NWC Champions and Tournament Schedule

Hello and thanks to all of you who have supported us all year.  The work has paid off as we concluded a perfect 12-0 season in conference this year, winning our first championship since 1997 and first sole championship since 1988!  Read more on our website.

KKP and ShoPo

We don't plan it this way or talk about it while its happening, but it was so fitting that the individual match that clinched a share of the title and hosting was Kate K-P and HP in doubles, then Saturday up 4-0, Alyssa won her singles match to defeat UPS and clinch the outright title; what a well deserved way to conclude their regular season careers at Whitman!


We're not done with these two yet, here is the schedule for the Conference Tournament this weekend at Whitman

Friday - Semifinals

#4 Linfield at #1 Whitman, 10 a.m.

#3 Whitworth vs. #2 Lewis & Clark, 2 p.m.

Saturday - Tournament Final

Semifinal winners at 9 a.m.

The men's tournament will start after the Women's final with the #1 seeded WC Men playing at 1pm Saturday with a Sunday final slated for the Whitman courts.

Back to Business in the Northwest. April match preview

There is a lot going on just a week back from Spring Break.  After a successful trip to California where we went 2-3, but with big wins that vaulted our National Ranking from #27 to #16!!! It's our highest since 1988, when the team finished #15 in DIII.

WC Webpage Article on Rankings

Now, with a great week of training under our belts, we turn our attention back to the Northwest Conference.  After going undefeated through a round of conference play, we sit 8-0 in conference play with 4 matches left over the next two weekends, all at home.  The first obstacle between us and the NWC championship is the Pacific Boxers this Saturday.  It's a Whitman double header as we take on the women at 10am, followed by the #15 in the nation Squirrel (WC) men at 2pm.  Pacific brings a young and improving team who we defeated in Forest Grove to start Spring Break.  Sunday, Whitworth comes to town; the already deep Pirates  have their #6 player back from basketball.  We're excited to see how they have improved and to play our Eastern Washington rival at home.

Match times are: Saturday 10am vs Pacific, Sunday 2pm vs Whitworth

Then next weekend, for our senior weekend, we finish the season with PLU at Friday at 4pm and UPS on Saturday at 11am.  And Friday vs PLU will also be our campus kids day!!!!

This week's Whittie of the Week was an unanimous vote for Jenna! 

Focus on the court...

Smiles off the court, Jenna knows how to work hard and have fun

Whitties Demonstrate Toughness in California

Hello all,

I put up a quick post on facebook about our Spring Break trip and will provide some more details here.  I don't have photos, as I didn't bring a camera but will hopefully get some from parents and players and start posting them on our flickr page and facebook soon.

Coming into the season with a team that achieved so much last year, gaining our first national ranking in years and NCAA tournament win in program history, we could have been satisfied, but we chose to test ourselves.  The players wanted as many tough matches as we could get to show everyone what we know we're capable of and by playing 3 top 15 teams, a top 30 team who could be in the top 15 and an unranked team that is capable of beating top 30 teams; this was certainly the challenge we wanted.  We came away from this trip with so many great memories, so much to be proud of and still a lot to learn from going forward.

As I wrote, our trip in Southern California was amazing.  Great weather, awesome competition and wonderful family and friend support led to a ton of fun, a solid win over regionally ranked UT Tyler and a huge win over #13 Trinity.  As we transitioned to NorCal, new rankings came out with Redlands at #13, Trinity at #14 and us and UCSC remaining at #27 and #28 as little had happened through Sunday which was the ranking cutoff date, except Redlands beat Trinity.

In Santa Cruz, the Slugs were fired up to get back at us for beating them at NCAA's last year and in Walla Walla in February.  The doubles were great with all three tightly contested and the quality of doubles was terrific.  Unfortunately, after positive starts, we dropped close matches at 2 and 3 and were down 4-7 at #1.  Things looked bleak before Alyssa and Courtney showed what they can do with a huge comeback to get to a tie break where they had a match point before losing.  Being down 3-0 can be a terrible feeling, but the belief was high in ourselves as we entered singles and every match was a battle.  Courtney and Alyssa scored big wins at the top, but UCSC stepped up everywhere else to take the match 7-2.

The next day was our last day of the trip and just like a week ago, we had lost to a great team and then got to play the #13 team in the country.  Unlike the Trinity match where we were terrific in doubles, we came out with good energy but just misfiring too often against very solid teams at #1 and #2.  At #3, Katrina and Kate showed amazing fight after being down a break to get it back and force a tie break.  This was the kind of moment we needed as our freshmen stepped up with big tennis to win the match and get us on the board down 1-2 after doubles.

In singles, our top 3 were so resolved and all won their first sets.  As #4-6 were all matched up against very tough opponents, we knew it would be hard to pull one out.  Kate KP and Jenna both battled super hard in each set but dropped straight set matches, though I loved seeing Jenna hit her shots and play her game more and more as she develops into consistently being the player I know she is.  #5 was perhaps one of Redlands' best spots and Rubes played her tennis in spurts, but couldn't quite keep the score close to allow herself a chance to gain control of the momentum. Rubes had an awesome Spring break and while she too is learning to maintain her level consistently, her growth as a player has been phenomenal and she has the promise to keep getting better and better. After straight set losses at 4-6, we were down 5-1 before Courtney won a 10 point tie break by a 10-1 score showing her fitness at the end of a long week, Alyssa won 4 and 4 with a huge running forehand passing shot on match point and Morgan also gutted out a 10 point tie break win where her mental toughness and ability to stick with her game earned her the Whittie of the Match from Em and I.

Certainly there is always disappointment in a 5-4 loss, but not only on this day, but throughout the week, we showed that our foundation of teamwork, support, fitness and great tennis can not just play with but earn wins against this level of national competition.  We also learned a ton about specific things to improve upon and will head home after a much deserved week off this week. Yes, Whitman has a 2 week break so we get to play all these matches and give the team a break which is so important.  I know the next time we face teams of this level we will be improved at every spot because that is the character of this team.  We also have more depth than ever and teamwork and support are just the beginning of what HP, Liv and Maggie provided this week.  Hannah has worked really hard to come back from her fall abroad and with such a strong group of first year players she has been diligent and patient with herself as she not only gets her game back but keeps improvin .   Liv and Mags also played some of their best tennis which will keep our practices productive and competitive and make us better each day and I can't say enough about the guidance, leadership and coaching that Emily is providing, thanks Em!

It's hardly been any time off, but I can't wait to get back to work next week and to reconnect with all of these outstanding young women.  Some people have asked how it is to spend 9 days on the road with the team, and I can only say that it couldn't have been more fun to be a part of this team, to compete with such amazing athletes and to spend time with such wonderful people.  I'm loving it!

Thanks so much to Derry for helping at Redlands as well as all of the Whitman students and friends of our team who came out to watch everywhere we went.  The family thing we have going was also reflected in our amazing team families who came out every match.  It was so special to see you all and share this great week of tennis and fun with you.

-John

WC Spring Break Part 1

Well, if I waited until the end of the week, I'd probably both leave out a ton of cool stuff and also have to write a lot.  So, I'll try and cover part 1 of our break and get you primed for this weekend.

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 transition to the weekend ahead (UCSC and Redlands in Santa Cruz), was a drive out to the desert for the night session at the BNP Paribas pro tournament at Indian Wells.  It was unbelievable to watch in person in one day Andy Murray, Juan Martin Del Potro, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic.  On the women's side we all got down close for a late night encounter between Sara Errani and Maria Sharapova as well as men's and ladies doubles.

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