Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Wrapping Up Our Adventure at the Zoo


For those of you who have followed us on the team website (thanks Andrew and Jordan), via facebook or twitter or straight from NCAA.com or Kalamazoo Colleges Website, you know it’s been a few days since Courtney and Alyssa finished up a terrific season at the NCAA DIII individual national championships. 

Despite the tolls of a long season affecting our preparation, we felt really good coming into the tournament.  Both players competed last year, getting a win in doubles and one goal was to go at least a round further.  This was achieved  in singles as Courtney backed up her #8 seeding with a solid win over the #1 player from Coe College.  

Courtney did a terrific job staying focused and finding different ways to win points because her opponent was giving her nothing for free.   Court fought through some tough games where she just had to be consistent and in others, she mixed in different types of offense to take the match in straight sets.
For her second match, we knew more offense would be needed verses an experienced senior from Carnegie Mellon.  While playing indoors due to rain was fine for the players, it was disappointing for the fans who had to look through four courts of play to see the action.  Being at the bench, I can tell you that the scoreline of 6-1,6-0 for her opponent does nothing to describe how competitive this match was.  So many games were long battles, including the second game which was over 20 minutes long and showcased the best that both players had to offer with long points ending in winners as the court finally opened up for one or the other.  While not able to sustain this level of offensive effort through the rest of the match, it is really the style of play that will take Courtney to a new level next year.  Better execution of shots would have turned the match her way, but I was also amazed with how many winners her opponent was able to hit while committing almost no unforced errors.  It’s tough to run into a player whose style matches up so well against you and performs at her best, but I’m proud of Courtney’s fight and ability and can’t wait to see how her singles continues to grow.

After some food and a change of venue to Kalamazoo College, Alyssa and Courtney were again on the end court for doubles.  I’m not sure there is ever a good or bad draw in doubles at nationals because all 16 teams are there because they can play and they’ve been incredibly consistent throughout the year.  We found out early on that this team from Washington and Lee was for real as they served and returned big and then settled into making simple plays over and over.  Soon, we were down 2 breaks though we hadn’t played poorly, just not with the intensity we are capable of.  Then, for a few games the spark was lit and we got a break to pull the score to 3-5 before they came up with some big shots to win the first set.  The second set was a bit of a struggle as the momentum went back to W&L as they capitalized on a few missed shots to again take the lead and carry it to a straight set win.

We watched this team defeat a very good Williams team the next day and push the #1 seed to the limit in 3 sets in the semifinal so it was obvious they were playing their best tennis.  That’s really what this tournament was all about, and among the best players in the country, Courtney carried herself with the poise and fight of a champion and Alyssa played a wonderful match to conclude her college tennis career. 

After the tennis, we decided not to change our flights as Courtney’s family was there and we were all happy to spend some time enjoying each other’s company and seeing more of the tournament.  We cheered on our men’s team as they played a thrilling match losing in a third set tie break to the #2 seeds.  We also got to spend some time with Mark and Sandy, which was super fun (by the way, Sandy is now bowling strikes regularly so watch out on the lanes Texas!).  Perhaps the best thing from my perspective was to have a couple more days to be around Alyssa and see her hanging out with Courtney and Morgan.  Alyssa not only has raised the level of competition at Whitman, but her giving and positive personality will be reflected on our team for years to come.  To say we’ll miss her on and off court is an understatement, but the time that she’s had at Whitman has been truly special and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for her.

I’ve heard many people describe college coaching over the years, but two things that have stuck with me from my good friend at Boise State Greg Patton are that, “ours is the best job in tennis” and “we’re in the people business”.  I couldn’t agree more with you Greg, I’m loving this “job” and to be able to coach players as good as Alyssa and Courtney and to know and mentor these amazing young women is the best business I could hope to be in.

This does conclude our 2012-2013 season, and I’d like to thank all of our players, students, faculty and staff at Whitman, our alums and supporters and our terrific team families who have made it a special year.  Summer is starting and I have some exciting news to share in future posts regarding next year when we’ll look to keep improving, but for now, enjoy your summer and thanks so much for your support.

-Coach John

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Looking Back on an Amazing Season

We have just returned home to Walla Walla for the end of finals, camp Whitman and graduation.  We had hoped to also be preparing for a team trip to the national final 8 in Kalamzoo, MI, but a tough first round regional match ended our team season.  Fortunately, Alyssa and Courtney will be playing doubles and Courtney will be playing singles at the individual Nationals in Kzoo after graduation.

This season was truly special for this team.  After breaking into the national rankings and NCAA tournament last year, the team challenged themselves to keep growing on and off court and the result was the most special season of tennis I've ever had.  Our team is evolving each year and as good as it was last year and the year before, somehow it feels better and better to be a part of Whitman tennis.  Always known for great sportsmanship, support of each other and fun at all times; the level of play keeps going up and with it, the bonds between these young women become visibly stronger.  Because we performed so well and love being together so much, losing the other day was hardest because it meant the end of the season together.

That end came at the hands of a very deep and consistent Redlands team.  They are a focused hard working team who stayed really tough after winning #2 doubles but being down 7-6 at #3 and 8-7 at #1.  Both Redlands teams dug in to get the doubles sweep and put us in a huge 0-3 hole.

We still had belief going into singles and at #6 KKP jumped out to an early 3-1 lead, Jenna and Morgan were battling and Courtney took the first set with Alyssa at 5-4.  Maddy, Tree and HP provided amazing support and Rubes had high school friends from 3 schools in California cheering her on.  But as Jenna played a brilliant tie break to win a long opening set,  KKP, Rubes and Morgan were each down a set so we needed some 3 set magic and a solid win from Alyssa.  In a scary moment, Alyssa turned her ankle up 5-4 30-15 in the first set and after a tape job and a lot of courage, she lost the first 5-7.  Totally up against the wall, everyone fought so hard and played some of their best in the end, but both Morgan's and Kate R's opponents were on fire and took straight set wins to end the match and our team season.

Out of about 340 teams in DIII, we know only one end the season in celebration and we credit Redlands with playing some clutch doubles and tough singles, but it still hurts to lose winnable matches.  I know for a fact though that our seniors are very proud of their legacy at Whitman and their individual leadership and play throughout 4 years, this season and in this tournament.  We are also a fairly young team with 3 sophomores and 3 first year players contributing to the counting matches.  Combined with the constant growth of our juniors, our team will be deeper and more competitive next year from all of the experiences we gained this season.

I cannot say enough how proud I am of every player on the team and of how Emily has stepped into the role of coaching.  We wouldn't have had the success we did without a total team effort.  Our team also extends beyond us to those of you who are so wonderful in supporting us.  Whether it is emails or facebook messages from alums and friends, people coming to matches or following our twitter and scores it is a special thing to know you're supported and there is no place that fosters support and community like Whitman.  Dena, Mark, Sandy, Bob, Annie, Johanna and Abby it was so great to spend time with you and have you at the match.

Thank you all so much for a special season.  We're not done yet, and there is a lot to look forward to next year, but having you behind us has made this year nothing short of amazing.

All our best,
John and the Whitman Women's Tennis Team

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

NCAA Regionals Are Set...We're off to California, here's the details

Thanks so much for the many congratulations on our NWC tournament win and then our first win over #7 in NAIA LCSC in my years here.  I'd like to especially thank those of you in the W Club and superfan Charlie Stookey for all the positive vibes!  

The team was excited to hear the news yesterday that we were selected to go to Claremont, CA for the first round of the NCAA tournament.  The team knows that it is a privilege to represent our conference in the tournament and also a great opportunity to play a terrific team this Friday in the first round.  With our focus on Redlands at 2pm Friday, we are having a lot of fun practicing and enjoying our time together.

That is really what this weekend is about for us, enjoying the moments as we prepare to play our best tennis. This is such a competitive group on court, but if you have been around us, you know that how much fun we have together off court creates a positive environment that I am amazed to see this balance in such a high achieving group of young women.

Enough of my rambling, we've got work to do getting ready for the weekend, here are the details about the NCAA Regionals.

Our match schedule is:
Friday 2pm Courts 7-12 (lower courts) at CMS Bizantz Tennis Center vs University of Redlands, who edged us out on Spring Break 5-4.

Saturday 2pm - if we win we play Pomona Pitzer, who has a bye

Sunday 12pm - Regional Final 

If you're coming, let me know, we'd love to see you at the tournament.

There are no paper programs, but the program is online at

The brackets and information are on http://www.ncaa.com/sports/tennis-women/d3
Our great SID Andrew will keep you updated on the Whitman site http://www.whitman.edu/whitman-athletics
Host CMS will have a webpage with live stats (and maybe streaming video if we play Sat/Sun) http://www.cmsathletics.org/sports/wten/2012-13/2013_WT_Regionals/championship_central
We'll also update you on twitter @coachhein  
and facebook  https://www.facebook.com/WhitmanWomensTennis