Sorry for the delay in posting but between practices, matches, driving and dinners we have had a couple long days.
Tuesday we dropped a competitive 3-6 match to #15 Bowdoin on the CMS courts. We got off to a bit of a rough start in doubles. Even though Jeff/ET won easily at #2 doubles we dropped #1 (Conor/Andrew) 8-5, and the #3 team of Quin/Matt let a 6-3 lead evaporate and lost 6-8.
Bowdoin is known as a good singles team and they lived up to their billing winning 4 of the 6 singles. Our only wins were Jeff at #4 and Adriel at #6. The entire team certainly gave a great effort but we really needed to have the lead after doubles to crack the tough Bowdoin singles line-up. After the match I felt we were in a pretty good place emotionally, but physically we looked tired. This was, after all, our 5th match in 5 days against nationally ranked opponents. The intense matches, heat, travel, and fierce competition was taking its toll. At this point I was already worried about our Wednesday regional match at Cal Lutheran.
For the Cal Lutheran match I pulled Chris (he had been struggling) and decided to switch ET and Andrew (ET has been playing incredibly well). Against Cal Lutheran (#12 in nation) we not only got off to a bad start in doubles but a very low energy start. Number three doubles played horrible losing 8-1 and #1 doubles didn’t fair much better losing 8-2. This left the doubles in the hands of Jeff/ET at #2 doubles. Losing #2 doubles would of not only put us down 0-3 but would of sucked the energy out of the tired Whitties. At 7-8 Jeff hit one of the most amazing, clutch shots I have ever seen. Early in the game CLU hit a lob over Jeff’s head. At this point Jeff didn’t have many options as he scrambled to get the ball. With his back completely turned to the net he flicked a shot on the right side of body that skimmed over the net resulting in a CLU error. This one shot saved the doubles. After that shot Jeff and ET went on to dominate the match winning in a tiebreaker.
Enough though we went into the doubles down 1-2, Jeff/ET provided us a much needed lift. We were down but our fighting spirit was restored. What unfolded in singles was one of the most amazing team matches I have been a part of.
CLU has one of the best #1 players in the nation. Conor gave a valiant effort but lost 6-1, 6-2. Jeff also dropped his match at #4 6-3, 6-1 giving CLU a 4-1 lead. To make things even worse we lost the 1st sets at #2 ET and #3 Andrew.
Sam got us on the board with a 6-4, 6-1 win at #6 making the team match 2-4. Now things get whacky — CLU is completely in charge of the match when both ET and Andrew win the second sets. At #5 Adriel had won the 1st set but dropped the 2nd. Team score was 2-4 for CLU with the 3 remaining matches in third sets. I don’t know what more to say about ET. He is a hell of a ferocious competitor. I sat with ET through most of his 2nd and 3rd sets and he had a look in his eyes that said he wasn’t going to lose. After dropping the 1st set 1-6 he rallied to win 6-4, 6-3. It wasn’t long after his victory that Adriel won 6-0 in the 3rd. Match score was now tied 4-4 with Andrew in his third set!
Andrew was down a break at 3-4 when he got his 2nd wind to break serve. At 4-4 Andrew holds at love putting the pressure squarely on the CLU player. At 4-5 Andrew continues his strong play to go up 15-40 earning 2 match points. On both match points Andrew does exactly the right thing at the right moment and works his way to the net. At 15-40 he closes a bit too hard on a floating ball that drops below the net — Andrew caresses the ball a bit wide. At 30-40 Andrew comes in on a big approach and has a high forehand volley that he sticks into the open court but pushed it ever so slightly long. The CLU player is off the hook and regains his composure. Both players end up holding to force a tiebreak. Was an absolutely wonderful match but unfortunately for us CLU prevailed 7-5 in the tiebreaker. I believe this is only the 2nd match in my coaching career where the team match was decided by a 7-6 in the 3rd set match (the other was a victory over Redlands). Freaky how an inch separated us from an improbable comeback and defeat.
Can’t give my players enough credit for this match. This was our 6th match against national level teams in 6 days. We weren’t used to playing outdoors, dealing with the heat, and all were dead tired. Yet through all this we never lost our composure or belief in each other. Obviously I would of been thrilled to beat #12 CLU on their home courts but honestly I don’t think I could be more proud of the young men on my team.
In the past we have been criticized as a team that couldn’t play against the top teams in the country. This trip should dispel those criticisms. Even though we went 2-4 on our trip we defeated the #9 team in the country and played close with every team we faced. We are a unquestionably now a better team and now have the belief we can hang with the top teams.
We are lucky to have a two-week spring break and have next week off before returning to campus for the last part of our conference schedule. I can’t wait to see how the year unfolds….