Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Final Fall ITA wrapup




With only one match to recap, I'll start there and move to the important stuff after.

Our doubles semi was a great test against two extremely talented Willamette players and after trading leads and breaks early, we were up 4-3 before a turn in momentum saw us trailing 6-4. At this point, Div and Alyssa held there composure and played a tremendous game to break serve. We came out firing on Div's service game going up 40-15 and from that point on the level of tennis from both teams was very good, but Willamette definitely stepped up to earn the break and hold to finish the match 8-5. As a coach you always want to see the opposition earn a victory, which is what we made them do. At the same time, this early in the season I was sooooooooooo impressed with the potential of these two players in doubles. From last year, I knew that Div has a great all around game and is a force at the net, but this weekend she showed more variety than I saw all last year proving that even players who are already great and experienced can put a smile on their coaches face with their ability to improve. Alyssa has been working on her doubles very hard and in this match she displayed every tool a great doubles player needs and I can't wait to see her use them all consistently.

The big news from the weekend is that in all my years of tennis as a player and coach I have never had so much fun with a team. I'm glad we have been doing so much core strengthening, otherwise we might have a training room full of players with strained abdomens from laughing so hard for so long.

I must also thank again everyone who supported us so well at the tournament and through your distance support. When student athletes work so hard it means a lot for them to know people care about their efforts, so thank from all of us!

Best wishes for a wonderful fall,

John