Thursday, April 29, 2010

Individual Records, Stats, etc

Here are our updated stats, records, etc. (as of 4/29/2010)

Overall Team Record: 8-2-1
Non-Conference Record: 2-1-1
Pacific Conference Record: 6-1 (2nd place out of 6 teams)
Individual Match Record: 85-38 (through 11 matches and 1 weekend tournament)
Singles Record: 43-19
Doubles Record: 42-19
Pacific Conference Individual Match Record: 47-8 (through 6 matches)


Singles Wins Leaders:
(43-19 overall)

1. Casey Baker 11 wins (11-3)
2. Jesse Stahl 9 wins (9-4)
3. Micah Bristow 8 wins (8-3)
4. Aaron Case 7 wins (7-2)
5. Alex Worth 6 wins (6-7)
6. Nathan Johnson 2 wins (2-0)

Doubles Wins Leaders: (42-21 overall)

1. Jake Baker/Kevin Sullivan 10 wins (10-1)
2. Connor White/Russell Jarmer 9 wins (9-5)
3. Chris Colvin/Myles Horton 8 wins (8-5)
4. Nathan Johnson/Adam Kiff 7 wins (7-2)
5. Ben Lewis 4 wins (4-3)
6. Will Worth 3 wins (3-4)
7. Marshall Dittel-Payne 1 win (1-1)

3 Matches . . . .

McMinnville Tennis Fans . . . it's been a while since I've posted about our matches. Since I last posted, we've had 3 matches and endured some bad weather and cancellations. However, for the 3 matches we've played over the past 2 weeks, we've gone 3-0!

Here are the results for our past 3 matches:

4/21 @ Newberg:
McMinnville 9, Newberg 0


Singles

1. Jesse Stahl def. Nolan Staples 6-0, 7-5
2. Alex Worth def. Jacob Lindley 6-3, 6-2
3. Micah Bristow def. Jordan Howell 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-3
4. Casey Baker def. Anthony Croteau 6-4, 7-6(4)
5. Nathan Johnson def. Anthony Farr 6-2, 6-1

Doubles
1. Chris Colvin/Myles Horton def. Austin Freeman/Scott Goodman 6-4, 7-6(7)
2. Connor White/Russell Jarmer def. Aaron Sprunger/Cody Brem 6-2, 6-3
3. Jake Baker/Kevin Sullivan def. Tyler Dehaven/Mark Almquist 6-2, 7-6(3)
4. Ben Lewis/Marshall Dittel-Payne def. Aki Hartley/Easton Rider 6-3, 6-3

Game Ball: Ben and Marshall - Takin Care of Business!!!!!


**** 1/2way point in league play****

Pacific Conference Standings:
1. Tualatin 5-0
2. McMinnville 4-1
3. Newberg 3-2
4. Tigard 2-3
5. Canby 1-4
6. Forest Grove 0-5


****2nd Half of League Play Begins****

4/22 vs. Canby:
McMinnville 8, Canby 1


Singles

1. Jesse Stahl def. Aaron Rouza 6-2, 6-0
2. Alex Worth def. Terran Sobel-Smith 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-3
3. Micah Bristow def. Nick Crowley 6-2, 6-2
4. Casey Baker def. Wailan Krebs 6-1, 6-o
5. Nathan Johnson def. Nick Norgart 6-2, 6-1

Doubles
1. Chris Colvin/Myles Horton def. Tom Knopp/Mitchell Robert 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
2. Connor White/Russell Jarmer def. Garth Gladfelter/Chris Smucker 6-2, 6-3
3. Jake Baker/Kevin Sullivan def. Sevastian Sandoval/Jose Zamora 2-6, 4-6
4. Ben Lewis/Will Worth def. Cameron Huffman/Gordon Iverson 6-0, 6-0

Game Ball: Ben and Will - 6-0, 6-0 convincing win!!!!



4/29 vs. Forest Grove:
McMinnville 9, Forest Grove 0


Singles

1. Jesse Stahl def. Tyler Brabham 6-1, 6-2
2. Micah Bristow def. Mini Clark 6-0, 6-1
3. Alex Worth def. Robert Ganje 6-3, 6-1
4. Casey Baker def. Corey Stanley 6-2, 6-2
5. Aaron Case def. Marcos Olvera 6-3, 6-2

Doubles
1. Chris Colvin/Myles Horton def. Tony Hodges/Max Wilson-Fey 6-4, 5-7, 6-2
2. Connor White/Russell Jarmer def. Logan Tanous/Josh Cohrs 6-0, 6-4
3. Jake Baker/Kevin Sullivan def. Spencer Dale/Judd Parson 6-0, 6-0
4. Ben Lewis/Will Worth def. Dominick Barajas/Nathan Dixon 6-0, 6-0


Game Ball: S-Micah Bristow; D-Ben/Will + Jake/Kevin - double 6-0, 6-0 wins



OUR NEXT MATCH IS TOMORROW, @ 4PM @ TIGARD HIGH SCHOOL!!!!

Hope to see you there!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

4/19-4/23 Tennis Preview

This week our match schedule slows way down (last week we played 5 days of tennis out of 6 consecutive days), as we only have 2 matches this week. We travel to Newberg on Tuesday to play at NHS @ 4pm. After this match, we will be at the 1/2way point in our league season. On Thursday, we host Canby @ 4pm to kick-off the second leg our Pacific Conference season. I hope to see you out there this week for our 2 matches. Thanks for all of the support and have a great week!

Oregon High School Tennis Team Championships Wrap-up

This weekend was a lot of fun for the guys. They got to see and play some great tennis in the special 8-team event at the Portland Tennis Center. This tournament featured the one of the top 2 high school tennis teams from every conference across the state of Oregon. Each team ranked and placed their players in 8 categories (#1-4 singles and #1-4 doubles). After the line-ups were entered, the tournament director created an individual bracket of 8 players or doubles teams for each position in the line-up. As a result, each of our Grizzly participants competed in a "mini-tournament" against players from each of the 7 other schools represented at the event. The tournament started at 9am on Friday morning and finished around 2pm on Saturday afternoon. Our guys played some great matches and finished 7th out of 8 at the event. We were close to finishing 6th behind Clackamas, who earned 2 more points than us this weekend. Below are the final team standings, along with the individual results for our players in each of their respective brackets.


FINAL TEAM STANDINGS:
1. South Eugene - 55 pts.
2. Barlow - 28 pts.
3. Sprague - 27 pts.
4. Wilson - 26 pts.
5. Cleveland - 19.5 pts.
6. Clackamas - 15 pts.
7. McMinnville - 13 pts.
8. Lake Oswego - 7 pts.

#1 SINGLES: (Jesse Stahl - finished T7th out of 8)
Quarterfinals - Jesse lost to Matt Casey (Wilson -3rd place finish) 0-6, 4-6
Consolation Semifinals - Jesse lost to Brent Wheeler (Sprague - 5th place finish) 3-8

#2 SINGLES: (Alex Worth - finished T7th out of 8)
Quarterfinals - Alex lost to Paul Warner (Wilson - 2nd place finish) 2-6, 0-6
Consolation Semifinals - Alex lost to Chris Aholt (Lake Oswego - 6th place finish) 4-8

#3 SINGLES: (Micah Bristow - finished 6th out of 8)
Quarterfinals - Micah lost to Eli Zauner (South Eugene - 1st place finish) 0-6, 2-6
Consolation Semifinals - Micah defeated Kevin Phuong (Clackamas) 8-4
5th Place Match - Micah lost to Todd Johnson (Wilson) 4-6, 6-1, 3-6

#4 SINGLES: (Casey Baker - TOURNAMENT CHAMPION!!!)
Quarterfinals - Casey defeated Kyle Helm (Barlow) 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
Semifinals - Casey defeated Vic Burlaka (Clackamas) 7-5, 6-3
Championship - Casey defeated David Govshtein (Wilson) 4-6, 6-1, 6-3

#1 DOUBLES: (Chris Colvin/Myles Horton - T7th out of 8)
Quarterfinals - Chris/Myles lost to Ryan Kingzett/Alex Motsch (1st place finish) 2-6, 0-6
Consolation Semifinals - Chris/Myles lost to Austin Winters/Dan Cohrs (LO) 6-8

#2 DOUBLES: (Russell Jarmer/Connor White - 4th out of 8)
Quarterfinals - Russell/Connor def. Kevin Huang/Riley Zhao (Clack) 6-2, 6-0
Semifinals - Russell/Connor lost to Stefan Schirle/Ryan McAfee (Barlow) 4-6, 3-6
3rd Place Match - Russell/Connor lost to Diego Molina/Paul Beard (LO) 1-6, 0-6


#3 DOUBLES: (Adam Kiff/Nathan Johnson - 4th out of 8)
Quarterfinals - Nathan/Adam def. Alec Berkley/Dylan Stokes (Wilson) 6-1, 3-6, 6-1
Semifinals - Nathan/Adam lost to Reid Martin/Jack Smith (LO) 1-6, 2-6
3rd Place Match - Nathan/Adam lost to David Ho/Anthony Thammavong (Clack) 6-3, 2-6, 1-6


#4 DOUBLES: (Will Worth/Ben Lewis - 6th out of 8)
Quarterfinals - Will/Ben lost to Austin Schwartz/Zac Blume (Barlow - 2nd place) 4-6, 4-6
Consolation Semifinals - Will/Ben defeated Brandon Khor/Andrew Le (Wilson) 8-4
5th Place Match - Will/Ben lost to Brian Knees/Scott Kreeager (LO) 6-7(2), 4-6


Overall, the kids played very well this weekend against tough opponents, many of whom will most likely qualify for the state tournament in their respective leagues this spring season. Although Jesse and Alex lost both of their matches, they played at a very high level against tough opponents. At No. 3, Micah had a tough draw playing the eventual champion from South Eugene in the 1st round. However, he bounced back winning 8-4 over an opponent from Clackamas, before losing a tough battle in 3 sets to a strong player from Wilson for 5th place in the 3 Singles bracket. Casey was the player of the tournament for us, and received the customary "GAME BALLS" for both days of competition. He played more games than most players did this weekend, and played with a smart gamestyle, mixing slices with hard groundstrokes . . . and his efforts led him to become tournament champion in the No. 4 Singles Bracket! Excellent job Casey!

In doubles, Chris and Myles played the eventual champions from South Eugene in the 1st round, and got off to a great start winning the 1st two games of the match. However, the players from SE started making some incredible volleys and outlasted our Grizzlies in that match. At the No. 2 spot Connor and Russell played a great 1st round match only succumbing 2 games all match! In the semi-finals they played a tough team from Barlow and lost in 2 close sets 4-6, 3-6. In the 3rd place match, they faced the "twin towers" from Lake Oswego. Their opponents both stood around the 6'3 or 6'4 mark and had big serves to go along with their height (one was also an exchange student from Ecuador). The big hitting team went on to win 6-1, 6-0 to claim 3rd place. With the absence of Jake and Kevin (normal No. 3 doubles team), Adam and Nathan slid up one stop in the line-up to the No. 3 doubles spot. They rose to the occasion by playing aggressive yet consistent tennis to win their opening round match over a talented team from Wilson in 3 sets. In the semi-finals they ran into a team from Lake Oswego who liked to "swing for the fences" on every shot. Unfortunately, these 2 were on the money during the match and outlasted Adam and Nathan 6-1, 6-2. In the 3rd place match the next day, Adam and Nathan played a skilled team from Clackamas and got off to a great start, winning the opening set 6-3, before losing 2-6, 1-6 in the final two. Finally, at the No. 4 doubles spot Will Worth and Ben Lewis (who had never played together before in competition) brought a great deal of energy into their matches, and had a great weekend of tennis. They lost their opening match 4-6, 4-6 to a talented team from Barlow, won the 2nd match over a team from Wilson, and lost a close match in 2 close sets in the 5th place match to a team from Lake Oswego 6-7(2), 4-6, despite a back injury from Will that occurred at the beginning of the 2nd set. Later in the match he was able to win a few points off of his "underhand spin serve" which provided entertainment for all who were watching the match!

All in all, the my goals for the weekend were achieved by the guys. They competed hard, were successful in their matches, gained valuable insights about how to play and win at a high level, became accustomed to tournament play (which we will be our format in our District Tournament and at the State Tournament), were exposed to what the level of competition will be like at the State Tournament this May, and most importantly, they had a lot of fun watching and playing tennis, and while bonding as a team. The guys really stepped up their intensity, focus, and level of play this weekend, and I am very pleased with their efforts this weekend. We are at the half-way point in our season and the team has played very well up to this point. From here on out I will challenge the guys to raise their level of intensity, focus, energy, and skills so that we can achieve our overall team goal of winning the Pacific Conference regular-season and district tournament championships. The kids are on the right track to achieving this goal, and will continue to improve and be successful at their current rate of achievement and improvement! Thanks to all who provided snacks and drinks for us this weekend (the Whites, Cases, Johnsons, Kiffs) and to those who traveled up to Portland to watch us play.

Take care.

-Coach Gabrielsen

News Register Articles, etc.

The following are articles published about our team this past week in the News Register:

http://www.newsregister.com/article/43914-area+roundup+bulldogs+bounc+back (you'll have to scroll down to get our Beaverton results)

http://www.newsregister.com/article/43915-mcminnville+sweeps+forest+grove+reamin+perfect+conference+play


http://www.newsregister.com/article/43940-mac+boys+falls+tualatin


Congrats to Nathan Johnson and Adam Kiff for being selected as the News Register Boy's Tennis Athletes of the Week! Great work guys!

Tualatin Match

On Wednesday we lost a tough, close one to Tualatin at home. Coming into this match, both our squad and Tualatin were both 3-0 in league, which positioned us in a tie for first place in the Pacific Conference. Going into this match, we knew it would be a tough one. The Tualatin team came out with a little more energy, executed the fundamentals of tennis a little bit better, and were just a little sharper than us during the match. As a result, we lost 3-6 to a tough Tualatin team. Despite the disappointing finish to this match, I am proud of the way the guys competed for every point. The showed tremendous sportsmanship and learned some key lessons about how to compete successfully in a tough match. The wonderful thing about league play is that we have the chance to play Tualatin again before our district tournament. I know the guys will certainly be hungry to earn a victory against Tualatin in a few weeks, and I have confidence that they will be successful in their efforts.

FINAL SCORE: Tualatin 6, McMinnville 3 (Mac in BOLD)

Singles
1. Jesse Stahl def. Jason Nguyen 6-4, 6-4
2 Brandon Fletcher def. Alex Worth 6-2, 6-2
3. Eric Romrell def. Micah Bristow 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
4. Jason Lemieux def. Casey Baker 6-3, 6-3
5. Tyler Hayashi def. Aaron Case 6-2, 6-4

Doubles
1. Pierce Fettis/Jonathan Ng def. Chris Colvin/Myles Horton 6-3, 6-4
2 Jared Yogi/Andrew Shin def. Russell Jarmer/Connor White 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
3. Kevin Sullivan/Jake Baker def. Preston Hiefield/James Stelson 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
4. Adam Kiff/Nathan Johnson def. Randall Tainer/Chris Pritchard 6-1, 7-6(6)

Game Ball: Adam and Nathan - winning in decisive fashion.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

@ Forest Grove Results

What seemed like a rainy morning turned into a beautiful afternoon as 16 of 17 varsity players, along with 8 JV players made the trek today up to Forest Grove to due battle with the Vikings. The guys brought incredible energy to their matches today and played tremendously well.

At the No. 1 singles spot Jesse bounced back from a tough loss yesterday to Beaverton's #1 and won efficiently, 6-0, 6-0 over an athletic player. At 2 singles Alex came out firing winning the 1st set 6-1, before struggling a little bit in the second. However, he was able to focus and play smart tennis to pull out the second set 6-4 and subsequently win the match. At 3 singles Micah came out firing again, winning 6-3, 6-0 over a solid player from Forest Grove. Micah has done a great job battling back after missing the 1st three matches of the season due to injury. As of this point in the season he is 4-0, with a 3-0 record in league play. At 4 singles Casey Baker continued to play great tennis, winning 6-0, 6-2. Finally, at No. 5 singles, Aaron Case pulled out a gutsy win while dealing with an injured shoulder for the entire match. He won 6-3, 4-6, 10-6 (shortened match) over a very steady player. Excellent job singles players!

The doubles side of the line-up was equally as impressive today. Chris and Myles got off to a little bit of a slow start, but came roaring back to win 6-2, 6-0. These two are 3-0 in league play at the No. 1 doubles spot. Great work guys. Connor and Russell continue to improve every match, and these two played a very aggressive but smart match today, winning 6-0, 6-2 to also improve to 3-0 in league play. At No. 3 doubles, Kevin and Jake got off to a fast start, winning the 1st set 6-1. Their opponents from Forest Grove came battling back and used a great combination of solid volleys and sneaky lobs to win the 2nd set 7-6, 7-4 in the tiebreaker. This was the first SET Jake and Kevin had lost on the entire season . . . through their 7 matches thus far! With a competitive spirit and lots of aggressive net play, Jake and Kevin were able to settle back into their match, and won the last set 6-3. Great effort guys. Finally, at the No. 4 doubles spot, Adam and Nathan continued their winning ways, posting a great 6-1, 6-1 victory to round out the outstanding overall team effort today.


FINAL SCORE: McMinnville 9, Forest Grove 0

Singles:
1. Jesse Stahl def. Tyler Brabham 6-0, 6-0
2. Alex Worth def. Max Wilson-Fey 6-1, 6-4
3. Micah Bristow def. Tony Hodges 6-3, 6-0
4. Casey Baker def. Mini Clark 6-0, 6-2
5. Aaron Case def. Cory Stanley 6-3, 4-6, 10-6

Doubles:
1. Chris Colvin/Myles Horton def. Spencer Dale/Robert Ganje 6-2, 6-0
2. Connor White/Russell Jarmer def. Judd Parson/Logan Tanous 6-0, 6-2
3. Jake Baker/Kevin Sullivan def. Joshua Cohrs/Marcos Olvera 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-3
4. Adam Kiff/Nathan Johnson def. Nathan Dixon/Dominick Barajas 6-1, 6-1

Game Ball: Jesse Stahl - set the tone for the rest of the team by winning 6-0, 6-0


Overall, the guys have played an incredible match. Today, our guys achieved a goal I've set for them during the last few matches. In this case, they started strong, stayed focused throughout their matches, and finished strong as well. As a team, our guys won a total of 6 sets by a score of 6-0. In addition, our guys won 4 sets by a score of 6-1 today. This was an efficient win against a team of solid athletes, and I am proud of the effort, energy, and sportsmanship our players put into this match.

At this point in the season, our overall record is 5-1-1 (2-1-1 non-conference), and our record in the Pacific Conference is 3-0. We are currently in a tie for first place with Tualatin, who we host tomorrow in McMinnville. I hope to see many of you out there tomorrow for our battle for 1st place in the Pacific Conference! I appreciate all of the support we have received so far this season. Keep up the great work.

-Coach Gabrielsen

P.S: A special thanks to Sandi and Mike Colvin for driving up to Forest Grove today and setting up a "bagel, grape, chip, and gatorade shop" for the players, fans, and coaches today. :)

Beaverton Match - 4/12

Yesterday we received a lot of regular sunshine and just a little bit of liquid sunshine, and were therefore able to make up our rained-out Beaverton match from 3/31. Beaverton is a solid team who usually finishes with a good record in the Metro League However, our guys rose to the challenge and played their hearts out, winning 7-2 in efficient fashion. This was a great win for our guys and a great way to start this intense week of matches (5 of 6 days!)

Overall, it was a great team effort, and although we lost our 2 matches at the #1 and #2 singles sports, both Jesse and Alex competed hard and played well against tough opponents who had big forehands. A special thanks to the Baker family (Casey) for supplying sandwiches and snacks for today's match :)

FINAL SCORE: McMinnville 7, Beaverton 2

Singles:
1. Alen Suklje def. Jesse Stahl 6-4, 6-3
2. Ben Menashe def. Alex Worth 6-1, 6-3
3. Micah Bristow def. Taylor Dunn-Rind 6-3, 6-3
4. Casey Baker def. Mark Mariano 6-1, 6-3
5. Aaron Case def. Kenya Reutin 6-2, 6-1

Doubles: (sweep!)
1. Chris Colvin/Myles Horton def. Brian Choe/Michael Buzinover 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
2. Connor White/Russell Jarmer def. Austin Ngo/Sam Director 6-3, 6-3
3. Jake Baker/Kevin Sullivan def. Ashwin Malynur/Victor Tran 7-6(6), 6-2
4. Adam Kiff/Nathan Johnson def. Elliott Newman/Reed Attenburg 6-4, 6-1

Game Ball: Casey Baker - his most complete, dominating win of the season

This victory puts our overall record at 4-1-1, and we still have our league record of 2-0.

This result gives me tremendous confidence in the guys going forward this week. Today we are at Forest Grove @ 4pm for another league match, and we host Tualatin @4pm on Wednesday. These will be two tough league matches, so we need all of the great parent support we can get!

Thanks for the support yesterday, and see you at Forest Grove this afternoon!

Saturday, April 10, 2010

News Register Articles, etc.

Below are the online News Register articles about our 2 league victories this week:




Congrats to Jake Baker and Kevin Sullivan who were selected as the News Register Boy's Tennis Athletes of the Week for this past week:

Current Team, Individual Season Records

Currently we have completed 5 matches this season:

Overall Record: 3-1-1
Non-League Record: 1-1-1
League Record: 2-0

Individual Records

Singles Wins:
T1. Jesse - 4 wins (4-1)
T1. Aaron - 4 wins (4-1)
3. Casey - 3 wins (3-2)
T4. Micah - 2 wins (2-0)
T4. Alex - 2 wins (2-3)

Doubles Wins:
1. Kevin/Jake - 5 wins (5-0)
T2. Nathan/Adam - 3 wins (3-0)
T2. Chris/Myles - 3 wins (3-2)
T2. Russell/Connor - 3 wins (3-2)



Week One of League = 2 wins!

Our league season got off to a great start this past week as we won both of our matches in decisive fashion! The guys played smart, focused, and aggressive tennis and earned two solid victories to start the league season with a 2-0 record. From top to bottom the guys played great tennis and played with a passion for the game and an energy level that made them successful in their respective matches. I am pleased with the effort and energy of the guys both in practice and during matches. Our players do a great job of being supportive teammates and exhibit excellent sportsmanship on the court as well.

The results from the Canby and Tigard matches listed below:

4/6 @ Canby

McMinnville 8, Canby 1

Singles:
1. Jesse Stahl def. Aaron Rouza 6-4, 6-3
2. Nick Crowley def. Alex Worth 6-2, 6-3
3. Micah Bristow def. Terran Sobel-Smith 6-4, 7-5
4. Casey Baker def. Robbie Cullison 7-6 (1), 6-1
5. Aaron Case def. Cameron Huffman 7-5, 6-2

Doubles:
1. Chris Colvin/Myles Horton def. Tom Knopp/Mitchell Robert 6-1, 6-2
2. Connor White/Russell Jarmer def. Garth Gladfelter/Chris Smucker 6-4, 6-2
3. Jake Baker/Kevin Sullivan def. Sevastian Sandoval/Jose Zamora 7-5, 6-4
4. Adam Kiff/Nathan Johnson def. Andrew Evans/Wailan Krebs 7-5, 6-1

Game Ball: Chris and Myles - great, efficient victory. They set the tone for the rest of the team!


4/8 vs. Tigard

McMinnville 9, Tigard 0
Singles:
1. Jesse Stahl def. Eli Potts 6-1, 6-3
2. Alex Worth def. Kevin Li 6-1, 6-0
3. Micah Bristow def. Alex Piatski 7-5, 6-4
4. Casey Baker def. Lauro Silva 6-4, 6-2
5. Aaron Case def. Miguel Garcia 6-3, 6-3

Doubles:
1. Chris Colvin/Myles Horton def. Calvin Horne/Andrew Ditton 7-6(2), 6-4
2. Connor White/Russell Jarmer def. Kevin Baese/Mike White 6-2, 7-6(5)
3. Jake Baker/Kevin Sullivan def. Tyler Presjack/Sam 6-0, 6-0
4. Adam Kiff/Nathan Johnson def. Tyler Rummel/Ted Hamilton 6-1, 6-1

Game Ball: Tie - Singles and Doubles Winner (due to the great team effort)
Singles: Alex Worth, the birthday boy, played a great match and won in decisive fashion 6-1, 6-0
Doubles: Kevin/Jake played a great match, won 6-0, 6-0, and extended their undefeated record (5-0)

A special thanks to the Kiff family for providing sandwiches for the guys on the road at Canby, and another thanks to the Colvins for providing sandwiches, chips, cookies and drinks for the Tigard match at home. Thanks to all of the parents for your great support and attendance at matches.

Next week is our busiest week of the season:

Monday: vs. Beaverton - 4pm
Tuesday: @ Forest Grove - 4pm
Wednesday: vs. Tualatin - 4pm
Thursday: 9-11am practice (parent-teacher conferences 12-8pm that day)
Friday/Saturday: Oregon HS Tennis Championships @ Portland Tennis Center (All Day)

Have a great weekend and thanks for the continued support!


Friday, April 2, 2010

Southridge Results

We finally got a match in after spring break! After a few weeks of unreal weather, the spring rain finally arrived Oregon-style! We made our trek up to Southridge yesterday and had a tough match against a talented Southridge team. This team has traditionally finished in the top 3 in the always tough Metro League so we knew it would be a tough battle going into the match.

Throughout the match we had a nice bit of sunshine, but the wind came and went. At the end of the match, the wind and overcast skies made the conditions tough for both the players and spectators, but our guys hung in there and battled until the match was completed.

On the singles side of the match, Southridge showed the strength of their team. At one singles, Jesse took on a tough player who recently moved to the U.S. from Thailand. This player finished second in his district last year, and in the top 8 statewide by reaching the quarterfinals of the state tournament. Jesse battled throughout the match, extending rallies and forcing his opponent to make errors. In the end, the Southridge player had all of the right combinations of play and won the match 6-1, 6-2. At 2 singles, Alex battled another tough singles player, who had an incredible forehand stroke. Alex engaged the Southridge player in many long rallies, but came up short in the end, losing 6-1, 6-0. At three singles, Casey faced a tough singles player who had an excellent forehand as well. The Southridge player won that match 6-2, 6-2. At 4 singles Aaron was our lone singles winner, outlasting a player similar in style and stature by a score of 7-5, 6-1. Overall, our guys battled well and learned some lessons about successful singles play.

With the team score at 1-3 after singles, our doubles teams needed to push themselves a little more than usual in order to salvage the win or at least tie for the Grizzlies. At the number 1 doubles spot, Chris and Myles played their most complete match of the year and faced their toughest opponents of the year. One of their opponents had an enormous serve and overhead, while the other was Southridge's version of a human backboard! Chris and Myles dropped a tough first set, battled back to win the second, and lost a close third set. Southridge prevailed in the end 6-3. 5-7, 6-3. At the number 2 doubles spot, Connor and Russell played an excellent match. They got off to a great start winning the first set 6-1. The Southridge team battled back to win the 2nd set 6-4. Russell and Connor immediately bounced back and won the final set 6-3 to win their first match of the year! Good work guys!

At three and four doubles I shuffled the line-up a little bit to test the waters and see how some guys would do in different spots. By the time our 3 and 4 doubles matches went onto their respective courts, the overall team score was Southridge 4, McMinnville 2. As a result, we needed to pick up wins at both of these spots in order to salvage the tie for the team. Jake and Kevin stepped up a spot in the line-up and played number 3 doubles for us. They rose to the occasion, continued to execute the fundamentals, and remained undefeated (3-0) on the season winning 7-6(4), 6-4. At number four doubles, freshmen Adam Kiff and Nathan Johnson made their varsity debut and rose to the occasion as well. Unaware of the overall team score (3-4 at this point) during their second set, Adam and Nathan showed confidence and poise (Nathan giving the occasional fist pump in the air :)) throughout the match and came out winner 6-3, 6-4. The game ball for this match goes to Adam and Nathan for a great effort in their first varsity match.

Overall, the guys played well and tied a very good Southridge team 4-4. Ideally, I know that the guys could have won this match, but I am very pleased with their effort and the things they learned from this match.

MATCH RESULTS:

McMinnville 4, Southridge 4 (McMinnville players in BOLD)

Singles
1. Chad Chaibutr def. Jesse Stahl 6-1, 6-2
2. Braden Adkock def. Alex Worth 6-1, 6-0
3. Nathan Chong def. Casey Baker 6-2, 6-2
4. Aaron Case def. Idin Kaleghi 7-5, 6-1

Doubles
1. Kevin Funkhouser/Matt Lee def. Myles Horton/Chris Colvin 6-3, 5-7, 6-3
2. Connor White/Russell Jarmer def. Muhammed Jahangir/Ashwin Swaninathan 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
3. Jake Baker/Kevin Sullivan def. Tyler Hotan/Blake Kuriowa 7-6 (4), 6-4
4. Nathan Johnson/Adam Kiff def. Hunter Giles/Nate Launchbury 6-3, 6-4

Game Ball: Adam Kiff and Nathan Johnson - clinched the tie!!!!


Our next match will be the start of league play, next Tuesday, April 6 @ Canby High school at 4pm. I hope to see many of your there, and a special thanks to the Stahl family for providing snacks for this past match!

Another thanks to all of you who made the trek up to Beaverton yesterday to watch the match.

Have a wonderful weekend.