Hi everyone,
It is incredible both how quickly time passes and how much can be fit into a couple weeks. After returning home from a terrific regional USTA/ITA tournament in Portland, it was so much fun to watch the Whitman Men play on campus as host's of their event. This was the first competition on our newly refurbished outdoor courts and the guys didn't disappoint, playing some great tennis and having both doubles finalists and all-Whitman semifinals too.
We then had our last week of fall practice where we got to enjoy the new courts. Of course, Courtney and Morgan were preparing for the fall Nationals this week, but it was so much fun to get at it with this group and see how motivated they are after the fall regional; in fact the whole fall has really brought the team together in a great way. There has been so much leadership and contribution across the board and it shows both in how productive we've been on court and how the friendships and bonds on the team keep growing stronger off court.
As of right now, Mo, Court and I are on east coast time, arriving in Florida today with play in matches at Fall Nationals tomorrow. You can follow on the ITA and Whitman websites, but as usual; more recent updates will be on twitter (@coachhein) and facebook (Whitman Women's Tennis).
The small college nationals are such a special event as it may be the only event in college sports that combines every division with DIII, DII, NAIA and JuCo with the winners going on to play in the DI championships. Men and Women all compete at the same site so tomorrow's schedule is:
Singles play in's: Courtney vs Sofia Vega (TLU) 11am EST; Andrew LaCava (WC) vs Paxton Duel (Trinity)
Doubles play in's: Courtney/Morgan vs. Johnson/Tran (UTD) 2pm EST; Andrew/James (WC) vs Guin/Thompson (Trinity)
Go Whitman!
News from Coach John Hein
Summer Tennis Camps and Events:
Team Photo's on Flickr!
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.