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Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Bruins down Lady Trojans
The trip over to Lancaster taught me some things about our team tonight. Even in defeat, we had players step up to the challenge against a traditional power in local girls high school tennis.
The 1-5 defeat drops our overall record to 5-5 and our region mark is now 1-2. We still have to host Gaffney Thursday and travel over to Spartanburg next Tuesday to complete our first round of region matches.
Maggie Orr continued to play well at #1, despite unfavorable results against another top-20 ranked player in the state of South Carolina. I feel for Maggie in the results that she is seeing for her effort. She still plays every point as hard as she can and forces her opponents to beat her, rather than make unforced errors. I cannot ask for more than that.
Betsy Creech continued her hot streak tonight, playing up a spot and filling in at #2. She fell behind early before mounting a huge comeback in the first set to take it 7-5. She went out to a big lead in the second set and the end of it played fairly even as she closed it out 6-3 for our lone win tonight. Betsy's play is the example I want others to follow. She played up & challenged herself to play at a high level. She executed and secured a very satisfying win for herself.
Alexis Peddy played a fellow senior from Lancaster that has played all top-3 spots for the Bruins over the past 6 years. For a player with Alexis's one year of experience and some change, I knew she could be outgunned in the match. Gardner played very smart tennis and was too much for us at #3 tonight. Credit goes to the Lancaster opponent as she was just really good tonight.
Lauren Cox's match at #4 can best be described as a roller coaster by me. At times, Lauren played great tennis and other times she just fell apart and made too many unforced errors at bad times. The score is more lopsided than the talent level would suggest as Lancaster took the match 6-1, 6-2.
Karlee Fox filled the #5 spot as well as I could have asked. Playing a senior that has played singles lines at Lancaster her entire career, Karlee went ahead at times, and then fell back. Her hot start was countered by a player that just seemed to get better as the match went on.
Lancaster made a decision to split their two chosen singles players for doubles action tonight, rather than play them together at #1. Therefore, they made a call to pair up their #1 & #6 at 1st doubles and their #3 with their #7 at 2nd doubles. I kept our pair of Emily Edwards and Erin Brooks together to compete at 2nd doubles. It just was too much to overcome the Bruins strong play tonight as we dropped that line.
As the season goes on, we can beat this level of opponent. We must raise the level of our tennis in practice and play at a higher level in matches.
Go Trojans!
Location: UCS-Lancaster
Result: Lancaster 5, Northwestern 1
1s: Lyndsey Hegler def Maggie Orr 6-1, 6-1
2s: Betsy Creech (N) def Sarah Hicks 7-5, 6-4
3s: Morgan Gardner def Alexis Peddy 6-0, 6-1
4s: Carley Adams def Lauren Cox 6-1, 6-2
5s: Sarah Gilreath def Karlee Fox 7-5, 6-3
1d: DNP
2d: Morgan Gardner/McKenzie Blanton def Emily Edwards/Erin Brooks 6-0, 6-0
The 1-5 defeat drops our overall record to 5-5 and our region mark is now 1-2. We still have to host Gaffney Thursday and travel over to Spartanburg next Tuesday to complete our first round of region matches.
Maggie Orr continued to play well at #1, despite unfavorable results against another top-20 ranked player in the state of South Carolina. I feel for Maggie in the results that she is seeing for her effort. She still plays every point as hard as she can and forces her opponents to beat her, rather than make unforced errors. I cannot ask for more than that.
Betsy Creech continued her hot streak tonight, playing up a spot and filling in at #2. She fell behind early before mounting a huge comeback in the first set to take it 7-5. She went out to a big lead in the second set and the end of it played fairly even as she closed it out 6-3 for our lone win tonight. Betsy's play is the example I want others to follow. She played up & challenged herself to play at a high level. She executed and secured a very satisfying win for herself.
Alexis Peddy played a fellow senior from Lancaster that has played all top-3 spots for the Bruins over the past 6 years. For a player with Alexis's one year of experience and some change, I knew she could be outgunned in the match. Gardner played very smart tennis and was too much for us at #3 tonight. Credit goes to the Lancaster opponent as she was just really good tonight.
Lauren Cox's match at #4 can best be described as a roller coaster by me. At times, Lauren played great tennis and other times she just fell apart and made too many unforced errors at bad times. The score is more lopsided than the talent level would suggest as Lancaster took the match 6-1, 6-2.
Karlee Fox filled the #5 spot as well as I could have asked. Playing a senior that has played singles lines at Lancaster her entire career, Karlee went ahead at times, and then fell back. Her hot start was countered by a player that just seemed to get better as the match went on.
Lancaster made a decision to split their two chosen singles players for doubles action tonight, rather than play them together at #1. Therefore, they made a call to pair up their #1 & #6 at 1st doubles and their #3 with their #7 at 2nd doubles. I kept our pair of Emily Edwards and Erin Brooks together to compete at 2nd doubles. It just was too much to overcome the Bruins strong play tonight as we dropped that line.
As the season goes on, we can beat this level of opponent. We must raise the level of our tennis in practice and play at a higher level in matches.
Go Trojans!
Location: UCS-Lancaster
Result: Lancaster 5, Northwestern 1
1s: Lyndsey Hegler def Maggie Orr 6-1, 6-1
2s: Betsy Creech (N) def Sarah Hicks 7-5, 6-4
3s: Morgan Gardner def Alexis Peddy 6-0, 6-1
4s: Carley Adams def Lauren Cox 6-1, 6-2
5s: Sarah Gilreath def Karlee Fox 7-5, 6-3
1d: DNP
2d: Morgan Gardner/McKenzie Blanton def Emily Edwards/Erin Brooks 6-0, 6-0
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Trojans Win City Battle in Region Victory over Rock Hill High
Rock Hill High welcomed us over to their courts in about the most wonderful way I have ever been a part of as a high school tennis coach. Their parents went all out in providing our girls with snacks and drinks after our matches & their new coach had out a speaker system to play pre & post match music and we made the introductions over public address. Their courts were also upgraded with a new scoring system & court numbers. I would be willing to bet that they have windscreens with logos by this time next year...
Overall, we played pretty well in some windy conditions tonight. I don't think that we played consistantly well from start to finish for the entire match. Some of the ups and downs that we allowed to happen tonight, and Tuesday against Clover, will bite us against our region opponents. We still have a shot at reaching our goal of finishing in the top 3 of our region, but we can't do it if we either start or end matches slow. We need to put our best effort onto the courts from the first point to the last every single time out.
Karlee Fox played #5 singles tonight for us and was the most dominant performance of the night for the Trojans. She gave us our first victory of the night with a score of 6-2, 6-0. Serving was clearly the difference as Karlee controlled her service games with pace and accuracy all night.
Alexis Peddy played #3 singles tonight and proved too steady for her Bearcat opponent. After a fairly close first set, Alexis really took control of the points and ran away with the match in the second set.
The Bearcats then got on the board with a win at #1 singles. White from Rock Hill High is one of the top players in the state right now and looked like it tonight. Maggie Orr played many balls to her that normally end up points for us, yet White was simply too good and not only got them back but placed them in tough spots for us to win the points from. I hate that the score looks the way it does as I know that Maggie is way too good of a player to lose to anyone in the state of South Carolina 0 & 0.
Lauren Cox then clinched the match for us at #4 singles. The wind played some havoc on Lauren's groundstrokes in the first set, but she still hung on for a 7-5 first set win. Once she was adjusted and the winds calmed down, it was clear that she was the stronger player and she cleaned up in the second set 6-1.
Our doubles team of Erin Brooks and Emily Edwards were the last to finish tonight. They fell behind early 0-3 in the first set against two quick, little athletes for the Bearcats. The rest of the set played out even as the Cats took the set 6-3. Our girls gathered themselves in the second set and took it fairly handedly 6-2. To the 10-point tiebreaker it went to decide the match.
In high school tennis, I am only allowed to provide coaching before a match tiebreaker begins. After watching the second set play out, I made a decision to just let the doubles team go and said nothing to them as I felt they were in control of the match. I kicked myself after we dropped the tiebreak 10-5 to the Cats as I had nearly provided some basic advice that may have made a difference in the outcome. I take the blame in that loss.
We remain on the road next Tuesday as we head over to Lancaster to take on the Bruins at the USC-L courts. Lancaster knocked us out of the playoffs last year in a close match that I hope our girls will be out for revenge in. A win over Lancaster could go a long way in determining where we finish in our region.
Go Trojans!
Location: Rock Hill High
Result: Northwestern 4, Rock Hill 2
1s: Catherine White (R) def Maggie Orr 6-0, 6-0
2s: Betsy Creech def Natalie Black 6-1, 6-3
3s: Alexis Peddy def Katie Ledford 6-3, 6-1
4s: Lauren Cox def Meredith Smith 7-5, 6-1
5s: Karlee Fox def Barron Hicklin 6-2, 6-0
1d: DNP
2d: Sarah Hicklin/Helen Revel (R) def Emily Edwards/Erin Brooks 6-3, 2-6, 10-5
Overall, we played pretty well in some windy conditions tonight. I don't think that we played consistantly well from start to finish for the entire match. Some of the ups and downs that we allowed to happen tonight, and Tuesday against Clover, will bite us against our region opponents. We still have a shot at reaching our goal of finishing in the top 3 of our region, but we can't do it if we either start or end matches slow. We need to put our best effort onto the courts from the first point to the last every single time out.
Karlee Fox played #5 singles tonight for us and was the most dominant performance of the night for the Trojans. She gave us our first victory of the night with a score of 6-2, 6-0. Serving was clearly the difference as Karlee controlled her service games with pace and accuracy all night.
Alexis Peddy played #3 singles tonight and proved too steady for her Bearcat opponent. After a fairly close first set, Alexis really took control of the points and ran away with the match in the second set.
The Bearcats then got on the board with a win at #1 singles. White from Rock Hill High is one of the top players in the state right now and looked like it tonight. Maggie Orr played many balls to her that normally end up points for us, yet White was simply too good and not only got them back but placed them in tough spots for us to win the points from. I hate that the score looks the way it does as I know that Maggie is way too good of a player to lose to anyone in the state of South Carolina 0 & 0.
Lauren Cox then clinched the match for us at #4 singles. The wind played some havoc on Lauren's groundstrokes in the first set, but she still hung on for a 7-5 first set win. Once she was adjusted and the winds calmed down, it was clear that she was the stronger player and she cleaned up in the second set 6-1.
Our doubles team of Erin Brooks and Emily Edwards were the last to finish tonight. They fell behind early 0-3 in the first set against two quick, little athletes for the Bearcats. The rest of the set played out even as the Cats took the set 6-3. Our girls gathered themselves in the second set and took it fairly handedly 6-2. To the 10-point tiebreaker it went to decide the match.
In high school tennis, I am only allowed to provide coaching before a match tiebreaker begins. After watching the second set play out, I made a decision to just let the doubles team go and said nothing to them as I felt they were in control of the match. I kicked myself after we dropped the tiebreak 10-5 to the Cats as I had nearly provided some basic advice that may have made a difference in the outcome. I take the blame in that loss.
We remain on the road next Tuesday as we head over to Lancaster to take on the Bruins at the USC-L courts. Lancaster knocked us out of the playoffs last year in a close match that I hope our girls will be out for revenge in. A win over Lancaster could go a long way in determining where we finish in our region.
Go Trojans!
Location: Rock Hill High
Result: Northwestern 4, Rock Hill 2
1s: Catherine White (R) def Maggie Orr 6-0, 6-0
2s: Betsy Creech def Natalie Black 6-1, 6-3
3s: Alexis Peddy def Katie Ledford 6-3, 6-1
4s: Lauren Cox def Meredith Smith 7-5, 6-1
5s: Karlee Fox def Barron Hicklin 6-2, 6-0
1d: DNP
2d: Sarah Hicklin/Helen Revel (R) def Emily Edwards/Erin Brooks 6-3, 2-6, 10-5
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Clover hands Lady Trojans Region Loss
We got off on the wrong foot tonight as we opened the region slate against Clover. In all my time at Northwestern, I've never had a team play well at their courts. Unfortunately, tonight was more of the same. We had some matchups in place that I felt should have been an advantage to us, but we didn't capitalize on them. The loss puts us at 4-4 overall and 0-1 in Region 3-AAAA.
Betsy Creech continued to shine for us at her #3 spot tonight. Playing against a player that was not fun to play against and an imposing parent of the other team watching every line call, Betsy really stepped up and rose above all the nonsense thrown her way. She seems to have fallen in love with 6-3, 6-3 results this season. I'll take that over tiebreaker matches any day!
We travel to Rock Hill Thursday. Nuff said there.
Go Trojans!
Location: Clover HS
Result: Clover 5, Northwestern 1
1s: Kate Stewart def Maggie Orr 6-2, 6-2
2s: Molly Miszkiewicz def Chandler Green 6-1, 6-1
3s: Betsy Creech (N) def Anna Miszkiewicz 6-3, 6-3
4s: Caroline Hester def Alexis Peddy 6-2, 6-0
5s: Harriet Hall def Lauren Cox 6-1, 6-0
1d: DNP
2d: Elizabeth Edmunds/Corey Broom def Emily Edwards/Erin Brooks 4-6, 6-1, 10-2
Betsy Creech continued to shine for us at her #3 spot tonight. Playing against a player that was not fun to play against and an imposing parent of the other team watching every line call, Betsy really stepped up and rose above all the nonsense thrown her way. She seems to have fallen in love with 6-3, 6-3 results this season. I'll take that over tiebreaker matches any day!
We travel to Rock Hill Thursday. Nuff said there.
Go Trojans!
Location: Clover HS
Result: Clover 5, Northwestern 1
1s: Kate Stewart def Maggie Orr 6-2, 6-2
2s: Molly Miszkiewicz def Chandler Green 6-1, 6-1
3s: Betsy Creech (N) def Anna Miszkiewicz 6-3, 6-3
4s: Caroline Hester def Alexis Peddy 6-2, 6-0
5s: Harriet Hall def Lauren Cox 6-1, 6-0
1d: DNP
2d: Elizabeth Edmunds/Corey Broom def Emily Edwards/Erin Brooks 4-6, 6-1, 10-2
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Trojans Defeat Stallions in Cross Town Rivalry Match
Playing without the services of our top two players, the Lady Trojans played very well tonight as they handed the Stallions of South Pointe a loss in a rivalry match. While we didn't complete the sweep tonight, we came as close as we can without doing so. The win improves our overall record to 4-3 on the season as we get ready to start our region matches next Tuesday and Thursday at Clover and Rock Hill High respectively.
I was extremely proud of Betsy Creech and Lauren Cox tonight who filled in at #1 & #2 singles. This marked the highest that either girl has ever played in the Trojan lineup and they had their hands full with two talented players from South Pointe. Betsy secured a win at #1 6-3, 6-3.
Lauren took advantage of several early errors by her Stallion opponent at #2 and took the first set 6-0. I made sure to let Lauren know to not anticipate those errors to continue as I have seen this player get hot before. She certainly did tonight as she claimed the second set from us 2-6. The tiebreaker was knotted at 6-6 through the second changeover and played even until the end when South Pointe took the #2 line 9-11 in the match tiebreak.
From #3 through #2 doubles, we only dropped a total of 5 games in the four matches. I preached to the girls before the match that they shouldn't be concerned if they are playing higher than they are used to and that I am still trying to figure out what our strongest lineup is as we head into region matches next week. Well, they didn't make it any easier on me as they all played good tennis and took advantage of playing opportunities at a higher spot.
Challenges tommorrow and a practice on Monday are all that we have left to prepare for Clover and Rock Hill High next week. If we make the most of these two opportunities to get better, we should find success in those two matches. If we don't, we will struggle against these two formidable opponents.
Go Trojans!
Location: South Pointe HS
Result: Northwestern 5, South Pointe 1
1s: Betsy Creech def Shelly Restificar 6-3, 6-3
2s: Lieren Monteith (S) def Lauren Cox 0-6, 6-2, 11-9
3s: Alexis Peddy def Brittany McDaniel 6-0, 6-0
4s: Karlee Fox def Kuira Cruz 6-0, 6-0
5s: Courtney Cox def Tatiyana Gladden 6-1, 6-2
2d: Emily Edwards/Erin Brooks def Timistry Nelson/Taylor Madsen 6-1, 6-1
Records: Northwestern 4-3, South Pointe 0-2
I was extremely proud of Betsy Creech and Lauren Cox tonight who filled in at #1 & #2 singles. This marked the highest that either girl has ever played in the Trojan lineup and they had their hands full with two talented players from South Pointe. Betsy secured a win at #1 6-3, 6-3.
Lauren took advantage of several early errors by her Stallion opponent at #2 and took the first set 6-0. I made sure to let Lauren know to not anticipate those errors to continue as I have seen this player get hot before. She certainly did tonight as she claimed the second set from us 2-6. The tiebreaker was knotted at 6-6 through the second changeover and played even until the end when South Pointe took the #2 line 9-11 in the match tiebreak.
From #3 through #2 doubles, we only dropped a total of 5 games in the four matches. I preached to the girls before the match that they shouldn't be concerned if they are playing higher than they are used to and that I am still trying to figure out what our strongest lineup is as we head into region matches next week. Well, they didn't make it any easier on me as they all played good tennis and took advantage of playing opportunities at a higher spot.
Challenges tommorrow and a practice on Monday are all that we have left to prepare for Clover and Rock Hill High next week. If we make the most of these two opportunities to get better, we should find success in those two matches. If we don't, we will struggle against these two formidable opponents.
Go Trojans!
Location: South Pointe HS
Result: Northwestern 5, South Pointe 1
1s: Betsy Creech def Shelly Restificar 6-3, 6-3
2s: Lieren Monteith (S) def Lauren Cox 0-6, 6-2, 11-9
3s: Alexis Peddy def Brittany McDaniel 6-0, 6-0
4s: Karlee Fox def Kuira Cruz 6-0, 6-0
5s: Courtney Cox def Tatiyana Gladden 6-1, 6-2
2d: Emily Edwards/Erin Brooks def Timistry Nelson/Taylor Madsen 6-1, 6-1
Records: Northwestern 4-3, South Pointe 0-2
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Trojans Defeated by Nation Ford
We traveled up I-77 to take on the Falcons of Nation Ford. We were able to claim 1 out of the initial 6 varsity lines, but fell short in the other 5 matches to drop the non-region contest. The loss drops us to 2-3 overall and we have one remaining non-region contest before we start plowing through the region 3-AAAA schedule.
Tommorrow, we will venture over to South Pointe. The Stallions had a small roster last year that has increased by at least one that I am aware of. I have not confirmed how many players that South Pointe will have available for a JV match, but I anticipate that our reserves will likely play challenge matches against each other.
Go Trojans!
Location: Nation Ford
Result: Nation Ford 5, Northwestern 1
1s: Ashley Trull def Maggie Orr 6-2, 6-3
2s: Jordan Bowers def Chandler Green 7-5, 6-3
3s: Betsy Creech (N) def Suzanna Goss 7-6, 0-6, 10-8
4s: Melanie Mullen def Alexis Peddy 6-1, 6-4
5s: Riley Smith def Karlee Fox 6-1, 7-5
2d: Olivia Whitener/Morgan Jasper def Courtney Cox/Lauren Cox 7-5, 6-4
Tommorrow, we will venture over to South Pointe. The Stallions had a small roster last year that has increased by at least one that I am aware of. I have not confirmed how many players that South Pointe will have available for a JV match, but I anticipate that our reserves will likely play challenge matches against each other.
Go Trojans!
Location: Nation Ford
Result: Nation Ford 5, Northwestern 1
1s: Ashley Trull def Maggie Orr 6-2, 6-3
2s: Jordan Bowers def Chandler Green 7-5, 6-3
3s: Betsy Creech (N) def Suzanna Goss 7-6, 0-6, 10-8
4s: Melanie Mullen def Alexis Peddy 6-1, 6-4
5s: Riley Smith def Karlee Fox 6-1, 7-5
2d: Olivia Whitener/Morgan Jasper def Courtney Cox/Lauren Cox 7-5, 6-4
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Trojans Claim Second Straight Match Over Byrnes
Another warm night at Northwestern and another victory for the Lady Trojans tonight. The girls got a little revenge for a match that we dropped last season at Byrnes. We again played down a player at the top, but made up for it with depth at the bottom.
The first match to finish was Courtney Cox tonight at #5 singles. To me, it looked like Courtney was looking in the mirror at herself as she played a girl with a very similar style who was simply just left handed. Courtney played the game better and claimed our first win 6-2, 6-2.
The doubles team of Emily Edwards and Erin Brooks was the next to finish. I can best describe this match as one in which the Trojan girls improved as the match wore on. The first set result was closer than I thought it would be after seeing it in the early going. Erin & Emily then took off in the second set to put us ahead overall 2 matches to none.
Lauren Cox played strong tennis tonight at #3 singles against a quality opponent. Lauren's return of serve was the key for her tonight as she was able to go on the offensive early in points and broke her opponent's serve several times. The score seemed closer than the match played out as Lauren won 6-4, 6-4.
Maggie Orr re-entered the lineup tonight after sitting out the last few matches with a sore shoulder. I knew that Maggie had it in her to be the better player, but would have to overcome some rust to take out Byrnes #1 player as she hadn't hit anything overhand in a couple weeks. The first set was really close until the end when Byrnes took it. The second set didn't play as even when Byrnes gained confidence from the first set.
As we lead the overall match 3-1, two matches went to tiebreakers. Betsy Creech had dropped her first set6-1 at #2 while Alexis Peddy had dropped hers in a set tiebreaker. Both girls went on to win their second sets by 6-4 margins. Betsy was the first match tiebreak to finish and dropped it 7-10. Alexis remained the sole player on the front courts for us and clinched the overall team win by a 10-7 margin on her birthday.
With the match decided, we didn't pair up a traditional #1 doubles team and instead are just referring to Emily & Erin as tonight's #1 double pair. Karlee Fox & Caroline Herron will get credited with the #2 doubles match after they were able to claim a win 6-2, 6-0.
Most of the girls are ready for the holiday weekend and need some time to let their bodies recover. While I hope they are active over the weekend, I also ask that they be smart in choosing what kind of activities they participate in. Being on a boat sounds like a good time, but maybe being the person on the wakeboard or tube wouldn't be the best idea.
Go Trojans!
Location: Northwestern HS
Result: Northwestern 5, Byrnes 2
1s: Celena Sneddy (B) def Maggie Orr 6-4, 6-1
2s: Jessica Wang (B) def Betsy Creech 6-1, 4-6, 10-7
3s: Lauren Cox def Saige Allison 6-4, 6-4
4s: Alexis Peddy def Kylie Birch 6-7, 6-4, 10-7
5s: Courtney Cox def MK Flynn 6-2, 6-2
1d: Emily Edwards/Erin Brooks def Arkeia Drummond/Allyson Hollis 6-4, 6-1
2d: Karlee Fox/Caroline Herron def Zee Jah/Brandi Geter 6-2, 6-0
The first match to finish was Courtney Cox tonight at #5 singles. To me, it looked like Courtney was looking in the mirror at herself as she played a girl with a very similar style who was simply just left handed. Courtney played the game better and claimed our first win 6-2, 6-2.
The doubles team of Emily Edwards and Erin Brooks was the next to finish. I can best describe this match as one in which the Trojan girls improved as the match wore on. The first set result was closer than I thought it would be after seeing it in the early going. Erin & Emily then took off in the second set to put us ahead overall 2 matches to none.
Lauren Cox played strong tennis tonight at #3 singles against a quality opponent. Lauren's return of serve was the key for her tonight as she was able to go on the offensive early in points and broke her opponent's serve several times. The score seemed closer than the match played out as Lauren won 6-4, 6-4.
Maggie Orr re-entered the lineup tonight after sitting out the last few matches with a sore shoulder. I knew that Maggie had it in her to be the better player, but would have to overcome some rust to take out Byrnes #1 player as she hadn't hit anything overhand in a couple weeks. The first set was really close until the end when Byrnes took it. The second set didn't play as even when Byrnes gained confidence from the first set.
As we lead the overall match 3-1, two matches went to tiebreakers. Betsy Creech had dropped her first set6-1 at #2 while Alexis Peddy had dropped hers in a set tiebreaker. Both girls went on to win their second sets by 6-4 margins. Betsy was the first match tiebreak to finish and dropped it 7-10. Alexis remained the sole player on the front courts for us and clinched the overall team win by a 10-7 margin on her birthday.
With the match decided, we didn't pair up a traditional #1 doubles team and instead are just referring to Emily & Erin as tonight's #1 double pair. Karlee Fox & Caroline Herron will get credited with the #2 doubles match after they were able to claim a win 6-2, 6-0.
Most of the girls are ready for the holiday weekend and need some time to let their bodies recover. While I hope they are active over the weekend, I also ask that they be smart in choosing what kind of activities they participate in. Being on a boat sounds like a good time, but maybe being the person on the wakeboard or tube wouldn't be the best idea.
Go Trojans!
Location: Northwestern HS
Result: Northwestern 5, Byrnes 2
1s: Celena Sneddy (B) def Maggie Orr 6-4, 6-1
2s: Jessica Wang (B) def Betsy Creech 6-1, 4-6, 10-7
3s: Lauren Cox def Saige Allison 6-4, 6-4
4s: Alexis Peddy def Kylie Birch 6-7, 6-4, 10-7
5s: Courtney Cox def MK Flynn 6-2, 6-2
1d: Emily Edwards/Erin Brooks def Arkeia Drummond/Allyson Hollis 6-4, 6-1
2d: Karlee Fox/Caroline Herron def Zee Jah/Brandi Geter 6-2, 6-0
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Trojans defeat York
The fall regular season was kicked off with a Trojan victory at our home courts tonight. The match played out a little closer than expected due to some unforeseen circumstances. In the end, we claimed 4 matches to York's 2 and now stand at 2-2 overall after our tournament results last weekend.
The doubles team of Courtney Cox and Lauren Cox posted a complete shutout of the York doubles team tonight. I am very confident in these two girl's ability to play doubles and win a lot of matches for us this year. They showed me tonight that they can put away an opponent and not let them in the match at any point. That is precisely what I wanted to see.
Emily Edwards filled in at #5 singles tonight and claimed our second overall team win. After blitzing ahead to a 5-0 first set lead, the York #5 took advantage of some errors & grabbed two games before Emily finished the set 6-2. Emily played nearly error free in the 2nd set & shut out her opponent to claim our third line win.
At this point, we lead 3-0 and had matches still being played at #1, #3, and #4 singles. Chandler Green had won her first set 6-3 @ #1 and Karlee Fox had won her first set in a tiebreaker. Alexis Peddy had gone to a set tiebreaker as well, but came out on the losing end.
Unfortunately, we had to concede line #1 as Chandler couldn't continue to play. Fortunately for the Trojans, Karlee came alive in set #2 and shutout York's #4 in the second set to give us the overall team victory.
I told the girls after our match that Byrnes will be a little late getting to us on Thursday & our match likely won't begin until 5:30. Seeing as the weather forecast is nearly the same as tonight, I am going to make an adjustment to our warm up routine and shorten it so we don't spend too much time in the heat before our match begins. Therefore, Thursday's schedule is:
4:45 Snack - in shade under trees
5:00 On court warm up
5:15 Clear courts
5:30 Introductions / Begin play
Hopefully, this will allow us to play at a high level without the effects of the heat as we felt today.
Go Trojans!
The doubles team of Courtney Cox and Lauren Cox posted a complete shutout of the York doubles team tonight. I am very confident in these two girl's ability to play doubles and win a lot of matches for us this year. They showed me tonight that they can put away an opponent and not let them in the match at any point. That is precisely what I wanted to see.
Emily Edwards filled in at #5 singles tonight and claimed our second overall team win. After blitzing ahead to a 5-0 first set lead, the York #5 took advantage of some errors & grabbed two games before Emily finished the set 6-2. Emily played nearly error free in the 2nd set & shut out her opponent to claim our third line win.
At this point, we lead 3-0 and had matches still being played at #1, #3, and #4 singles. Chandler Green had won her first set 6-3 @ #1 and Karlee Fox had won her first set in a tiebreaker. Alexis Peddy had gone to a set tiebreaker as well, but came out on the losing end.
Unfortunately, we had to concede line #1 as Chandler couldn't continue to play. Fortunately for the Trojans, Karlee came alive in set #2 and shutout York's #4 in the second set to give us the overall team victory.
I told the girls after our match that Byrnes will be a little late getting to us on Thursday & our match likely won't begin until 5:30. Seeing as the weather forecast is nearly the same as tonight, I am going to make an adjustment to our warm up routine and shorten it so we don't spend too much time in the heat before our match begins. Therefore, Thursday's schedule is:
4:45 Snack - in shade under trees
5:00 On court warm up
5:15 Clear courts
5:30 Introductions / Begin play
Hopefully, this will allow us to play at a high level without the effects of the heat as we felt today.
Go Trojans!
Location: Northwestern
Result: Northwestern 4, York 2
1s: Michelle Goss (Y) def Chandler Green 3-6, 3-2 ret(ill)
2s: Betsy Creech def Brandi Neely 6-2, 6-1
3s: Mary Goss (Y) def Alexis Peddy 7-6, 3-6, 10-1
4s: Karlee Fox def Katia Patrick 7-6, 6-0
5s: Emily Edwards def Samantha Roush 6-2, 6-0
2d: Courtney Cox/Lauren Cox def Kate Shirley/Sarah Webb 6-0, 6-0
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Border Challenge Day 2
Well, it was a good day for Northwestern. The football team was able to defeat South Pointe in the late afternoon. Unfortunately, the girls tennis team had a different experience in the morning and early afternoon results. We dropped two matches at the hands of a powerful Marvin Ridge squad & a formidable Butler team.While dissapointed in how the scoreboard looks, I am keeping in perspective that we played split lineups all through the tournament while we were without Maggie Orr at the top of our lineup. We probably would not have been able to overcome Marvin Ridge this morning with a full strength lineup, but I am curious as to whether we could have beat Butler. Regardless, it was good to get players like Betsy Creech & Alexis Peddy some experience playing at a higher position than they are used to. In the long run, I foresee this weekend was a positive thing for us.
We'll get back to practice next week in preparation of home matches on Tuesday and Thursday against York and Byrnes respectfully.
Go Trojans!
2010 SC v NC Border Challenge
Location: Northwestern HS, Rock Hill SC
Friday Results:
Match #1 Northwestern 6, Piedmont 0
Match #2 Marvin Ridge 6, Fort Mill 0
Match #3 Nation Ford v. Butler - Suspended, inclement weather
Saturday Results:
Match #3
Nation Ford 4, Butler 2
1s: Hollie Champion (B) def Jordan Bowers 6-1, 6-0
2s: Emily Larkin (B) def Ashley Trull 6-1, 6-3
3s: Rylee Smith def Kelly Russell 6-4, 6-1
4s: Suzanna Goss def Emery Carlough 6-2, 6-1
5s: Melanie Mullen def Callie Strachan 6-3, 6-2
2d: Olivia Whitener/Kendall Lucas def Alaina Partin/Megan Scott 8-2
Match #4
Marvin Ridge 6, Northwestern 0
1s: Mariel Emery def Chandler Green 6-2, 6-1
2s: Paige Nestor def Betsy Creech 6-2, 6-1
3s: Robyn Buchanan def Alexis Peddy 6-0, 6-3
4s: Danielle David def Courtney Cox 6-1, 6-0
5s: Meredith Sawry def Karlee Fox 6-0, 6-1
2d: Allie Kmee/Erin Foley def Emily Edwards/Erin Brooks 8-6
Match #5
Nation Ford 6, Piedmont 0
1s: Jordan Bowers def Sarah Venn 6-1, 6-1
2s: Ashley Trull def Edy Kemo 6-2, 6-1
3s: Suzanna Goss def Sarah Hedley 6-1, 6-2
4s: Melanie Mullen def Grace Brooks 6-0, 6-0
5s: Morgan Jasper def Hannah Venn 6-0, 6-4
2d: Olivia Whitener/Kendall Lucas def Taylor Barrineau/Lauren Mullis 8-0
Match #6
Butler 4, Fort Mill 3
1s: Hollie Champion def Mady Katz 6-0, 6-2
2s: Emily Larkin def Kayla Blakeney 6-3, 6-2
3s: Emery Carlough def Ali Jensen 7-6, 3-6, 10-8
4s: Persephone McCollough (F) def Jaclyn Auara 6-2, 6-0
5s: Addie Brown (F) def Megan Kenny 6-0, 6-0
1d: Hollie Champion/Kelly Russell def Mady Katz/Kayla Blakely 8-6
2d: Reagan Paff/Laine Touchberry (F) def Callie Strachan/Sarah McIntosh 8-1
Match #7
Butler 4, Northwestern 1
1s: Hollie Champion def Chandler Green 6-1, 6-0
2s: Emily Larkin def Betsy Creech 7-5, 6-2
3s: Kelly Russell def Alexis Peddy 6-4, 7-5
4s: Emery Carlough lead Lauren Cox 6-4, DNF
5s: Jaclyn Auraro def Erin Brooks 6-3, 6-3
2d: Karlee Fox/Caroline Herron (N) def Mertan Kenny/Callie Strahan 8-4
Match #8
Fort Mill 6, Piedmont 0
1s: Mady Katz def Sarah Venn 6-2, 6-4
2s: Kayla Blakely def Edy Kemo 6-2, 6-3
3s: Ali Jensen def Sarah Headley 6-2, 6-1
4s: Persephone McCollough def Grace Brooks 6-2, 6-1
5s: Addie Brown def Hannah Venn 6-2, 6-7, 11-9
2d: Reagan Paff/Laine Touchberry def Morgan Miles/Christa Whaley 8-0
Match #9
Marvin Ridge 5, Nation Ford 1
1s: Mariel Emery def Jordan Bowers 6-0, 6-3
2s: Paige Nestor def Ashley Trull 6-0, 6-1
3s: Hannah Farley def Rylee Smith 6-2, 6-1
4s: Meredith Sawrey def Suzanna Goss 7-5, 6-1
5s: Melanie Mullen (N) def Suzanne Treske 1-6, 6-4, 13-11
2d: Robyn Buchanen/Laura Gough def Olivia Whitener/Kendall Lucas 8-7
Final Tournament Records
Marvin Ridge 3-0 (NC & Overall Champion)
Nation Ford 2-1 (SC Champion & Overall Runner up)
Butler 2-1
Fort Mill 1-2
Northwestern 1-2
Piedmont 0-3
Location: Northwestern HS, Rock Hill SC
Friday Results:
Match #1 Northwestern 6, Piedmont 0
Match #2 Marvin Ridge 6, Fort Mill 0
Match #3 Nation Ford v. Butler - Suspended, inclement weather
Saturday Results:
Match #3
Nation Ford 4, Butler 2
1s: Hollie Champion (B) def Jordan Bowers 6-1, 6-0
2s: Emily Larkin (B) def Ashley Trull 6-1, 6-3
3s: Rylee Smith def Kelly Russell 6-4, 6-1
4s: Suzanna Goss def Emery Carlough 6-2, 6-1
5s: Melanie Mullen def Callie Strachan 6-3, 6-2
2d: Olivia Whitener/Kendall Lucas def Alaina Partin/Megan Scott 8-2
Match #4
Marvin Ridge 6, Northwestern 0
1s: Mariel Emery def Chandler Green 6-2, 6-1
2s: Paige Nestor def Betsy Creech 6-2, 6-1
3s: Robyn Buchanan def Alexis Peddy 6-0, 6-3
4s: Danielle David def Courtney Cox 6-1, 6-0
5s: Meredith Sawry def Karlee Fox 6-0, 6-1
2d: Allie Kmee/Erin Foley def Emily Edwards/Erin Brooks 8-6
Match #5
Nation Ford 6, Piedmont 0
1s: Jordan Bowers def Sarah Venn 6-1, 6-1
2s: Ashley Trull def Edy Kemo 6-2, 6-1
3s: Suzanna Goss def Sarah Hedley 6-1, 6-2
4s: Melanie Mullen def Grace Brooks 6-0, 6-0
5s: Morgan Jasper def Hannah Venn 6-0, 6-4
2d: Olivia Whitener/Kendall Lucas def Taylor Barrineau/Lauren Mullis 8-0
Match #6
Butler 4, Fort Mill 3
1s: Hollie Champion def Mady Katz 6-0, 6-2
2s: Emily Larkin def Kayla Blakeney 6-3, 6-2
3s: Emery Carlough def Ali Jensen 7-6, 3-6, 10-8
4s: Persephone McCollough (F) def Jaclyn Auara 6-2, 6-0
5s: Addie Brown (F) def Megan Kenny 6-0, 6-0
1d: Hollie Champion/Kelly Russell def Mady Katz/Kayla Blakely 8-6
2d: Reagan Paff/Laine Touchberry (F) def Callie Strachan/Sarah McIntosh 8-1
Match #7
Butler 4, Northwestern 1
1s: Hollie Champion def Chandler Green 6-1, 6-0
2s: Emily Larkin def Betsy Creech 7-5, 6-2
3s: Kelly Russell def Alexis Peddy 6-4, 7-5
4s: Emery Carlough lead Lauren Cox 6-4, DNF
5s: Jaclyn Auraro def Erin Brooks 6-3, 6-3
2d: Karlee Fox/Caroline Herron (N) def Mertan Kenny/Callie Strahan 8-4
Match #8
Fort Mill 6, Piedmont 0
1s: Mady Katz def Sarah Venn 6-2, 6-4
2s: Kayla Blakely def Edy Kemo 6-2, 6-3
3s: Ali Jensen def Sarah Headley 6-2, 6-1
4s: Persephone McCollough def Grace Brooks 6-2, 6-1
5s: Addie Brown def Hannah Venn 6-2, 6-7, 11-9
2d: Reagan Paff/Laine Touchberry def Morgan Miles/Christa Whaley 8-0
Match #9
Marvin Ridge 5, Nation Ford 1
1s: Mariel Emery def Jordan Bowers 6-0, 6-3
2s: Paige Nestor def Ashley Trull 6-0, 6-1
3s: Hannah Farley def Rylee Smith 6-2, 6-1
4s: Meredith Sawrey def Suzanna Goss 7-5, 6-1
5s: Melanie Mullen (N) def Suzanne Treske 1-6, 6-4, 13-11
2d: Robyn Buchanen/Laura Gough def Olivia Whitener/Kendall Lucas 8-7
Final Tournament Records
Marvin Ridge 3-0 (NC & Overall Champion)
Nation Ford 2-1 (SC Champion & Overall Runner up)
Butler 2-1
Fort Mill 1-2
Northwestern 1-2
Piedmont 0-3
Friday, August 27, 2010
SC v NC Border Challenge - Day 1
Day 1 of our hosted tournament was 2/3 of a success. We finished off Piedmont in just under 2 hours and Marvin Ridge swept Fort Mill in about the same time. Unfortunately, Nation Ford and Butler had most of their matches nearing an end to their first sets when lightning struck just north of the school. That match was suspended and will be completed first thing in the morning. I was fairly pleased with our results tonight. We had an outmatched opponent & we put them away like we should. I am really pleased that we have already played two scrimmages so that the nerves of competing against a new opponent are minimalized. I'm sure Caroline was dissapointed in her result, but I told her afterwards that I was super proud of how hard she fought against a much older player from Piedmont.
I would have to say that the player of the day for Northwestern was Emily Edwards. Emily played her first singles match of this year for us after playing some singles, but mostly doubles, last year. She hit the ball very clean tonight & made several great hussle plays that made me smile. (Emily - Sorry, but I had to use last year's picture)
The Nation Ford / Butler delay will throw a slight kink in tommorrow's schedule. I texted the captains to communicate to our team that our 2nd match time will be delayed 30 minutes. Clearly, I understand that the girls want to get to the football game at 4. However, we need to be respectful of the schools we have asked to spend their Saturday with us & give some rest time to Butler who now has to play 2 1/2 matches in 5 1/2 hours.
The new match times are posted below the box scores for tommorrow.
Go Trojans!
Day 1 Results - SC v NC Border Challenge
Location: Northwestern HS, Rock Hill SC
Result #1
Northwestern 5, Piedmont 1
1s: Chandler Green def Sarah Venn 6-1, 6-0
2s: Betsy Creech def Edy Kemo 6-2, 6-3
3s: Alexis Peddy def Sarah Headley 6-2, 6-0
4s: Emily Edwards def Grace Brooks 6-0, 6-1
5s: Hannah Venn (P) def Caroline Herron 4-6, 6-2, 10-7
1d: DNP
2d: Courtney Cox/Lauren Cox def Miranda Leazer/Megan Brewer 8-0
Result #2
Marvin Ridge 6, Fort Mill 0
1s: Mariel Finery def Mady Katz 6-3, 6-0
2s: Paige Nestor def Kayla Blakeley 6-0, 6-0
3s: Hannah Florian def Ali Jensen 6-2, 6-2
4s: Minali Nigam def Persephone McCollough 6-0, 6-3
5s: Hannah Farley def Addie Brown 6-0, 6-0
1d: DNP
2d: Danielle David/Robyn Buchanan def Reagan Paff/Laina Touchberry 8-2
Result #3
Nation Ford v. Butler - Suspended due to lightning
Schedule for Sat 8/28:
8:00 Nation Ford v Butler (Resume match from 8/27)
9:00 Northwestern v Marvin Ridge
11:00 Fort Mill v Butler
11:30 Nation Ford v Piedmont
1:30 Northwestern v Butler
3:00 Fort Mill v Piedmont
3:30 Nation Ford v Marvin Ridge
Result #1
Northwestern 5, Piedmont 1
1s: Chandler Green def Sarah Venn 6-1, 6-0
2s: Betsy Creech def Edy Kemo 6-2, 6-3
3s: Alexis Peddy def Sarah Headley 6-2, 6-0
4s: Emily Edwards def Grace Brooks 6-0, 6-1
5s: Hannah Venn (P) def Caroline Herron 4-6, 6-2, 10-7
1d: DNP
2d: Courtney Cox/Lauren Cox def Miranda Leazer/Megan Brewer 8-0
Result #2
Marvin Ridge 6, Fort Mill 0
1s: Mariel Finery def Mady Katz 6-3, 6-0
2s: Paige Nestor def Kayla Blakeley 6-0, 6-0
3s: Hannah Florian def Ali Jensen 6-2, 6-2
4s: Minali Nigam def Persephone McCollough 6-0, 6-3
5s: Hannah Farley def Addie Brown 6-0, 6-0
1d: DNP
2d: Danielle David/Robyn Buchanan def Reagan Paff/Laina Touchberry 8-2
Result #3
Nation Ford v. Butler - Suspended due to lightning
Schedule for Sat 8/28:
8:00 Nation Ford v Butler (Resume match from 8/27)
9:00 Northwestern v Marvin Ridge
11:00 Fort Mill v Butler
11:30 Nation Ford v Piedmont
1:30 Northwestern v Butler
3:00 Fort Mill v Piedmont
3:30 Nation Ford v Marvin Ridge
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Another Good Showing in Scrimmage vs. York
We officially became the first team to compete at the new York High School tennis courts tonight. We also became the first team to win a contest on those courts.
Playing without our top player, I had a feeling that we would be challenged more than usual with everyone playing up a spot. We generally have a match or two get closer than comfort and have dropped some here and there in the past. Today was no different as we dropped 1 line, after sweeping the other 6 varsity contests.
We've looked good in our first two scrimmages thus far. Entering the weekend and our tournament matches, I am confident in two things:
1) We are much improved from last year
2) We have many players with the talent to win varsity matches
We'll have fun this weekend playing against three schools that we have never faced before. We kick it off Friday night against Piedmont HS out of Indian Trail. Then, Saturday morning we will play Marvin Ridge HS, from Marvin near Weddington. Our last match is against Butler HS from east Charlotte. I anticipate playing multiple different lineups to get different people playing singles and doubles. With the depth of talent our team has, we have the ability to do that.
Playing without our top player, I had a feeling that we would be challenged more than usual with everyone playing up a spot. We generally have a match or two get closer than comfort and have dropped some here and there in the past. Today was no different as we dropped 1 line, after sweeping the other 6 varsity contests.
We've looked good in our first two scrimmages thus far. Entering the weekend and our tournament matches, I am confident in two things:
1) We are much improved from last year
2) We have many players with the talent to win varsity matches
We'll have fun this weekend playing against three schools that we have never faced before. We kick it off Friday night against Piedmont HS out of Indian Trail. Then, Saturday morning we will play Marvin Ridge HS, from Marvin near Weddington. Our last match is against Butler HS from east Charlotte. I anticipate playing multiple different lineups to get different people playing singles and doubles. With the depth of talent our team has, we have the ability to do that.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Good showing in scrimmage vs. Fort Mill
Well, we got a contest played as somehow the storms that surrounded the county all day gave us just enough time to complete the varsity matches needed to decide a match. Overall, we lead by a count of 4 matches to 1 against Ft Mill with one match being suspended due to the approaching storms.
With any first scrimmage, I don't expect greatness. The girls exceeded my expectations last night and played better than I had predicted they would. The nerves seemed to be gone quickly as everyone played at a very high level.
We'll travel over to York next week to get another scrimmage in before hosting our 6 team varsity tournament next weekend. From talking with the other coaches participating in that event, the girls at those schools are pretty excited to come to our courts and compete.
Go Trojans!
With any first scrimmage, I don't expect greatness. The girls exceeded my expectations last night and played better than I had predicted they would. The nerves seemed to be gone quickly as everyone played at a very high level.
We'll travel over to York next week to get another scrimmage in before hosting our 6 team varsity tournament next weekend. From talking with the other coaches participating in that event, the girls at those schools are pretty excited to come to our courts and compete.
Go Trojans!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Court # 1 at Northwestern Renamed "Bartelmo Court"
We had a nice little break from normal practice today to honor two former Northwestern standouts. The brother-sister combination of Andrew & Sally Bartelmo blessed Northwestern HS with their tennis talents from 2002-2009. Both Andrew & Sally played the top spot on their respective boys and girls teams for many years and helped their teams become better overall with their talent and leadship while always having fun doing it.
Andrew's tennis career was continued after high school as he attended Vincennes College in Indiana where he was a top 100 ranked NJCAA player. He later transferred to UNC Greensboro where he played and volunteered as a coach. While coaching, the UNC Greensboro men's team advanced to the Division I NCAA championships and played perenial powerhouse University of Georgia in Athens, GA.
Sally's high school career was cut short by a year due to a knee injury which required surgery in the fall of 2009. Sally played the #1 spot from the moment she was a 7th grader and held that position her entire career. Even after her surgery, Sally remained involved with the Northwestern tennis program by volunteering as my assistant coach for the boys team in the spring of 2009. After high school, Sally enrolled at the University of South Carolina where she joined the Gamecock's lady tennis team.
Andrew and Sally came out this morning and lead the girl's team through some drills and games. They then teamed up as a pair to compete against the boy's #1 doubles team at Northwestern, Seth Russell and Hunter Love. The girls team was treated to lunch while they watched the high level doubles match play out in front of them. We did a ceremony before the exhibition match to formally name court #1 at Northwestern, "BARTELMO COURT."
Sally (Left in picture) leads the girls through some doubles drills
Left to Right: Andrew, Sally, Cary Bartelmo, Former NHS Coach David Bartles
Thank you to all the parents, boosters, and other fans of Northwestern tennis that came out to support these two outstanding alumni. They, and their mother Cary, were very thankful for the support and were very complimentary at the talent the girls displayed as well as Hunter & Seth.
Andrew and Sally warm up against Hunter & Seth in a doubles exhibition.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Girls Tryout Rules & Process
We will begin tryouts for the 2010 girls season on Monday August 2nd and will go for five consecutive days. Unless we experience rain, tryouts should conclude on Friday August 6th. Tryouts will start at 8:30 AM and last until 11:30 AM on all five days. An end time will depend on the girl's pace of play. Faster players may end sooner & slower players may end later than 11:30.
General Try Out Process:
1) The girls will be placed into groups of 3, 4 or 5 players. The first day, they will be placed in groups based on the players historical team ranking & new players will fill in at the bottom based on age (older starting higher).
2) The girls will play 6 games (no-ad scoring) against each person in their group. A girl can win 6-0, 5-1, 4-2, or 4-3. If 2 girls are tied at 3-3, they will play a 4 point tiebreaker that doesn't have to be won by 2 points (this tiebreak can be won 4-3, 4-2, 4-1, or 4-0). We will play two round robins each day for five straight days.
- No Ad Scoring: http://tennis.about.com/cs/beginners/a/beginnerscore.htm
- Tiebreaker Scoring: http://www.ehow.com/way_5439143_tennis-tiebreaker-rules.html
3) The girl that wins the most games against the other girls in her group will rise up to the next highest group. The girls that wins the fewest games will drop down to the next lowest group. In event of a tie, the head to head winner finishes with a higher rank. In a three way tie, I will look at the margin of victory over the other player(s) in the group.
4) After the first three rotations of players, I will begin marking down where each player finishes in a round. After the first three rotations (2 on day #1 & 1 on day #2) if a player finishes at the top of the top group, they will be given 1 point, 2nd place in the top group gets 2 points, 3rd gets 3 points, etc all the way down to the bottom player in the bottom group. On day 5, I add up all the points that a player was given. The low point earning player is #1, 2nd lowest is #2, etc on down to the lowest rank on the team.
Returning players should remember that this is the same method I used last year except for #2. I have adjusted the scoring method this season to get matches to finish quicker.
Tryout Rules
1) I will use USTA tournament rules to address timeliness. If a player is 5 minutes late, they will forfeit the serve & 1 game to their opponent. 10 minutes late will forfeit serve & 3 games. 15 minutes late will forfeit the first match of the round robin. Be early to avoid being penalized.
2) If a player uses foul language or commits any unsportsmanlike action during tryouts, they will forfeit all their remaining matches that day. If the player comes back the next day and has another incident, she will not be on the team this season.
3) As for CUTS to the team this year, I would like to not have to cut anyone. However, it will depend on the number of players that show up to try out. If we have a large number of players try out I likely will have to make cuts. If that is the case, here is what I would look at:
After tryouts I will ask myself...
- Is a player one of the top 10 players at Northwestern? If yes, they make the team
- If they are not top 10, are they in the top 7 of their class? If yes, they probably make the team, but I will look at what the final try out rankings look like.
- If not top 10 & not top 7 of their class, I will look at the players age & experience. I would favor taking younger players over upper classmen as they have more time to make improvements to their game before they graduate. However, in a situation where a player is #8 in their class and #11 on the team, that player is likely to make the team. Then again if a player is #8 in their class & #20 overall, they would probably not make the team. It will all depend on what the final try out rankings look like.
4) If a new player to the team this year is unable to make tryouts due to a commitment that was made prior to our meeting in May, I will start that player at the bottom of the roster assuming that space exists on the roster. They will play 8 game prosets against the girls at the bottom of the ladder during the first week of practice on August 9th. Based on their results on 8/9 & 8/10 I will make a decision to keep that player on the team or not. I have already been notified by the two players that this impacts & they are aware that this is a more difficult way to earn a high rank on the team than participating in the week of tryouts.
- 8 game Proset: http://www.tenniscoachdave.com/pages/tournaments.aspx
5) It is expected that players will be physically fit to play 3 hours of tennis for 5 consecutive days. If a player is unfit at tryouts, I may ask them to not participate this season. We will spend a lot of time the first 3 weeks of preseason practice on conditioning, but it is important that players have a base level of fitness to avoid heat illness from doing strenuous outdoor exercise.
6) After these initial challenges, a player can only move up or down 1 position at a time. Regular match scoring will be used after tryouts where 2 no-ad sets are played & a 10-point tiebreak is the sets are split. My goal for this season is to have no more than 1 challenge match per week (Fridays) after try outs among our top 10 players. Lower ranking players will likely challenge more often than the top 10 players.
It is important to undestand that I am looking for players who can continue to build a strong foundation of tennis at Northwestern. We have made great strides the past two years that I have coached and I am looking to continue in a positive direction. Tryouts will be a highly competitive environment. However, all players need to keep in mind that high school tennis is a team sport and it will take a team of players for us to be successful this year and into the future.
General Try Out Process:
1) The girls will be placed into groups of 3, 4 or 5 players. The first day, they will be placed in groups based on the players historical team ranking & new players will fill in at the bottom based on age (older starting higher).
2) The girls will play 6 games (no-ad scoring) against each person in their group. A girl can win 6-0, 5-1, 4-2, or 4-3. If 2 girls are tied at 3-3, they will play a 4 point tiebreaker that doesn't have to be won by 2 points (this tiebreak can be won 4-3, 4-2, 4-1, or 4-0). We will play two round robins each day for five straight days.
- No Ad Scoring: http://tennis.about.com/cs/beginners/a/beginnerscore.htm
- Tiebreaker Scoring: http://www.ehow.com/way_5439143_tennis-tiebreaker-rules.html
3) The girl that wins the most games against the other girls in her group will rise up to the next highest group. The girls that wins the fewest games will drop down to the next lowest group. In event of a tie, the head to head winner finishes with a higher rank. In a three way tie, I will look at the margin of victory over the other player(s) in the group.
4) After the first three rotations of players, I will begin marking down where each player finishes in a round. After the first three rotations (2 on day #1 & 1 on day #2) if a player finishes at the top of the top group, they will be given 1 point, 2nd place in the top group gets 2 points, 3rd gets 3 points, etc all the way down to the bottom player in the bottom group. On day 5, I add up all the points that a player was given. The low point earning player is #1, 2nd lowest is #2, etc on down to the lowest rank on the team.
Returning players should remember that this is the same method I used last year except for #2. I have adjusted the scoring method this season to get matches to finish quicker.
Tryout Rules
1) I will use USTA tournament rules to address timeliness. If a player is 5 minutes late, they will forfeit the serve & 1 game to their opponent. 10 minutes late will forfeit serve & 3 games. 15 minutes late will forfeit the first match of the round robin. Be early to avoid being penalized.
2) If a player uses foul language or commits any unsportsmanlike action during tryouts, they will forfeit all their remaining matches that day. If the player comes back the next day and has another incident, she will not be on the team this season.
3) As for CUTS to the team this year, I would like to not have to cut anyone. However, it will depend on the number of players that show up to try out. If we have a large number of players try out I likely will have to make cuts. If that is the case, here is what I would look at:
After tryouts I will ask myself...
- Is a player one of the top 10 players at Northwestern? If yes, they make the team
- If they are not top 10, are they in the top 7 of their class? If yes, they probably make the team, but I will look at what the final try out rankings look like.
- If not top 10 & not top 7 of their class, I will look at the players age & experience. I would favor taking younger players over upper classmen as they have more time to make improvements to their game before they graduate. However, in a situation where a player is #8 in their class and #11 on the team, that player is likely to make the team. Then again if a player is #8 in their class & #20 overall, they would probably not make the team. It will all depend on what the final try out rankings look like.
4) If a new player to the team this year is unable to make tryouts due to a commitment that was made prior to our meeting in May, I will start that player at the bottom of the roster assuming that space exists on the roster. They will play 8 game prosets against the girls at the bottom of the ladder during the first week of practice on August 9th. Based on their results on 8/9 & 8/10 I will make a decision to keep that player on the team or not. I have already been notified by the two players that this impacts & they are aware that this is a more difficult way to earn a high rank on the team than participating in the week of tryouts.
- 8 game Proset: http://www.tenniscoachdave.com/pages/tournaments.aspx
5) It is expected that players will be physically fit to play 3 hours of tennis for 5 consecutive days. If a player is unfit at tryouts, I may ask them to not participate this season. We will spend a lot of time the first 3 weeks of preseason practice on conditioning, but it is important that players have a base level of fitness to avoid heat illness from doing strenuous outdoor exercise.
6) After these initial challenges, a player can only move up or down 1 position at a time. Regular match scoring will be used after tryouts where 2 no-ad sets are played & a 10-point tiebreak is the sets are split. My goal for this season is to have no more than 1 challenge match per week (Fridays) after try outs among our top 10 players. Lower ranking players will likely challenge more often than the top 10 players.
It is important to undestand that I am looking for players who can continue to build a strong foundation of tennis at Northwestern. We have made great strides the past two years that I have coached and I am looking to continue in a positive direction. Tryouts will be a highly competitive environment. However, all players need to keep in mind that high school tennis is a team sport and it will take a team of players for us to be successful this year and into the future.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Boys Banquet Summary
The end of season gathering was a really great event. It was good to get our three seniors together once again before they head off to college next year. And of course, I had to let the returning guys know what a great opportunity they have next year to be a great team in the state of South Carolina.
We began the awards part of the program by recognizing our team assistants for the 2010 Season. These two young ladies were very helpful to me in a variety of different ways this spring and took care of many details that often are not thought about. I sincerely thanked:
Betsy Creech
Emily Edwards
We then introduced the non-letter winning players and mentioning their season accomplishments:
Quincy Ghent
Phillip Yommer
Ben Leppard
Collin Schroeder
Jacob Schroeder
Ben Barkley
Jonathan Patton
Brian Fitzpatrick
We then introduced the varsity letter winners for 2010 and touched on their accomplishments:
Wesley Matthews - 1st Tennis Letter
Daniel Hawkins - 1st
Key Barkley - 1st
Tyler Leonard - 2nd
Chris Cassidy - 1st
Michael Baldwin - 1st
Collins Mauldin - 2nd
Jordan Beaver - 3rd
John Clark - 2nd
Hunter Love - 2nd
Drayton Wade - 3rd
Seth Russell - 5th
I then handed out 3 team awards and the coach's award for 2010. The kids had the opportunity to vote for Most Valuable Player, Best Practice Player, and Most Improved Player.
For Best Practice Player, I ask the players to think about who sets a great example in practice and pushes you to work harder because of how they work. The 2010 Best Practice Player was Collins Mauldin.
For the Most Improved Player, I ask the guys to vote for who they think has either improved the most since last season or improved the most over the course of the season. The award for 2010 went to Michael Baldwin.
For the Most Valuable Player award, I ask the players to think about what player was most responsible for the level of success we were able to achieve as a team this season. The award went to Drayton Wade.
For my Coach's Award, I think through the past year as to who represents the team in the highest manner. I try to think of a player that I want others to try to be like in how they work, how they play, and how easy they are to coach. I awarded this year's Coach's Award to Hunter Love.
We had 11 members of the Boys Tennis Program be named All-State Academic Team for 2011 this spring and we awarded them with certificates of their student achievements: Drayton Wade, Jordan Beaver, Collins Mauldin, Michael Baldwin, Tyler Leonard, Daniel Hawkins, Wesley Matthews, Ben Barkley, Jonathan Patton, Ben Leppard and Brian Fitzpatrick.
Betsy & Emily then provided the true highlight of the evening as they presented awards that they came up with that needed mentioning. I wish I had them give me the whole list so I could post it, but the entire room was laughing at some of the creativity that went into the award names (Best Bandanna, Best Pickup Lines, Best Foodfight Starter, etc.)
After we took a few photos, I went over an off-season program that I came up with to motivate the returning players to prepare for next season. Honestly, I assume that if we do no work between now and next year we could finish 3rd in our region next year. That wouldn't be a rewarding season in my opinion.
The whole reason that I put this program together is that I feel this group of returning players should win Region 3-AAAA and be a contender for a state championship in 2011. It won't be an easy goal to accomplish, but if the work goes into it... the reward should be very satisfying next May.
Go Trojans!
We began the awards part of the program by recognizing our team assistants for the 2010 Season. These two young ladies were very helpful to me in a variety of different ways this spring and took care of many details that often are not thought about. I sincerely thanked:
Betsy Creech
Emily Edwards
We then introduced the non-letter winning players and mentioning their season accomplishments:
Quincy Ghent
Phillip Yommer
Ben Leppard
Collin Schroeder
Jacob Schroeder
Ben Barkley
Jonathan Patton
Brian Fitzpatrick
We then introduced the varsity letter winners for 2010 and touched on their accomplishments:
Wesley Matthews - 1st Tennis Letter
Daniel Hawkins - 1st
Key Barkley - 1st
Tyler Leonard - 2nd
Chris Cassidy - 1st
Michael Baldwin - 1st
Collins Mauldin - 2nd
Jordan Beaver - 3rd
John Clark - 2nd
Hunter Love - 2nd
Drayton Wade - 3rd
Seth Russell - 5th
I then handed out 3 team awards and the coach's award for 2010. The kids had the opportunity to vote for Most Valuable Player, Best Practice Player, and Most Improved Player.
For Best Practice Player, I ask the players to think about who sets a great example in practice and pushes you to work harder because of how they work. The 2010 Best Practice Player was Collins Mauldin.
For the Most Improved Player, I ask the guys to vote for who they think has either improved the most since last season or improved the most over the course of the season. The award for 2010 went to Michael Baldwin.
For the Most Valuable Player award, I ask the players to think about what player was most responsible for the level of success we were able to achieve as a team this season. The award went to Drayton Wade.
For my Coach's Award, I think through the past year as to who represents the team in the highest manner. I try to think of a player that I want others to try to be like in how they work, how they play, and how easy they are to coach. I awarded this year's Coach's Award to Hunter Love.
We had 11 members of the Boys Tennis Program be named All-State Academic Team for 2011 this spring and we awarded them with certificates of their student achievements: Drayton Wade, Jordan Beaver, Collins Mauldin, Michael Baldwin, Tyler Leonard, Daniel Hawkins, Wesley Matthews, Ben Barkley, Jonathan Patton, Ben Leppard and Brian Fitzpatrick.
Betsy & Emily then provided the true highlight of the evening as they presented awards that they came up with that needed mentioning. I wish I had them give me the whole list so I could post it, but the entire room was laughing at some of the creativity that went into the award names (Best Bandanna, Best Pickup Lines, Best Foodfight Starter, etc.)
After we took a few photos, I went over an off-season program that I came up with to motivate the returning players to prepare for next season. Honestly, I assume that if we do no work between now and next year we could finish 3rd in our region next year. That wouldn't be a rewarding season in my opinion.
The whole reason that I put this program together is that I feel this group of returning players should win Region 3-AAAA and be a contender for a state championship in 2011. It won't be an easy goal to accomplish, but if the work goes into it... the reward should be very satisfying next May.
Go Trojans!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
2010 Girls Meeting Recap
Thanks to all those who attended tonight's meeting. I apologize that it ran longer than I anticipated, but I do hope that valuable information was learned about the upcoming girls season next fall.
To recap what was covered:
1) Sign in
All players signed in & an initial team roster will be emailed to all that attended. The purpose of the initial roster is for girls to have each other's contact information to play and practice together this summer and for parents to communicate with each other.
2) Eligibility Requirements
- Physical form signed by a parent is required prior to participation in any sport at NHS.
- Grades must be acceptable (C or better) to participate in interscholastic sports. See your guidance counselor if you are worried about your academic status
- Copy of a players birth certificate must be on file in the athletic office prior to any contest with another school
3) Tryouts 8/2 - 8/6
The first week of the season's practice will be used to play multiple round robin challenge matches against each other. These sessions will start at 8:30AM and should wrap up by 12 noon at the latest. I expect all players to bring with them:
- Racket(s)
- Tennis shoes (not running shoes)
- Water Bottle
- Snack (if needed)
After 5 sessions of challenges, an initial ladder will be established ranking each player based on their results. After this first week, a player can move up or down only one spot at a time in a challenge match against another player.
4) Rules
I went over some basic rules, but in a nutshell the only real rule that I will be particular about is that if a player wants to play in matches they need to be at practice. I do expect good behavior & sportsmanship at practice and during matches...that is rarely a problem with this group of kids.
I also believe that a player should be at a match from beginning to end. Tennis is an individual sport, but players on this team are part of a team. It does bother me when players ask if it is OK to leave a match when they are finished playing. To me, that is like a pitcher leaving a baseball game when a relief pitcher is brought in to finish the game. I would like players to stay at the matches until all players have finished playing.
5) Fall Practice Schedule
Before the school year starts, we will practice in the morning to avoid the heat of the day. I handed out a season long schedule of how I anticipate the season folding out. It is subject to change that is usually the result of rained out matches.
Practice is never cancelled due to weather. If it rains on a practice or match day we will always have an indoor practice & conditioning after school. I will text the team captains the plan for that day & captains forward that text message to the rest of the team.
The practice schedule also lists the days that we will be having matches and what times players need to be at the courts for either warm up or bus departure.
6) Match Schedule
This season we have 2 scrimmages, 1 tournament, and 17 matches scheduled & I handed out the schedule.
Our region will consist of Spartanburg, Gaffney, Clover, Rock Hill, and Lancaster whom we will play twice each. Matches are mostly on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but there are a couple Monday & Wednesday contests. Other than the week of Labor Day, I tried to avoid back to back matches until the last week of the season when we are preparing for playoffs.
We are tentatively (99% confirmed) hosting a 6 team round robin tournament on Friday August 27th & Saturday August 28th. Northwestern, Fort Mill, and Nation Ford will be competing against 3 Charlotte area schools in a SC vs. NC challenge.
7) Off Season Workouts
We have the potential to be a good team this fall and I would like that to happen. However, we have stiff competition in our region. We cannot expect to show up after not having worked hard this summer and expect to beat teams on our schedule.
Therefore, I developed a summer program for the girls to track their practice progress over the next 10 weeks. There is a point system that has a goal of 14 points every week for each player. This is an amount that I feel we need to accomplish in order for us to be competitive with our opponents this fall.
There are three basic categories that I feel the players need to focus on
1- Instruction (Lessons/Camps/Clinics as well as practice hitting)
2- Competition (Practice matches/Tournaments)
3- Physical fitness (Running/Weight training)
The points are intentionally weighted heavily towards competition, but it is very possible to earn points every day simply by being athletically active. It is up to the player to determine how they want to earn points. A beginner player might want to get more instruction whereas a more experienced player might want to focus on fitness and competing in tournaments.
Frankly, I could care less how the goal is met. What is important to me is that the girls have a goal to meet and they try to reach it. The more effort and thought that goes into it the better.
8) Summer Trip 2011
I tossed around some potential ideas for something fun with tennis that we could start to brainstorm about for next year.
We live really close to some of the best tennis and beach resorts in the world and an obvious fun idea to me would be a beach trip to the coast for a week. We could do Hilton Head tennis clinics at Palmetto Dunes in the morning and spend the day at the beach.
Another thought would be a Labor Day 2011 trip to New York to watch the US Open. We could probably find a New York City school to play against and then go to the Open for a few days.
There are many other feasible options, but unfortunately none would be free. I really would like to see if parents can start communicating about two things:
1 - A plan for a trip (location & dates)
2- Fundraising ideas
Looking forward to seeing everyone on August 2nd!
To recap what was covered:
1) Sign in
All players signed in & an initial team roster will be emailed to all that attended. The purpose of the initial roster is for girls to have each other's contact information to play and practice together this summer and for parents to communicate with each other.
2) Eligibility Requirements
- Physical form signed by a parent is required prior to participation in any sport at NHS.
- Grades must be acceptable (C or better) to participate in interscholastic sports. See your guidance counselor if you are worried about your academic status
- Copy of a players birth certificate must be on file in the athletic office prior to any contest with another school
3) Tryouts 8/2 - 8/6
The first week of the season's practice will be used to play multiple round robin challenge matches against each other. These sessions will start at 8:30AM and should wrap up by 12 noon at the latest. I expect all players to bring with them:
- Racket(s)
- Tennis shoes (not running shoes)
- Water Bottle
- Snack (if needed)
After 5 sessions of challenges, an initial ladder will be established ranking each player based on their results. After this first week, a player can move up or down only one spot at a time in a challenge match against another player.
4) Rules
I went over some basic rules, but in a nutshell the only real rule that I will be particular about is that if a player wants to play in matches they need to be at practice. I do expect good behavior & sportsmanship at practice and during matches...that is rarely a problem with this group of kids.
I also believe that a player should be at a match from beginning to end. Tennis is an individual sport, but players on this team are part of a team. It does bother me when players ask if it is OK to leave a match when they are finished playing. To me, that is like a pitcher leaving a baseball game when a relief pitcher is brought in to finish the game. I would like players to stay at the matches until all players have finished playing.
5) Fall Practice Schedule
Before the school year starts, we will practice in the morning to avoid the heat of the day. I handed out a season long schedule of how I anticipate the season folding out. It is subject to change that is usually the result of rained out matches.
Practice is never cancelled due to weather. If it rains on a practice or match day we will always have an indoor practice & conditioning after school. I will text the team captains the plan for that day & captains forward that text message to the rest of the team.
The practice schedule also lists the days that we will be having matches and what times players need to be at the courts for either warm up or bus departure.
6) Match Schedule
This season we have 2 scrimmages, 1 tournament, and 17 matches scheduled & I handed out the schedule.
Our region will consist of Spartanburg, Gaffney, Clover, Rock Hill, and Lancaster whom we will play twice each. Matches are mostly on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but there are a couple Monday & Wednesday contests. Other than the week of Labor Day, I tried to avoid back to back matches until the last week of the season when we are preparing for playoffs.
We are tentatively (99% confirmed) hosting a 6 team round robin tournament on Friday August 27th & Saturday August 28th. Northwestern, Fort Mill, and Nation Ford will be competing against 3 Charlotte area schools in a SC vs. NC challenge.
7) Off Season Workouts
We have the potential to be a good team this fall and I would like that to happen. However, we have stiff competition in our region. We cannot expect to show up after not having worked hard this summer and expect to beat teams on our schedule.
Therefore, I developed a summer program for the girls to track their practice progress over the next 10 weeks. There is a point system that has a goal of 14 points every week for each player. This is an amount that I feel we need to accomplish in order for us to be competitive with our opponents this fall.
There are three basic categories that I feel the players need to focus on
1- Instruction (Lessons/Camps/Clinics as well as practice hitting)
2- Competition (Practice matches/Tournaments)
3- Physical fitness (Running/Weight training)
The points are intentionally weighted heavily towards competition, but it is very possible to earn points every day simply by being athletically active. It is up to the player to determine how they want to earn points. A beginner player might want to get more instruction whereas a more experienced player might want to focus on fitness and competing in tournaments.
Frankly, I could care less how the goal is met. What is important to me is that the girls have a goal to meet and they try to reach it. The more effort and thought that goes into it the better.
8) Summer Trip 2011
I tossed around some potential ideas for something fun with tennis that we could start to brainstorm about for next year.
We live really close to some of the best tennis and beach resorts in the world and an obvious fun idea to me would be a beach trip to the coast for a week. We could do Hilton Head tennis clinics at Palmetto Dunes in the morning and spend the day at the beach.
Another thought would be a Labor Day 2011 trip to New York to watch the US Open. We could probably find a New York City school to play against and then go to the Open for a few days.
There are many other feasible options, but unfortunately none would be free. I really would like to see if parents can start communicating about two things:
1 - A plan for a trip (location & dates)
2- Fundraising ideas
Looking forward to seeing everyone on August 2nd!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Trojans Defeated in Second Round by #3 ranked Dorman
The trip to Dorman to compete in round 2 of the SC AAAA state championships ended up being the last match of the 2010 spring season for the Trojans. The 0-7 defeat handed to us by the Cavaliers leaves us with a final record of 12-6. We may not have claimed a win at any line tonight, but I was happy with the quality of tennis that we played against one of the state's elite programs this year.
I tried to downplay the strength of Dorman's team in practice yesterday even though I know that they have been the buzz of the upstate this spring as far as contenders go for the state title. They have been ranked in the top 5 of the SCTCA's coach's poll this season and were picked #3 in the April 17th poll. After seeing them in action, it is clear to me that the buzz is accurate and they do have a legit shot at winning this year's championship. Their lines 1 through 4 are very solid and there is a very small drop off at #5. Their doubles team might not beat Spring Valley or Lexington, but if the top of their lineup takes care of business, they can pull it off.
On paper, we had no business competing with Dorman:
Their #1 is ranked #11 in the USTA SC's 18's, ours is unranked
Their #2 is ranked #4 in the 14's, ours is ranked #106 in the 18's
Their #3 is ranked #79 in the 18's, ours is #50 in the 16's
Their #4 is ranked #83 in the 18's, ours is unranked
Their #5 is ranked #78 in the 14's, ours is unranked
But that is why you play the game. Sure, they beat us at every line tonight. We did give them some fits tonight and played hard. I thought that the doubles team would force a match tiebreak and win their match to remain undefeated on the season. Jordan even looked like he'd have a chance to sneak a set off their #5.
Hunter even tried so hard that he broke out a dramatic jump serve that he and I worked on yesterday...it was absolutely hysterical & it cost me 5 bucks since I bet him that he wouldn't do it. His opponents mother made me almost fall down laughing when she said, "What in the world was that?" (Note: Hunter won that point...probably because the kids had no clue how to react to something so goofy looking.) It was 5 bucks well spent!
I generally don't give a lot of thought to rankings when I play someone, but they do usually reflect a competitiveness that a player has. To be ranked high, you need to play a lot of tournament events year round. It's possible to play 3 or 4 events and be ranked in the top 100 if you can win a few matches. However, to be ranked near the top 10 of an age group you need to play 12-15 tournaments a year and get wins against a lot of quality opponents.
The Northwestern boys team has a lot of potential to rise up to the level of Dorman and Spring Valley. We have some true talent returning next year that simply needs to log the hours on court and have a desire to get better. Do players need to take lessons? Yes. Do players need to spend a lot of time with hitting practice? Yes. Do players need to play practice matches against each other? Yes. Do players need to compete in tournaments year round? Yes. Do players need to be running & lifting weights? Yes. Is this a lot to ask of the players? Absolutely.
It isn't something that is going to be easy to do, but nothing worthwhile in life is ever easy. I plan on giving every returning player a goals chart and a point system that I created to help everyone become better players. I don't expect that every player will follow this plan 100%, but I do promise any player that does will improve dramatically in their skill and athleticism over the next 9 months. I also promise that players that don't follow the plan will be passed up in tryouts next year by the players that do.
Next season starts now.
Go Trojans!
Location: Dorman HS, Roebuck, SC
Result: Dorman 7, Northwestern 0
Singles
1- Jackson Keith def Drayton Wade 6-0, 6-2
2- Wood Benton def Seth Russell 6-1, 6-0
3- Andrew Harvey def Hunter Love 6-0, 6-0
4- Skyler Wenkles def John Clark 6-1, 6-2
5- Patrick Tobacco def Jordan Beaver 6-2, 6-2
Doubles
1- Jay Michels/Michael Hileski def Collins Mauldin/Michael Baldwin 6-4, 6-4
2- Mayfield Reynolds/Forrest Reynolds def Chris Cassidy/Tyler Leonard 8-4
Records: Dorman 14-3, Northwestern 12-6
Result: Dorman 7, Northwestern 0
Singles
1- Jackson Keith def Drayton Wade 6-0, 6-2
2- Wood Benton def Seth Russell 6-1, 6-0
3- Andrew Harvey def Hunter Love 6-0, 6-0
4- Skyler Wenkles def John Clark 6-1, 6-2
5- Patrick Tobacco def Jordan Beaver 6-2, 6-2
Doubles
1- Jay Michels/Michael Hileski def Collins Mauldin/Michael Baldwin 6-4, 6-4
2- Mayfield Reynolds/Forrest Reynolds def Chris Cassidy/Tyler Leonard 8-4
Records: Dorman 14-3, Northwestern 12-6
Jump Serve Maestro
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Trojans Advance to Second Round with Win over Rock Hill High
For the first time since the 2006 spring season, the Northwestern boys tennis team advanced to the second round of the SCHSL AAAA state playoffs by defeating the Rock Hill Bearcats 4-2. The victory improves our record to 12-5 overall and has now doubled our win total from a season ago.
The All Region doubles team of Michael Baldwin and Collins Mauldin cleared the courts first with a swift victory. The first set was a shutout before the Rock Hill team was able to get on the board in the second set. The second set was even early until the Trojan boys took control again for a 6-2 second set and the first team win for the Trojans on the night.
Hunter Love finished next at #3 singles. Again facing the same quality opponent in Silverman of the Bearcats, Hunter played near flawless tennis to give the Trojans team win #2 by score of 6-1, 6-1.
Jordan Beaver bumped up from his normal #5 spot for a match up advantage that I figured we would have at the #4 spot against Cauthen of Rock Hill with Jordan's heavy topspin. Jordan popped a string in warm ups and had to play with Hunter's spare racket tonight...yes, this made me nervous. It seemed to bother Jordan slightly as he warmed up against Cauthen, but ended up being no problem in the end. Jordan's win at #4 put us ahead 3 matches to none at that point.
The Bearcats then got on the board after the #1 singles match concluded. Drayton played pretty well against Lee of Rock Hill, but wow...Lee played well, better than I have ever seen him play. Drayton went down and the scoreboard was lopsided, but give Drayton credit for fighting back in the second set.
Two matches remained out of the initial six at this point as Seth Russell played at #2 singles and Chris Cassidy (pictured at top) filled in at the #5 position. Chris was up a set and two service breaks, while Seth trailed by a set and one break. Both matches finished within a minute of each other and Chris was able to clinch the line 5 win & the match for the Trojans. I couldn't be more proud of Chris for stepping up and finishing big for his team in a pressure situation.
We anticipate a match up with Dorman in round 2 as they were the #1 seed out of Region 2 and played the #4 seed Wren out of Region 1. I smell The Beacon...
The All Region doubles team of Michael Baldwin and Collins Mauldin cleared the courts first with a swift victory. The first set was a shutout before the Rock Hill team was able to get on the board in the second set. The second set was even early until the Trojan boys took control again for a 6-2 second set and the first team win for the Trojans on the night.
Hunter Love finished next at #3 singles. Again facing the same quality opponent in Silverman of the Bearcats, Hunter played near flawless tennis to give the Trojans team win #2 by score of 6-1, 6-1.
Jordan Beaver bumped up from his normal #5 spot for a match up advantage that I figured we would have at the #4 spot against Cauthen of Rock Hill with Jordan's heavy topspin. Jordan popped a string in warm ups and had to play with Hunter's spare racket tonight...yes, this made me nervous. It seemed to bother Jordan slightly as he warmed up against Cauthen, but ended up being no problem in the end. Jordan's win at #4 put us ahead 3 matches to none at that point.
The Bearcats then got on the board after the #1 singles match concluded. Drayton played pretty well against Lee of Rock Hill, but wow...Lee played well, better than I have ever seen him play. Drayton went down and the scoreboard was lopsided, but give Drayton credit for fighting back in the second set.
Two matches remained out of the initial six at this point as Seth Russell played at #2 singles and Chris Cassidy (pictured at top) filled in at the #5 position. Chris was up a set and two service breaks, while Seth trailed by a set and one break. Both matches finished within a minute of each other and Chris was able to clinch the line 5 win & the match for the Trojans. I couldn't be more proud of Chris for stepping up and finishing big for his team in a pressure situation.
We anticipate a match up with Dorman in round 2 as they were the #1 seed out of Region 2 and played the #4 seed Wren out of Region 1. I smell The Beacon...
Go Trojans!
Location: Rock Hill HS
Result: Northwestern 4, Rock Hill 2
Singles
1) Austin Lee (R) def Drayton Wade 6-0, 6-2
2) Alik MacLachlan (R) def Seth Russell 7-5, 6-4
3) Hunter Love (N) def Alex Silverman 6-1, 6-1
4) Jordan Beaver (N) def Nick Cauthen 6-1, 6-2
5) Chris Cassidy (N) def Austin Shores 6-4, 6-2
Doubles
1) DNP
2) Collins Mauldin/Michael Baldwin (N) def Tony Ly, Michael Adams 6-0, 6-2
Records: Northwestern 12-5, Rock Hill 9-6
Location: Rock Hill HS
Result: Northwestern 4, Rock Hill 2
Singles
1) Austin Lee (R) def Drayton Wade 6-0, 6-2
2) Alik MacLachlan (R) def Seth Russell 7-5, 6-4
3) Hunter Love (N) def Alex Silverman 6-1, 6-1
4) Jordan Beaver (N) def Nick Cauthen 6-1, 6-2
5) Chris Cassidy (N) def Austin Shores 6-4, 6-2
Doubles
1) DNP
2) Collins Mauldin/Michael Baldwin (N) def Tony Ly, Michael Adams 6-0, 6-2
Records: Northwestern 12-5, Rock Hill 9-6
Three Trojan Boys Named to 2010 All Region Team
The region 3-AAAA coaches met last night at Clover HS to select the All-Region team for 2010 and nominate players to the state singles tournament. Three players from Northwestern were given all region honors and one was selected as an alternate to the state singles tournament.Seth Russell (pictured top right)was selected to the All-Region team for the second straight season. Seth has compiled a 10-5 overall record this spring, including a 7-3 mark in region matches at #1 singles. Seth's name has also been given as an alternate to the SC High School League for consideration in the 2010 AAA-AAAA State Singles Tournament later this month.
The doubles team of Michael Baldwin (pictured bottom right) & Collins Mauldin (left)was also selected to the All-Region team. When playing together this season, these two young men had a combined record of 11-0 while going 8-0 in Region 3-AAAA. Together, these two boys have been the most successful doubles team I have ever coached at Northwestern.2010 Region 3-AAAA All Region Team
Chase Altieri, Clover
Tyler Davis, Fort Mill
Tyler Davis, Fort Mill
Seth Russell, Northwestern
Madison Ott, Nation Ford
Danny Randar, Nation Ford
Nick Deahl, Clover
Will Decker, Clover
Chase Lovins, Fort Mill
Andres Leon, Fort Mill
Tucker DeLoach, Clover
Collins Mauldin, Northwestern
Michael Baldwin, Northwestern
Player of the Year: Chase Altieri, Clover
Coach of the Year: Matt Rohring, Nation Ford
Thursday, April 29, 2010
SCHSL AAA Playoff Bracket
This will get updated over the next 48 hours by the SC High School League:
http://www.schsl.org/2009%20brackets/bteaaaa.pdf
Our region's teams are listed already, but the other regions have not yet reported as of the time of this post. Check back as often as you'd like to see what other teams we will be competing against in the 2010 boys tennis state championships.
Go Trojans!
http://www.schsl.org/2009%20brackets/bteaaaa.pdf
Our region's teams are listed already, but the other regions have not yet reported as of the time of this post. Check back as often as you'd like to see what other teams we will be competing against in the 2010 boys tennis state championships.
Go Trojans!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Trojans Defeated by Bearcats
Our last regular season match didn't go exactly as we had hoped tonight at cross town rival Rock Hill High. We played good at some lines and not so good at others. The match was tied 3 matches each and the #1 doubles point had to be played to decide it. We came up just short in that match and went home with the loss.
Hunter Love shined tonight at #3 singles. He defeated a normally very consistent player in Silverman of the Bearcats fairly easily. However, what I enjoyed about watching the match was Hunter's ability to finish strong and not let off the gas.
Jordan Beaver was back to his normal ways at #5 singles. Jordan surrendered one game in the first set before a shutout in the second against Adams from Rock Hill High.
Our dependable doubles duo of Michael Baldwin and Collins Mauldin claimed our third win on the night. They played a much more aggressive and controlling doubles match than in our previous encounter with the Bearcats. The score reflected it as they gave only 3 games up in route to the win.
Well, playoffs are the next focus for this team. All we know at this point is that we are the #3 seed out of Region 3-AAAA. Our first round opponent will be the #2 seed out of Region 4-AAAA and there is a 2nd place tie there between Blythewood & Rock Hill. I am unsure if their tiebreaker system is the same as ours. If it is the same we likely will get a 3rd match up against Rock Hill. We should know by the weekend and will focus tomorrow on challenge matches & Monday on practicing for whoever we shall face.
Go Trojans!
Location: Rock Hill HS
Result: Rock Hill 4, Northwestern 3
Singles
1- Austin Lee def Seth Russell 6-2, 6-2
2- Alik McGlochlin def Drayton Wade 6-1, 6-3
3- Hunter Love (N) def Alex Silverman 6-3, 6-1
4- Nick Cauthen def John Clark 6-1, 6-2
5- Jordan Beaver (N) def Michael Adams 6-1, 6-0
Doubles
1- Lee/McGlochlin def Russell/Wade 6-2, 6-4
2- Michael Baldwin/Collins Mauldin (N) def Austin Shores/Tony Lee 6-2, 6-1
Records: Rock Hill 9-5, Northwestern 11-5
Hunter Love shined tonight at #3 singles. He defeated a normally very consistent player in Silverman of the Bearcats fairly easily. However, what I enjoyed about watching the match was Hunter's ability to finish strong and not let off the gas.
Jordan Beaver was back to his normal ways at #5 singles. Jordan surrendered one game in the first set before a shutout in the second against Adams from Rock Hill High.
Our dependable doubles duo of Michael Baldwin and Collins Mauldin claimed our third win on the night. They played a much more aggressive and controlling doubles match than in our previous encounter with the Bearcats. The score reflected it as they gave only 3 games up in route to the win.
Well, playoffs are the next focus for this team. All we know at this point is that we are the #3 seed out of Region 3-AAAA. Our first round opponent will be the #2 seed out of Region 4-AAAA and there is a 2nd place tie there between Blythewood & Rock Hill. I am unsure if their tiebreaker system is the same as ours. If it is the same we likely will get a 3rd match up against Rock Hill. We should know by the weekend and will focus tomorrow on challenge matches & Monday on practicing for whoever we shall face.
Go Trojans!
Location: Rock Hill HS
Result: Rock Hill 4, Northwestern 3
Singles
1- Austin Lee def Seth Russell 6-2, 6-2
2- Alik McGlochlin def Drayton Wade 6-1, 6-3
3- Hunter Love (N) def Alex Silverman 6-3, 6-1
4- Nick Cauthen def John Clark 6-1, 6-2
5- Jordan Beaver (N) def Michael Adams 6-1, 6-0
Doubles
1- Lee/McGlochlin def Russell/Wade 6-2, 6-4
2- Michael Baldwin/Collins Mauldin (N) def Austin Shores/Tony Lee 6-2, 6-1
Records: Rock Hill 9-5, Northwestern 11-5
Monday, April 26, 2010
Trojans Defeat South Pointe on Senior Night
Tonight was more than just a match as it was the last time that Drayton Wade, Michael Baldwin, and Tyler Leonard will suit up on the Northwestern courts for the tennis program. These three young men have been terrific for me to work with and I learned in their remarks after the match that their memories will be much more about the off the court stuff than the matches they played.What I will remember about these three is how hard they worked in practice every day. Sure, I'll remember Drayton's win over Clover to seal the win for us. I'll also remember Michael going 9-1 in region matches this year. I will remember Tyler winning every match he played this year. However, I will remember these three as asking me multiple times for help on their g
ames & I will remember them working with me and on their own to get better.
ames & I will remember them working with me and on their own to get better.All three seniors were victorious in their singles matches tonight. Drayton held down the top spot tonight for us. Michael played the number three spot and won a well played second set after a somehwat frustrating first set. Tyler played the 5th singles spot and won it fairly handily as well.
The win improves our overall record to 11-4. We have one regular season match remaining to prepare for the post season at Rock Hill HS on Wednesday. We did defeat the Bearcats previously 4 matches to 2, however I am hopeful that we are able to reverse our fortune in the 2 matches that were dropped.
The playoffs will start next Monday. I still am unsure of whether we'll be seeded 3rd 
or 4th out of our region. It will come down to who is declared the 1 & 2 seeds. If Nation Ford is declared #1, we will be #3 since we have a victory over them. However, if Fort Mill is declared the #1, Clover will get the #3 since they have a victory over them and we do not. The drama will be played out at the end of the week & I will know for sure where we go by the weekend. I'll let everyone know as soon as I know.
or 4th out of our region. It will come down to who is declared the 1 & 2 seeds. If Nation Ford is declared #1, we will be #3 since we have a victory over them. However, if Fort Mill is declared the #1, Clover will get the #3 since they have a victory over them and we do not. The drama will be played out at the end of the week & I will know for sure where we go by the weekend. I'll let everyone know as soon as I know.
Go Trojans!
Singles
1) Drayton Wade def Ian Sanford 6-2, 6-3
2) Hunter Love def Lukas Farris 6-0, 6-0
3) Michael Baldwin def Conner McCoy 7-6, 6-1
4) Chris Cassidy def Jonathan Hoover 6-3, 6-3
5) Tyler Leonard def Preston Darby 6-2, 6-4
Doubles
1) DNP
2) Jordan Beaver/Collins Mauldin win by default 6-0, 6-0
1) Drayton Wade def Ian Sanford 6-2, 6-3
2) Hunter Love def Lukas Farris 6-0, 6-0
3) Michael Baldwin def Conner McCoy 7-6, 6-1
4) Chris Cassidy def Jonathan Hoover 6-3, 6-3
5) Tyler Leonard def Preston Darby 6-2, 6-4
Doubles
1) DNP
2) Jordan Beaver/Collins Mauldin win by default 6-0, 6-0
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Trojans Finish Region in Tie for Third
We went to Gaffney and our match went almost as we expected. We played hard from beginning to end & took the match to increase our region record to 6-4 overall. Other region results tonight included Clover beating York 6-0 to finish tied with us at 6-4 in the region. The upset of the day was Fort Mill defeating Nation Ford 4 to 3 after playing the #1 doubles match. Fort Mill and Nation Ford finish as co-champions in the region & tiebreakers will have to be played out to determine playoff seeding.
Monday's match with South Pointe will be our senior night & we will have a little celebration afterwards to thank Drayton, Michael & Tyler for their contributions to Northwestern tennis over the years. All three boys will be playing singles matches against the Stallions as we will mix up the lineup some to have a good, fun match with our cross town rivals.
Go Trojans!
Location: Gaffney
Result: Northwestern 5, Gaffney 1
Singles
1- Seth Russell def Clayton Whitt 6-0, 6-1
2- Drayton Wade def James BeLue 6-1, 6-0
3- Hunter Love def Nick Parker 6-0, 6-1
4- Mark Lovingood (G) def John Clark 6-4, 2-6, 10-5
5- Jordan Beaver def Milah Shah 6-1, 6-0
Doubles
2- Collins Mauldin/Michael Baldwin def Aaron Warren/Alex Hitchcliffe 6-1, 6-0
Final Region 3-AAAA Standings
1- Fort Mill 8-2
1- Nation Ford 8-2 (tie)
3- Northwestern 6-4
3- Clover 6-4 (tie)
5- York 2-8
6- Gaffney 0-10
Monday's match with South Pointe will be our senior night & we will have a little celebration afterwards to thank Drayton, Michael & Tyler for their contributions to Northwestern tennis over the years. All three boys will be playing singles matches against the Stallions as we will mix up the lineup some to have a good, fun match with our cross town rivals.
Go Trojans!
Location: Gaffney
Result: Northwestern 5, Gaffney 1
Singles
1- Seth Russell def Clayton Whitt 6-0, 6-1
2- Drayton Wade def James BeLue 6-1, 6-0
3- Hunter Love def Nick Parker 6-0, 6-1
4- Mark Lovingood (G) def John Clark 6-4, 2-6, 10-5
5- Jordan Beaver def Milah Shah 6-1, 6-0
Doubles
2- Collins Mauldin/Michael Baldwin def Aaron Warren/Alex Hitchcliffe 6-1, 6-0
Final Region 3-AAAA Standings
1- Fort Mill 8-2
1- Nation Ford 8-2 (tie)
3- Northwestern 6-4
3- Clover 6-4 (tie)
5- York 2-8
6- Gaffney 0-10
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Trojans Drop to Third Place tie with Loss to Fort Mill
I told the boys after the 2-5 loss tonight at Fort Mill that we need to be big time Nation Ford fans for the day tomorrow while we focus on defeating Gaffney. The current region standings have Nation Ford in first place (8-1), Fort Mill in second (7-2), Northwestern & Clover in third (5-4). Nation Ford plays Fort Mill, we go to Gaffney, and Clover hosts York in the final region matches of 2010.
Tonights match had two highlights for us. First was that Hunter Love (pictured) played as well as he has all season in a grudge match against Lovin from Fort Mill. Hunter had lost in their previous meeting in straight sets & was determined to return the favor. Boy, did he ever. He dominated from the first point to the last as he claimed a 6-1, 6-3 victory for the Trojans.
Our undefeated doubles team of Collins Mauldin and Michael Baldwin stayed perfect as a pair this season. Huckaby & Bullard of Fort Mill are good doubles players, but in the end the cohesiveness of our guys paid off as they claimed 1 out of two tiebreakers in the end for our second point.
Mission at hand is Gaffney. We need to take care of business there to insure we are at least tied with Clover for third. After that, we'll say our prayers for Nation Ford as I have no idea how the tiebreaker will work out in the end if Fort Mill & Nation Ford are both 8-2 and Clover & us are both 6-4.
Go Trojans!
Location: Fort Mill
Result: Fort Mill 5, Northwestern 2
Singles
1- Tyler Davis def Seth Russell 6-3, 6-4
2- Kyle Patterson def Drayton Wade 4-6, 6-4, 10-6
3- Hunter Love (N) def Chase Lovin 6-1, 6-3
4- Andres Leon def John Clark 6-0, 6-2
5- Alex Masters def Jordan Beaver 6-3, 3-6, 10-7
Doubles
1- Davis/Leon def Russell/Love 8-4
2- Collins Mauldin/Michael Baldwin (N) def Clay Bullard/Cory Huckaby 6-2, 6-7, 10-6
Tonights match had two highlights for us. First was that Hunter Love (pictured) played as well as he has all season in a grudge match against Lovin from Fort Mill. Hunter had lost in their previous meeting in straight sets & was determined to return the favor. Boy, did he ever. He dominated from the first point to the last as he claimed a 6-1, 6-3 victory for the Trojans.
Our undefeated doubles team of Collins Mauldin and Michael Baldwin stayed perfect as a pair this season. Huckaby & Bullard of Fort Mill are good doubles players, but in the end the cohesiveness of our guys paid off as they claimed 1 out of two tiebreakers in the end for our second point.
Mission at hand is Gaffney. We need to take care of business there to insure we are at least tied with Clover for third. After that, we'll say our prayers for Nation Ford as I have no idea how the tiebreaker will work out in the end if Fort Mill & Nation Ford are both 8-2 and Clover & us are both 6-4.
Go Trojans!
Location: Fort Mill
Result: Fort Mill 5, Northwestern 2
Singles
1- Tyler Davis def Seth Russell 6-3, 6-4
2- Kyle Patterson def Drayton Wade 4-6, 6-4, 10-6
3- Hunter Love (N) def Chase Lovin 6-1, 6-3
4- Andres Leon def John Clark 6-0, 6-2
5- Alex Masters def Jordan Beaver 6-3, 3-6, 10-7
Doubles
1- Davis/Leon def Russell/Love 8-4
2- Collins Mauldin/Michael Baldwin (N) def Clay Bullard/Cory Huckaby 6-2, 6-7, 10-6
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Annoying Rain out at Fort Mill
It spit on us as we waited to depart for Fort Mill, but seemed like it wouldn't accumulate and our courts were fine at 4:00 when we left. As we pulled into Fort Mill HS, the spit became a sprinkle that made the courts barely unplayable.
This match will be made up tomorrow at 5PM at Fort Mill HS. The bus will again depart the courts at 4:10pm. No one will need to bring drinks or snacks to the match. The boys have been informed to pack their own stuff for tomorrow.
This match will be made up tomorrow at 5PM at Fort Mill HS. The bus will again depart the courts at 4:10pm. No one will need to bring drinks or snacks to the match. The boys have been informed to pack their own stuff for tomorrow.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Trojans Improve Region Record to 5-3 with Win over York
It was a great night for tennis at Northwestern. We had perfect weather and near flawless tennis was played by the Trojans tonight. We played down a man tonight with John Clark having sprained or broken his left ankle in practice last night, but we still dominated from top to bottom.
The victory over York gives us an overall record of 9-3 and we sit firmly in third place at this point courtesy of a Nation Ford (7-1) win over Clover (4-4) tonight. Fort Mill (6-2) is temporarily ahead of us in second. We can tie for second place with a win at Fort Mill next Tuesday & we would have the tiebreak edge over them due to our best region win (Nation Ford) being better than their best region win (Clover).
Jordan Beaver bumped up from his normal #5 spot to #4 in place of John. He posted
similar results as we are accustomed to seeing out of him and swept both sets against Patrick of York.
Chris Cassidy (pictured right) entered the lineup at #5 singles in place of Jordan's vacated #5 spot. The boy was up for the challenge. Only 2 games were surrendered to Stowe of the Cougars as Chris gave us a solid W.
Our doubles team of Collins Mauldin & Michael Baldwin were informed by me that they are currently undefeated when playing together this season and are likely contenders for all-region status, should they continue their dominance over our next three region foes. They responded huge and shutout the team from York of Womble & Sanford.
Our top 3, Seth Russell @ 1, Drayton Wade @2, and Hunter Love @3 were all solid and posted victories in straight sets while only surrendering 11 total games between the three lines to the Cougars.
We are without a doubt the deepest team in Region 3-AAAA. We secured reserve singles wins by Tyler Leonard (8-0), Brian Fitzpatrick (8-1), Key Barkley (8-3), Daniel Hawkins, pictured left (8-0), and Ben Barkley (8-0). Daniel & Key teamed up for a doubles shutout (8-0) and the Schroeder brothers, Collin & Jacob, got in the mix for an 8-6 win as well.
Fort Mill is next and revenge should be on our minds. Fort Mill got us early in a tight contest that was decided on two tiebreaker matches, which we dropped both. You can bet your buns that we will be doing a lot of tiebreakers in practice on Monday to prepare ourselves to take claim to the second seed and secure a home playoff match for the first time in the last 4 years.
Go Trojans!
Location: Northwestern
Result: Northwestern 6, York 0
Singles
1- Seth Russell def Chris Suggs 6-0, 6-2
2- Drayton Wade def Jensen Fisk 6-1, 6-2
3- Hunter Love def Kyle Spears 6-1, 7-5
4- Jordan Beaver def Nathan Patrick 6-0, 6-0
5- Chris Cassidy def Andrew Stowe 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
2- Michael Baldwin/Collins Mauldin def Charlie Womble/Will Sanford 6-0, 6-0
The victory over York gives us an overall record of 9-3 and we sit firmly in third place at this point courtesy of a Nation Ford (7-1) win over Clover (4-4) tonight. Fort Mill (6-2) is temporarily ahead of us in second. We can tie for second place with a win at Fort Mill next Tuesday & we would have the tiebreak edge over them due to our best region win (Nation Ford) being better than their best region win (Clover).
Jordan Beaver bumped up from his normal #5 spot to #4 in place of John. He posted
similar results as we are accustomed to seeing out of him and swept both sets against Patrick of York.Chris Cassidy (pictured right) entered the lineup at #5 singles in place of Jordan's vacated #5 spot. The boy was up for the challenge. Only 2 games were surrendered to Stowe of the Cougars as Chris gave us a solid W.
Our doubles team of Collins Mauldin & Michael Baldwin were informed by me that they are currently undefeated when playing together this season and are likely contenders for all-region status, should they continue their dominance over our next three region foes. They responded huge and shutout the team from York of Womble & Sanford.
Our top 3, Seth Russell @ 1, Drayton Wade @2, and Hunter Love @3 were all solid and posted victories in straight sets while only surrendering 11 total games between the three lines to the Cougars.
We are without a doubt the deepest team in Region 3-AAAA. We secured reserve singles wins by Tyler Leonard (8-0), Brian Fitzpatrick (8-1), Key Barkley (8-3), Daniel Hawkins, pictured left (8-0), and Ben Barkley (8-0). Daniel & Key teamed up for a doubles shutout (8-0) and the Schroeder brothers, Collin & Jacob, got in the mix for an 8-6 win as well.
Fort Mill is next and revenge should be on our minds. Fort Mill got us early in a tight contest that was decided on two tiebreaker matches, which we dropped both. You can bet your buns that we will be doing a lot of tiebreakers in practice on Monday to prepare ourselves to take claim to the second seed and secure a home playoff match for the first time in the last 4 years.
Go Trojans!
Location: Northwestern
Result: Northwestern 6, York 0
Singles
1- Seth Russell def Chris Suggs 6-0, 6-2
2- Drayton Wade def Jensen Fisk 6-1, 6-2
3- Hunter Love def Kyle Spears 6-1, 7-5
4- Jordan Beaver def Nathan Patrick 6-0, 6-0
5- Chris Cassidy def Andrew Stowe 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
2- Michael Baldwin/Collins Mauldin def Charlie Womble/Will Sanford 6-0, 6-0
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Trojans Drop Region Match to Clover
This was a forgettable match for us. We drop into third with now a 4-3 region record and an 8-3 mark over all.
Location: Clover
Result: Clover 5, Northwestern 1
Singles
1- Chase Altieri def Seth Russell 6-1, 6-0
2- Will Decker def Drayton Wade 2-6, 6-4, 10-4
3- Nick Deahl def Hunter Love 7-5, 6-1
4- Tucker Deloach def John Clark 6-2, 6-2
5- JC Dougherty def Jordan Beaver 0-6, 6-2, 10-4
Doubles
2- Michael Baldwin/Collins Mauldin (N) def Garrett Smith/Patrick Smith 6-2, 6-4
Location: Clover
Result: Clover 5, Northwestern 1
Singles
1- Chase Altieri def Seth Russell 6-1, 6-0
2- Will Decker def Drayton Wade 2-6, 6-4, 10-4
3- Nick Deahl def Hunter Love 7-5, 6-1
4- Tucker Deloach def John Clark 6-2, 6-2
5- JC Dougherty def Jordan Beaver 0-6, 6-2, 10-4
Doubles
2- Michael Baldwin/Collins Mauldin (N) def Garrett Smith/Patrick Smith 6-2, 6-4
Monday, April 12, 2010
Trojans Defeat Rival Bearcats
I can't say it was the prettiest tennis to ever be played on the Northwestern courts, but it was good enough to win tonight as we defeated Rock Hill HS 4 matches to 2. The win improves our overall record to 8-2 overall and we remain 4-2 in our region. Our match at Clover tomorrow will require us to raise our game a couple notches in order to improve our region record.
Jordan Beaver (pictured right) at 5 singles was the first to finish and did so in winning fashion. Jordan went up early in the first set against Adams of Rock Hill and claimed the first set 6-0. The second set was a little tighter and Jordan finished it off 6-4 in the end.
Hunter Love cleared court 3 next with our second victory of the night. Hunter played near flawless in the first set against Silverman of Rock Hill, a very steady and consistent player. The second set played on serve until Hunter took his serve at 3-4. Hunter held serve, broke Silverman, and held again to close out the match and the second team victory.
Seth Russell finished next at 1 singles. Something was goofy in the first set as Seth fell behind quickly to his long time friend and rival, Lee for the Bearcats. Seth played better in the second set in stretches, but it wasn't enough to force a tiebreak and Rock Hill took their first win.
We then had two matches go into tiebreakers at nearly the same time. John Clark had claimed a quick first set at 4 singles before dropping the second. The doubles team of Tyler Leonard & Collins Mauldin (pictured at bottom) had dropped their first set before making a comeback in the second.
Coach: "John, hit like you do in warm ups and stop pushing balls down the middle."
John: "OK"
Tiebreaker score - 10-5 for John
Tyler and Collins had gotten on a roll in the second set and the momentum carried through the tiebreaker as they also won by score of 10-5. The doubles victory was the clinching 4th win for us.
Drayton Wade remained on the court at 2 singles. Drayton played possibly the best tennis I have ever seen him play in the first set. He made excellent decisions and executed in almost every situation. The second set turned in the favor of MacGlauchlin of Rock Hill's favor as he began to dictate the tempo a little more and claimed the second set. The tiebreaker was lopsided at first until Drayton made a late charge. It wasn't enough and Rock Hill claimed it's second point of the night.
Off to Clover tomorrow we go. This will be an improved Clover team than we played the first time through. Their top player is now playing singles and I assume he will play at the top of their lineup. We will probably face new opponents at every court. Anything less than our best effort will not be enough if we wish to remain in second place in region 3-AAAA all by ourselves.
CN2 coverage (click on April 13th Sports Roundup):
http://www.cn2.com/web/guest/sports;jsessionid=A60A7C1F3999C9A6528AA986A71B7FCF
Go Trojans!
Location: Northwestern
Result: Northwestern 4, Rock Hill 2
Singles
1 - Austin Lee (R) def Seth Russell 6-1, 6-4
2 - Alik MacGlauchlin (R) def Drayton Wade 5-7, 6-4, 10-5
3 - Hunter Love def Alex Silverman 6-1, 6-4
4 - John Clark def Nick Cauthen 6-2, 3-6, 10-5
5 - Jordan Beaver def Mike Adams 6-0, 6-4
Doubles
1 - DNP
2 - Collins Mauldin / Tyler Leonard def Austin Shore / Tony Ly 4-6, 6-3, 10-5
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Not Our Night against Nation Ford
We got off to a great start to the match and took first set wins in 5 of the initial 6 matches. However, Nation Ford played real well across the board and took second set wins in 4 of those 6. We ended up dropping the doubles match to decide the match and suffered a region loss to Nation Ford and temporarily surrendered our first place lead. We now stand 7-2 overall and 4-2 in the region. Next on our radar is a very important non-region match against Rock Hill High as well as a region pairing with Clover after spring break. 
Hunter Love (pictured) seemed to snap out of his recent funk in singles matches and dominated the #3 singles match for us tonight against a good Falcon opponent. Hunter played smart, consistent tennis to come out with a straight set win and the first team win for the Trojans tonight.
Our doubles team also was real good tonight. Michael Baldwin and Collins Mauldin (pictured at the bottom) controlled the match from beginning to end for a straight set win and our second team win of the night, putting up ahead 2 to zip.
At this point, John Clark was the featured match on the courts. John had dominated a first set and won it 6-1. The second set swayed back and forth and ended up knotted at 6-all and needed a tiebreak to decide it. The set tiebreaker went Nation Ford's way and the match tiebreak did as well to give Nation Ford it's first win.
Drayton Wade played well against a tough #2 opponent from Nation Ford. The score may have been straight sets for the Falcons, but Drayton battled to the end in a match that featured great athleticism and even better sportsmanship.
The attention then shifted to Seth Russell at #1 and Jordan Beaver at #5. Seth had claimed a close first set 7-5 and Jordan had won his first set 6-2. Unfortunately, both dropped second sets by identical 6-4 scores and needed their matches decided in 10-point tiebreakers. Seth grabbed the win at #1 with an 11-9 decision, but unfortunately Jordan suffered his first defeat of the season at line 5 by a 7-10 margin.
Under the lights we went to play #1 doubles to decide the match and the region lead. Seth and Hunter took on Ott and Randar from Nation Ford. The first set was ugly for the Trojans as too many errors were committed and the set dropped 2-6. The second set continued some bad momentum as we trailed 0-3 before making a charge to get a lead at 4-3. It began to seem like another tiebreak was about to take place. However, at this point Nation Ford raised their game and we were unable to match it as we dropped the second set.
All we can do is press forward into more matches to determine our final spot in the region 3-AAAA race. At this point, we need to hope for Nation Ford to drop a match to either Fort Mill or Clover while we beat both those schools in order for us to have a shot at the title. If the boys put the rackets up for spring break, it will be very hard to accomplish. However, if they get out and work over the break while our opponents take time off, we have an opportunity to get back into the region hunt.
Go Trojans!
Location: Northwestern
Result: Nation Ford 4, Northwestern 3
Singles
1- Seth Russell (NW) def Madison Ott 7-5, 4-6, 11-9
2- Danny Randar (NF) def Drayton Wade 6-4, 6-3
3- Hunter Love (NW) def Tyler Morris 6-2, 6-2
4- Brandon McGlohon (NF) def John Clark 1-6, 7-6, 10-8
5- Kyle Lengel (NF) def Jordan Beaver 2-6, 6-4, 10-7
Doubles
1- Ott/Randar (NF) def Russell/Love 6-2, 6-4
2- Michael Baldwin/
Collins Mauldin (NW) def Alex McLelland/Paul Hoberek 6
-1, 6-4
Hunter Love (pictured) seemed to snap out of his recent funk in singles matches and dominated the #3 singles match for us tonight against a good Falcon opponent. Hunter played smart, consistent tennis to come out with a straight set win and the first team win for the Trojans tonight.
Our doubles team also was real good tonight. Michael Baldwin and Collins Mauldin (pictured at the bottom) controlled the match from beginning to end for a straight set win and our second team win of the night, putting up ahead 2 to zip.
At this point, John Clark was the featured match on the courts. John had dominated a first set and won it 6-1. The second set swayed back and forth and ended up knotted at 6-all and needed a tiebreak to decide it. The set tiebreaker went Nation Ford's way and the match tiebreak did as well to give Nation Ford it's first win.
Drayton Wade played well against a tough #2 opponent from Nation Ford. The score may have been straight sets for the Falcons, but Drayton battled to the end in a match that featured great athleticism and even better sportsmanship.
The attention then shifted to Seth Russell at #1 and Jordan Beaver at #5. Seth had claimed a close first set 7-5 and Jordan had won his first set 6-2. Unfortunately, both dropped second sets by identical 6-4 scores and needed their matches decided in 10-point tiebreakers. Seth grabbed the win at #1 with an 11-9 decision, but unfortunately Jordan suffered his first defeat of the season at line 5 by a 7-10 margin.
Under the lights we went to play #1 doubles to decide the match and the region lead. Seth and Hunter took on Ott and Randar from Nation Ford. The first set was ugly for the Trojans as too many errors were committed and the set dropped 2-6. The second set continued some bad momentum as we trailed 0-3 before making a charge to get a lead at 4-3. It began to seem like another tiebreak was about to take place. However, at this point Nation Ford raised their game and we were unable to match it as we dropped the second set.
All we can do is press forward into more matches to determine our final spot in the region 3-AAAA race. At this point, we need to hope for Nation Ford to drop a match to either Fort Mill or Clover while we beat both those schools in order for us to have a shot at the title. If the boys put the rackets up for spring break, it will be very hard to accomplish. However, if they get out and work over the break while our opponents take time off, we have an opportunity to get back into the region hunt.
Go Trojans!
Location: Northwestern
Result: Nation Ford 4, Northwestern 3
Singles
1- Seth Russell (NW) def Madison Ott 7-5, 4-6, 11-9
2- Danny Randar (NF) def Drayton Wade 6-4, 6-3
3- Hunter Love (NW) def Tyler Morris 6-2, 6-2
4- Brandon McGlohon (NF) def John Clark 1-6, 7-6, 10-8
5- Kyle Lengel (NF) def Jordan Beaver 2-6, 6-4, 10-7
Doubles
1- Ott/Randar (NF) def Russell/Love 6-2, 6-4
2- Michael Baldwin/
Collins Mauldin (NW) def Alex McLelland/Paul Hoberek 6
-1, 6-4Michael Baldwin (left) and Collins Mauldin (right) have been the top doubles team in region 3-AAAA this season.
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