This year's spring break was one of the most successful in our program's history, thanks to the guys hard work, and because of the support of all of the families that came down for a visit.
Our break started off with the Stag-Hen Invitational, an 8-team tournament hosted by the 5C's. As the 6 seed, we squared off against Trinity-TX (at that time ranked 9 in the country) in the first round. After falling behind 2-1 in doubles (we had 4 match points at #1 dubs, but ended up losing in a breaker), the Hens rallied in singles, taking 4 of 6 matches to win, 5-4. Chris Wiechert came up huge at #3 singles, winning in straights, 6-4, 6-1. Max Sabel was the next to follow, winning 6-3, 6-3 at 5 singles. Despite losing at #4 and #2 singles, PP refused to give in. Tommy rallied after losing the first set, to win 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2 over #17 Max Frey. The match of the year thus far however, was the #6 singles match with Alex. Alex grabbed the first set 6-4, only to drop the second, 6-3. The third set was on serve the entire way, with his opponent Julio Benevides holding fairly easily, and Alex struggling but succeeding at holding. So many times Alex looked as though he might get broken, only to find a way to gut it out. So, with the match tied at 4 all, it came down the #6 singles...in a third set tiebreaker. As a coach, I have a hard time describing what it feels like having a match decided by one player, in such a crucial moment, but the feeling that I have is confidence. I had a sense of calm in that third set breaker, content with our fight if we lost, but believing strongly that Alex would pull it out. I've watched Alex grow as a person and tennis player, and I know just how much that match meant to him, and to have it on his racquet felt right. Well...Alex dominated the breaker, winning 7-2 and giving the Hens their first win over a top 10 team in more than a decade.
At this point, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the contributions that were made by the families of our guys. Joanne Wiechert and Chris' brother Stephen supplied us with Gatorade, granola bars, and a sandwich spread that kept us going. Thanks so much for everything. Later, that mantel would be picked up (though certainly not for the first time) by the Cohn family. Jeff and Teri, in addition to the constant supply of rice krispy treats, provided pizza for the team after our doubleheader with Tyler and Bowdoin. The Meyer's also provided chocolates for that doubleheader, so thank you all so much.
With little rest, PP had to turn around and take on #4 Emory University later on Friday. Running on fumes, and taking on a team that barely broke a sweat in their first round, the Hens came out firing and won 2 of 3 doubles matches to lead 2-1 after doubles. Tommy and Frankie notched a routine win over the #2 team in the country, and Max and Uday stepped up to take the win at 2. We started off strong in the first sets of singles, losing 6-4 @ 1, 6-4 @ 2, 7-5 @ 3, winning 7-5 @ 4, losing the first 6-4 @ 5 and 6. In the end, we ran out of steam in the second set, but not after Frankie dealt his opponent his first loss of the season, winning 7-5, 6-4 and bringing the final tally to 6-3, Emory.
With very little time to recover, the guys had to regroup and prepare for #7 Kenyon in the 3/4th place match at 10 am on Saturday. We proved resilient and ready to take on our third top 10 team in 24 hours, jumping out to a 2-1 lead in doubles. The 3 team of Alex and Chris dominated Kenyon, winning 8-4. Uday and Max, always needing attention, made it dramatic, winning 9-8 (4) in a breaker. In singles, Tommy was the first off the court, winning 6-4, 6-1 to give the Hens a 3-1 lead. Frankie Followed at #3 singles (Uday was out of singles with an injury) with a 6-4, 6-4 win. Needing only one more point, Kenyon mounted a furious comeback, taking #6 singles, 7-5, 6-3, #5 singles 7-6 (6), 6-1, and #4 singles, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4. At 4-4, it all came down to #2 singles and Chris in the biggest match of his young career. Fighting until the end, Kenyon's Paul Burgin proved too strong on this day, capturing a 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4 win and the match 5-4. A tough match to lose, but that's saying so much of a team that entered the season #20 in the country.
Tuesday brought another doubleheader, with UT-Tyler in the morning, and #15 Bowdoin in the evening. Tyler was fresh off of a 6-3 win over #19 Whitman and feeling confident. The Hens responded in typical Hell Hen fashion, shutting the door on Tyler in the doubles, sweeping the Patriots, 8-5, 8-3, 8-5. That domination continued into singles, despite Uday Singh's absence in the singles lineup due to food poisoning. Overall, PP only lost one set in the morning en route to a 9-0 win.
In the evening, a confident but fatigued team took on Bowdoin, a team that we haven't beaten before, and to whom we lost 8-1 in 2010. Continuing their doubles dominance, the Hens once again swept the doubles, 8-3, 8-6, 8-6. In singles, the Polar Bears proved to be tough, winning in straights at 5 and 6 singles as well as 1 singles. The match would be decided in the middle of the lineup however. Max, playing up at 4 singles, rolled to a 6-1, 6-4 win, and Frankie recovered after losing the first, winning 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 to clinch the match. Chris, playing at #2, learned from his earlier matches, winning 6-2, 6-7 (3), 10-7 in a super breaker to bring the final overall score to 6-3 PP.
In their final match of spring break, the Hell Hens took on #24 Skidmore. This was the first match for Pomona-Pitzer with their newly earned #9 ranking, the first time in more than 25 years that the Hens have been ranked inside the top 10. Skidmore came out firing, capturing #3 doubles and putting up a great fight but falling at #2 and 3 dubs. Not playing their best, the guys did enough to go up 2-1 heading into singles. In singles, PP took control, rolling at #1 6-0, 6-2, #2 6-3, 6-2, #4 6-2, 6-4, #5 7-5, 6-3 and pulling it out in three at #6 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 to bring the final score to 7-2 in favor of PP.
Congratulations on a great spring break. It was such a great experience to see all of our hard work pay off, and it leaves us excited for the rest of the season. This week, we take on Lewis & Clark on Monday, #10 Williams on Tuesday, Salisbury on Wednesday, and #14 Trinity-CT on Saturday.
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