Depauw is a well-coached team that has always played us tough. They have a lot of heart and never give up. This match was also very special in that we were supporting Depauw's head coach who was diagnosed with Parkinson's last year. My father was also diagnosed with the disease, it meant a great to deal to me that the players dawned the Parkinson's bracelet in support of the cause.
We got off to a very fast start in doubles at 2 & 3 doubles. Kahler and Wagner were too much at 2, serving big and doing a great job in return games. At 3, Pottish and Kowalski, played great and were beginning to feel very comfortable together. At 1, Hump and Goody struggled, but stayed with it. They eventually won, didn't play great, but stayed with it, and were slowly finding there 2011 form.
Singles was impressive. Pottish played great at 1, and has been finding his game, playing much more aggressively. Goody, at 2, struggled a bit in the 1st,but found his dominant form in the 2nd., He's very close to going to another level, and it doesn't hurt, that he's close to 100%. Kowalski, at 3, played a scrappy player, and saved his best tennis for the 3rd set breaker. At 4, Wagner, played one of his best matches of the season. Great bounce back from the Hopkins match, and most importantly, he was mentally poised throughout the match. Halp and Rud, were dominant at 5 &6. They are the linchpins to our success this year.
Great match, and more importantly, it was a great cause that we were supporting! Hopefully, the smart people can find a cure soon.
We got off to a very fast start in doubles at 2 & 3 doubles. Kahler and Wagner were too much at 2, serving big and doing a great job in return games. At 3, Pottish and Kowalski, played great and were beginning to feel very comfortable together. At 1, Hump and Goody struggled, but stayed with it. They eventually won, didn't play great, but stayed with it, and were slowly finding there 2011 form.
Singles was impressive. Pottish played great at 1, and has been finding his game, playing much more aggressively. Goody, at 2, struggled a bit in the 1st,but found his dominant form in the 2nd., He's very close to going to another level, and it doesn't hurt, that he's close to 100%. Kowalski, at 3, played a scrappy player, and saved his best tennis for the 3rd set breaker. At 4, Wagner, played one of his best matches of the season. Great bounce back from the Hopkins match, and most importantly, he was mentally poised throughout the match. Halp and Rud, were dominant at 5 &6. They are the linchpins to our success this year.
Great match, and more importantly, it was a great cause that we were supporting! Hopefully, the smart people can find a cure soon.
I had the opportunity to see the DePauw match when I was in Atlanta two weekends ago. The new Tennis Stadium gives one a great vantage point to see all six varsity courts.
ReplyDeleteI have seen Dillon,Chris & Will play many matches at the Fall ITAs in Mobile,AL over the past 3-4 years so it was great to meet some of the "new guys" and see them compete so well against the gritty group from DePauw.
Kahler & Wagner set a great tone for the match with a resounding win at #2 doubles. Brian Kowalski impressed me with his tenacity on a day when he was clearly struggling with his consistency and was dominant in the super tiebreaker after splitting sets.
Ian Wagner looked in control throughout his match at #4. Eric Halpern at #5 impressed me by his ability to keep his opponent off balance with great serving at times and great touch at the net. Alex Ruderman demonstrated a great work ethic and has a great skill set for a guy playing #6.
With the great senior leadership that Will, Chris & Dillon demonstrate on and off the court I think that these five "new guys" cited above have made this year's squad really deep as evidenced by them beating AUM for the first time earlier this season.
As always it was great to spend time with John and the team. I hope that Chris continues his recovery and that the rematch at AUM goes well this coming Tuesday.