  After a great battle she, like Allie fell in a match tie break and was disappointed, but I'm not sure anyone is more positive than Jenna and she was immediately back out there cheering on her teammates.

Two of those teammates played each other in the round of 16.  Erin announced herself to our conference as the 10 seed and won her fist match easily before dropping a strange first set and having to come back to dominate the second and the match tie break.  This put her up against probably the most dangerous unseeded player in the draw, her doubles partner Katrina.  Tree had also played a match tie break Saturday where she won a 12-10 thriller over the 7 seed from Linfield, one of the toughest players in our conference.  Tree carried this momentum against her doubles partner and beat Erin in straight sets to move on to the quarters.  What a tournament for her as she was up an early break and battled the 2 seed who in the end just had too many answers for Katrina's game.  This is something I love about this tournament, that it doesn't matter what number anyone played last year in their singles lineup, if they have done the work and improved, they can show it, and Tree certainly did!  In doubles, these two big hitters played fun aggressive tennis through Saturday and Sunday to earn a place in the semis on Monday morning.  I wouldn't say they had a slow start because they played a great game to hold and nearly broke to go up 2-0, but instead, several back and forth games had them down 1-4, then I think 3-7 before they found the rhythm again to fight back to 6-7 before the 2 seeded team from Whitworth had a terrific hold of serve to win the match.

The reward for Whitworth was a date with Courtney and Morgan in the finals.  This two of three set match was physically tough as the Pirates get a ton of balls back and fight hard, but the twins ability to get to the net and finish points was the difference in a convincing 6-1,6-2 win.  In the start, Courtney's serving got us going and in the second set, Morgan's big net play had a huge impact.  I'm so proud of them both, especially Morgan who has earned all-American status for the first time and will compete with her sister at the small college nationals in Fort Meyers Florida in a week and a half.

Representing the Northwest in Florida for singles will also be Courtney.  The number 1 seed and defending champ not only rolled through the draw without dropping a match, but to me, I saw in each match the display of some of the things she has worked hard on which she learned at NCAA's last year.  More work needs to be done to keep the consistency of all her shots at the highest level, but last weekend was a terrific display of focus and playing the plays she needed not only to win but to be successful at the next level.

While the on court success was terrific, we talked about how we would show up as a team and represent Whitman with sportsmanship and support.  This was on display throughout and it led to one of the most fun road trips I've ever been on. 

Another huge part of that was spending time with family and friends.  Thanks to the Bell's, Dobrin's, Alice Allick, Tom Sawatski and our many alums who came out to support and hang out with us in Portland.  Thanks to everyone and keep following us here, on twitter and facebook as Courtney, Morgan, Chelsea and I head to Florida Oct 9th-12th.

-Coach John