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.
