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West Ottawa 7, Mona Shores 1

9/30/2014

Boys, thank you for another very good day. Here is where you stand:
Overall Record in Duels: 9-0
OK Red Record: 5-0
Tournaments won: 2 (Traverse City and West Ottawa)
Singles Record: 63-19 (77%)
Doubles Record: 58-26 (69%)
Overall Record: 121-45 (73%)

Today's shout out goes to all of the individuals who made it through conference/regional regular season play undefeated:

Mark VanderStoep - Conference and Region at 2 singles
Joe Miller - Conference and Region at 3 singles
Nick Govert and Austin Barajas - Conference at 1 doubles
Spencer Panse and Sam Duckworth - Conference and Region at 3 doubles

Finally, I want to say thanks one more time today for the Seniors. You are a great group, and it was fun watching you play your final duel together at West Ottawa.

Ok, it's time to get to work and prepare for a very tough conference tournament this weekend!

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Special Announcement, also, West Ottawa 5, Grandville 3

9/29/2014

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Boys, thank you for a fun day. Grandville is a very strong team, and your performance today was solid. We had 3 flights win 3 set matches. The difference between winning and losing against great teams is very small, and you did the little things that it took to get the job done today. One of the best feelings in tennis is getting a win over someone who beat you earlier in the year. Tayler, you got a chance to do that today, and in doing so, you gave our team the win. That must feel pretty good, and I'm appreciative of the work you put in over the past month to prepare for this matchup. The same can be said for everyone on this team. Every one of you are working hard to get better each day, and it shows.

A special thanks to Coach Tim Buck and his wife. Today was Joe Miller's 18th birthday, and they treated our team with treats and a song for our favorite 3 singles player! For those who don't know, Coach Buck is Joe's uncle. So again, thank you to the Bucks and to the whole Grandville crew for a positive atmosphere. I look forward to our matches with you every single year. We know that you will fight for every point, bring great energy, and that you always have a lot of talent.

And finally, Landon has something he'd like to say:

Pam is 13 weeks along today. As of right now, all signs point to a healthy baby. This has been a hope of ours, and we are very excited.

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JV Invite and a Special Announcement

9/28/2014

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I got to spend a most of the day on Saturday with our Future Varsity team (AKA the JV team). Wow, what a fun day! This tournament is the de facto OK Red conference championships for the Junior Varsity team each year. All of the Red teams are there along with Jenison, since they were in the Red before the re-alignment a few years ago.

Rockford won the event, and we finished just a few points behind them in 2nd place. Here were some high points on the day:

1. Jared Norwood (Senior) and Reagan McCaw (Sophomore) - Jared and Reagan played together at 1st doubles. They went undefeated on the day to win their flight. They can claim to be the best doubles team at the whole tournament.

2. Dominic Aquino (Freshmen) - Dominic played the #1 singles position, which means he played each team's best player. He won all three matches to take his flight. His three wins were by a score of 8-3, 8-4, and 8-4. Multiple coaches and parents came up to me throughout the day to comment on how talented he was. Dominic, you played fantastic all day long, and you proved that you are the very best singles player at the tournament.

3. Justin Anair (Sophomore) - Justin played 2 singles, and was runner-up at the flight. His wins include Grandville, who he beat in a tiebreaker in a terrifically exciting match, and Grand Haven, who he defeated 8-0. His final match was against Hudsonville, where he got a chance to play everyone's favorite opponent...the dreaded pusher (or as I like to call them, smart tennis players)! Justin started figuring things out as the match progressed and he got a comeback going, but he just ran out of time to catch up. My guess is that if that match were to start again from the beginning, the outcome would look very different.

4. A lot of potential - The varsity team is graduating 6 players this year. In two years, In two years, nine of the 12 players on varsity right now will be gone. We are going to need many players to make a decision that they are going to become awesome tennis players over the next 10 months. We have a lot of athletic people on this team, and a lot of hard workers. Coach Floch has been telling me about how there are some kids with serious potential on his team, and it was fun to get to see it myself.

Oh, and the special announcement will be coming tomorrow night, so stay tuned:) If you like things that are awesome, you will want to check it out!

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West Ottawa 6, Holland Christian 2

9/23/2014

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Players, thank you for the great effort you gave in this match. There were so many positives everywhere, and I am very proud of the fight you gave at all eight flights.

Nick Schnobel - This is one of the biggest fights you've been in this year. Part of being awesome is simply being able to roll past players. But part of being great is being able to gut out hard wins and act awesome even when you don't feel awesome.

Mark - Matches like this are why I love coaching. I graduated from high school 13 years ago. At this point, I can only remember about 3 or 4 matches that I ever played in. It's just the way it goes. My guess is that you will remember this one.

Joe - You played a very intelligent game against Ryan. And you fought like crazy and you never folded. My hope for the match was that you would either beat Ryan, or force him to beat you with his very best tennis. You did that.

Tayler - You helped get the good vibes going for the team. It's important in a big match to have a few flights take care of things to set a tone for the rest of the team. By playing smart, you helped me be able to coach at other places, and it allowed you to get off the court where you could cheer on everyone else. That kind of stuff adds up.

Nick Govert and Austin - Go back and look at the results if you want, but we just don't have many wins against Holland Christian at 1 doubles. Certain teams tend to have positions that they always make strong. They were no different this year, except you were just a little bit better. I was impressed.

Kyle and Huge - You took your game to a new level in your match with Holland Christian. This is the style of tennis I expect to see out of you each and every match from now on!

Spencer and Sam - Your level of communication and the way you play as a team is getting awesome. There was one changeover where I was going to talk to you, but I heard the way you were conversing and it was obvious that you were fully capable of coaching each other. I loved it.

Adam and Travis - I enjoyed the article on you guys in the Sentinel yesterday. Your quotes were pretty good for a couple Freshmen!!! If anyone hasn't read it yet, get online and check it out. I do have to admit though that I was incorrect when I told the press that you are the first all-freshman team I've coached. Kyle Harper and Greg Christie played 4th doubles for me in 2009. Sorry Kyle and Greg for momentarily forgetting about you:)

Coach Metz - Thanks for being so positive and hard-working. You not only coach the Harbor Lights girls, but after the match you run right back up to school to help me out some more with the varsity boys. You are bringing a lot of value to the program.

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Harbor Lights Tennis Doing Work

9/15/2014

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Harbor Lights Girls 6, Grand Haven 2

9/15/2014

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Note: In general, I'll post these results on the Middle School Blog, but I wanted to put them on the home page in case this is your first time on the site. GREAT JOB TODAY, I'M SO PROUD OF ALL OF YOU -Coach Schwallier

Comments from Coach Mets: What a way to start off the season! The harbor lights girls came out swinging and got the victory against a very tough Grand Haven team. We ended up winning the match 6-2, but we had numerous close matches up and down the line-up. What I was so excited about was the WAY we played our matches, both with our teammates and against our opponents. I saw a lot of high-fives/racquet-fives and a lot of telling the other team “Nice shot”, “Nice try”, ect. It was a fantastic way to start and I am looking forward to working with each/every person on this team this season. Here are the scores from the match.

Singles

Kayla – W 6-2,6-0
Jolene – W 6-1, 6-2

Doubles

Ella/Delaney – W 7-6, 6-3
Lucy/Ryann – W 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)
Hannah/Cella – W 6-1, 6-2

Clara/Gabby – L 3-8
Annie/Evellyn – L 4-8
Meaghan/Presley – L 3-8
Marcella/Greta – W 8-5
Anika/Ashlyn – W 8-4
Mackenzie/Emily – L 2-8

What a great job! We have 3 hard matches next week against Zeeland, Holland East, and Holland Christian. Make sure you are all getting plenty of rest and are staying up on your school work. Lets keep working hard and getting better every day!

-Coach Metz

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WEST OTTAWA 8, GRAND HAVEN 0

9/11/2014

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Boys, thanks for getting stronger and stronger as the match progressed today. Thanks for all the parents and students who came out to support the boys. It was a cool day today, and it was nice that so many came out anyways. Justin, great job out there today. You rock.

Today's #1 shout out, however, goes to Laura Veldhof for taking some kick butt photos of the boys. I've put some work in tonight, and the "Meet the Players 2014" page is up and running. Check it out!!!

Alright, practice tomorrow to get ready for an important match with Rockford on Monday. We've had a lot of success this year, but what we did yesterday doesn't mean anything if we don't keep focussed on whatever is next. Last year's score with Rockford was as follows:

Rockford 5, West Ottawa 3

If you don't like that score, then let's do something about it. Time to get to work!

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West Ottawa wins West Ottawa Invitational

9/7/2014

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Great job boys! This is the 3rd year that we hosted this event, and it is our best result. West Catholic was the state runner-up in Division 4 last fall. Grand Rapids Christian is always one of the top 10 schools in West Michigan. All flights did a great job of playing to their potential all day long. Here are our updated stats on the year:

Team Win-Loss Record: 67-35 (66%)
Singles: 35-15
Doubles: 32-20
Tournaments won: 2
Teams we've faced who qualified for the State Finals last year: 14 (We are winning despite a terrifically challenging schedule)
Flights with a winning record: All 8 flights (Everyone is continuing to contribute to the success of the team)

Today's thank you has to go to everyone who came to watch the event. We had the girls team there and their parents, and there were several graduated players and parents of graduated players who came by to support the team. I LOVE seeing every single one of you. Please keep stopping by whenever we have a home match. All of you mean a lot to me, and it's awesome every time I get to see you!

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WEST OTTAWA 5, ST. JOSEPH 3

9/2/2014

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Great job boys! In the 8 years I've been here, I think this is the 2nd time we've beaten them. To put into perspective just how good they are, St. Joseph took 3rd at the D3 State Finals last year, beating Cranbrook, the next closest team, by 6 points. It was another balanced effort, where we split the dubs and got 3 of 4 in the singles.

Today's big thank you has to go to the whole St. Joseph team and coaching staff. They worked hard with us to make this year's meeting count as a match instead of a scrimmage, and it made for a more exciting day as a result. So, if any St. Joe people are reading this, thank you. We appreciate the opportunity to play a great program like yours each year.

Practice this week from here on out until our tournament on Saturday. Players, stay on top of homework, sleep, and your eating over the next few days as you transition to a new way of doing things. This is probably even more important for your tennis game than anything we do on the practice court for the next few days, so take care of your bodies. Again, great job today everyone.

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West Ottawa 7, Mona Shores 1

Special Announcement, also, West Ottawa 5, Grandville 3

JV Invite and a Special Announcement

West Ottawa 6, Holland Christian 2

Harbor Lights Tennis Doing Work

Harbor Lights Girls 6, Grand Haven 2

WEST OTTAWA 8, GRAND HAVEN 0

West Ottawa wins West Ottawa Invitational

WEST OTTAWA 5, ST. JOSEPH 3

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