May 9, 2011
Well, our 2011 spring tennis season has officially come to a close. The American Mideast Conference Tournament, hosted at Cedarville, was the prime focus of the week. Thankfully, we were able to travel over to the Springfield Racquet Club to get some quality practice in spite of the miserable weather that has been persisting. We worked on basic form and also played rounds of doubles and singles. This helps us to simulate match play and creates heightened intensity.
On Thursday, our team was fired up to fight hard and play smart against arch rival Roberts Wesleyan College. We began with a convincing doubles performance. Number one doubles (myself and Brooke) raised our level of play to beat the opposing pair. We had never beaten this particular doubles team, so that effort provided quite a psychological boost. Number two doubles (Joy Dice & Melissa) also won with an even more convincing score. This put Cedarville in the lead 2-1 going into the singles play. Considering that our team had lost 8-1 to Roberts last time, we had already doubled our previous overall match score. In singles, the Roberts Wesleyan girls improved their play and ended up capturing number one, two, four, and five singles to beat Cedarville with a score of 5 to 4. So very close! Special shout-outs for the match go to Joy Dice at number three singles and Lyndsay Stine at number six. Great job, girls!
Once I finished my singles match, it began to sink in that all of the years that I have put into playing competitive tennis both in high school and now in college have come to an end. It has been an incredible journey, partnering with my teammates at Cedarville. God has blessed me with valuable friendships with the girls. I am going to miss them and also my dear coach and Mrs. Kuhn. I will be eagerly anticipating the upcoming fall season and expecting great things to come from the returning players, as well as the new recruits! Until then, thanks for following this spring season.
We appreciate all of the support from the loyal Yellow Jacket fans.
God bless!
May 2, 2011
Returning from Easter break, it is always difficult trying to get back into the swing of things for the last leg of the school year. It’s hard to believe that it is the final week of the semester (and of Cindy’s and my college careers). Time flies when you’re having fun!
Well, this week in tennis, we hit the practice courts on Tuesday. It was an extremely gusty day with periodic spurts of rain. Although the conditions were not particularly ideal, it was great to be hitting outdoors because of all of the rain and dismal weather that we’ve been having lately.
This past Wednesday was our last Bible study of the semester. It has been a fun and bonding experience spending that evening hour learning how to more fully become women of excellence. Because I will be graduating, it is really hitting me that I will truly miss my role at Cedarville as a student and an athlete on the women’s tennis team. I’ve enjoyed this experience so much.
On Thursday, this unpredictable spring weather forced us to miss our typical practice. However, Friday finally brought decent weather. So, we were able to enjoy a solid practice session, since our last regular home match of the season was canceled.
On Sunday, we enjoyed the annual tennis awards banquet at the home of the Johnsons. This is always a nice time of snacking, chatting, and sharing memories of the season.
This coming week, we are facing Roberts Wesleyan College on Thursday in our conference tournament. Be sure to stay tuned for that big event and be cheering for our Cedarville Lady Jackets. In the meantime, we will be practicing and preparing for this important contest. Have a great day!
April 25, 2011
This week has been relatively quiet in terms of tennis activity, compared to the hectic busyness of the past month. Our match that was scheduled for Tuesday against Georgetown College had to be canceled because of the inclement weather. This entire week, the weather has been overwhelmingly rainy, making it difficult to get any outdoor practice in at all.
On Monday, we were able to practice outside. It was nice to get a good workout in by just rehearsing basic shots and working on tennis fundamentals. We also practiced on Tuesday in place of our match. Because we were in the field house for this practice, it is always interesting to experience the differences between this super-fast surface and the slower outdoor courts. In the field house, the balls whiz by, so it is critical to keep a high level of focus.
On Wednesday night at our regular Bible study meeting, we had an Easter celebration. Coach Dee made each of us players a sweet Easter basket with all sorts of special chocolates, candy, and snack foods. Plus, she decorated eggs for each of us that had our names of them. She’s so creative. That was a definite treat. Thankfully, we have a break for the holiday weekend. This will be a great opportunity for Joy Dice and Melissa to rest their injuries and will give them a chance to heal. Our next scheduled match is on Friday night, April 29th. After this contest, it’s on to our conference tournament. Thanks again for following our team’s progress. We are ready to bring our season to a strong finish in the upcoming weeks!
Hope you all had a Happy Easter!
April 18, 2011
It’s been an interesting week in the world of women’s tennis at Cedarville. Early last week, we found out that Coach Dee will be inducted into the NCCAA Hall of Fame. How exciting for her! She is well deserving of the honor for her years of faithful service.
On Tuesday, our team played in Springfield against Wittenberg University. It was a cool and windy day on the courts. Overall, our team had a bit of an “off” day. However, Joy Dice showed resilience as she produced a come-from-behind win, securing the point in a tie-break.
As the season is progressing, we are starting to be hit with injuries. Joy Dice’s shoulder has been inflamed, keeping her from playing singles during one of our matches this past week. Also, Melissa has been diagnosed with tendinitis in her wrist. She will need to rest up as well.
Thursday, we played against Shawnee State University on our home courts. It was the first time we have played outside for a home match this entire season. The weather was gorgeous. Cedarville rolled to a convincing 7-2 win over Shawnee.
On Saturday, we faced long-time rival from the Rochester, New York area: Roberts Wesleyan. This team has a solid program. Cedarville fought hard and made the Roberts’ players work. However, Cedarville was unable to pull off a team win. We will face them again during our conference tournament in early May.
Looking ahead to this week, we face Georgetown College at home on Tuesday. Be sure to stay tuned for the outcome of this competition!
April 11, 2011
This was another intense week of women’s tennis. After a tough match against Walsh University on Tuesday, we were able to practice outside the rest of the week, getting some good preparation in for our overnight trip to Indiana.
We started out our three-match weekend traveling to Indianapolis to play Marian University. It was awesome because Brooke’s parents were able to come and support us for the entire weekend. Marian is a solid and talented team. Brooke & I were able to pull out a tough win at #1 doubles which was quite exciting. Our team struggled with several close matches against Marian, and, as a team, we ended up losing 7 to 2.
From Marian, we traveled to Indiana Wesleyan where we were slated to play both Aquinas and Indiana Wesleyan the next day. We woke up early Saturday morning to prepare for our Aquinas match. It was incredibly foggy and gray that day, but we started playing the match about 9:15, beginning with singles first. After about forty five minutes, it started thundering and pouring rain. Unfortunately, we had to end our match with Aquinas because the weather wasn’t letting up, and they faced time constraints driving back to their campus.
Thankfully, Indiana Wesleyan was able to secure indoor court time for our second scheduled match. This competition began at 12:30. Historically, Indiana Wesleyan boasts a powerful team. Although we lost 9-0, most of us felt like we played well and made the Indiana girls work to beat us. After making the long trek back to Cedarville, we are ready for the next week with our three upcoming contests against Wittenberg, Roberts Wesleyan, and Shawnee State.
Stay tuned for more details!
April 4, 2011
The Cedarville women’s tennis team is right in the middle of our season! This past week, we played Wilmington College on Tuesday. In spite of the cold, winter-like weather, the match was held outdoors. All of us girls were freezing, but we began to warm up as the match went along. Brooke and I quickly lost the first three games in doubles as our opponents started out strong. But, we quickly rebounded to take the lead and finish with a solid win. Apart from this hiccup, everyone won quickly, and we were able to get off the court in good time. Unfortunately, one of the Wilmington athletes rolled her ankle during her singles warm-up at #3 and was forced to retire the match. A few days after our frigid experience at Wilmington, Coach Morris went out and bought hand warmers for everyone so that we can keep our hands warm in between points for the next time we have a similar situation!
Later this week, our match at Ashland that had been scheduled for Friday was canceled because of weather issues. However, we had effective practice sessions on Thursday and Friday in preparation for our important conference collision with Malone University on Saturday. This match turned out to be a lengthy event as Cedarville’s women were limited to three courts at the indoor tennis center in Springfield. Even still, it was an exciting match because all of the girls on the team played really well, and we won in a decisive fashion.
We are looking forward to playing Walsh University on our home courts on Monday and then leaving for a three-match stint this weekend in the Indiana area. Keep following the updates on our website because there is a lot of action right now during this climax of our spring season.
March 28, 2011
This past weekend has been a blur of activity for the women’s tennis team. After a good practice session on Thursday, our team made the trek up North to play two, key conference matches. Leaving mid-morning on Friday, we first competed against Ursuline College. Thankfully, because of the blast of cold weather, this match was played indoors. The tennis complex where we played was extremely nice! We started the match out with singles – a switch from the norm. All of our singles players won in straight sets! Then, our doubles teams also took control, resulting in a total sweep. We celebrated the victory with an amazing meal at TGI Friday’s.
Since we didn’t have to leave our hotel until noon on Saturday, we were able to either catch up on sleep or get some homework done. That afternoon, we traveled to the Pittsburgh area where we met with Carlow University. Although we started out being able to play on only two courts, the Cedarville team again took care of business in a straightforward way.
By the time we finally returned to campus, it was a late night and a long but successful weekend! We had a good experience getting so much match play in this weekend. This will put us in good stead for our three-match stint this coming week, starting on Tuesday.
Continue to follow the updates on our website because the next couple of weeks hold a steady stream of tennis activity, starting with Tuesday’s contest at Wilmington!
March 21, 2011
After a fast-paced trip in Florida, this past week was quite a contrast re-entering classes and practicing in the unpredictable Ohio weather. On that note, our team has been able to get some solid practice sessions in this week. Preparing for the next series of matches coming this weekend in our overnight trip to play Carlow University as well as Ursuline College has been the overall focus for the week. These two matches are particularly important because both teams are competitors in our American Mideast Conference.
On Thursday, it was so nice to play outdoors on the Cedarville courts for the first time this spring. Also, Wednesday night was a fun team bonding time as we recounted the events of the spring break trip. From the encouraging Bible study sessions throughout the week and the freshman initiation craziness at Disney to the delayed flight back to Columbus, we had some truly memorable experiences.
The most exciting shout-out of the week goes to Cindy Hoke. On the day that our team got back to Ohio, her then-boyfriend/Cedarville tennis alum Caleb Speicher surprised her at the airport. Later on that day, he proposed, and she said “Yes.” So now, we have another engaged girl on the team. Congratulations, Caleb & Cindy!
Well, thanks for following our tennis team.
Keep checking our website to see the results of our upcoming matches!
March 14, 2011
The last women’s tennis match of the week took place at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Florida. Although it had rained Wednesday night and part of Thursday, we had warm weather for this competition against Southeastern University – a fellow NCCAA program.
Doubles was a tough battle for everyone. At #1, we lost a very close set that was highly competitive. Number 3 doubles also lost. But, at #2, Joy Dice and Melissa pulled out an excellent win for the Lady Jackets. In singles, Joy Dice and Brooke Johnson won their matches in a convincing way. After splitting sets, I lost a 10 point tiebreaker 11 to 9. The other girls at numbers 4, 5, and 6 also lost. This overall setback (6 to 3) was Cedarville’s first loss of the week. It was disappointing to end on this note, but we had all given our best and were ready for the return to Ohio.
After our match, we raced to the airport only to find out that our flight had been delayed by about three hours. So, we just hung out at the airport for a while and finally made it back to Columbus around 1:15 a.m.
This coming week, we are planning to again hit the practice courts to prepare for the continuation of our season.
Thanks again for following our team. We are excited for the 2011 spring season.
March 7, 2011
Cedarville women’s tennis team has been having a great week in the Florida sunshine. Leaving the wintry mix of Ohio weather and spending time in the warmth of Orlando was quite wonderful. On the night we arrived to our destination, Coach Morris took the team to Cracker Barrel – the traditional dinner spot on our first night. On Sunday, our team attended a small, Baptist church which we have attended for the third consecutive year. It was nice to be able to visit with the church members who remembered our team from previous years. That afternoon, we had a great team practice session where we warmed up our strokes and prepared to face a week full of match play. Sunday marked the first of Mrs. Kuhn’s amazing meals. We enjoyed the favorite team dish – chicken curry, one of many amazing meals to come.
So far, we have played each match at a different location in Orlando. Monday, we competed against Judson University at Rollins College – a gorgeous, Spanish-style, Southern campus. Beating this team was a boost to the week’s start. After the win, we took some team pictures to take advantage of all the spring flowers and greenery there. Tuesday, Cedarville rivaled Covenant College. This event was a good match for our team. Two doubles teams (#1 and #2) scored points for Cedarville as well as two singles points, leaving Cedarville tied at 4-4 with Covenant. Brooke’s match at #2 singles became the deciding factor to determine the overall winner. She showed intense determination and resolve as she came from behind to secure the victory for Cedarville by controlling the deciding point.
Then, on Wednesday, we had two matches scheduled for the day – a challenging task in the heat to be sure. We started out against Bethel College – a team from Tennessee. Once again, Cedarville took control of the match to score a convincing 9-0 win. The next focus for our team was the night match against St. Francis. We began play in a huge sports complex in Orlando. Playing under the lights was an exciting experience. We won at number one and number three doubles. Each of those matches was an exciting win. Then, attention centered on the contest at number two doubles. Cedarville was coming back from a deficit and had just taken the lead in a fierce battle when rain and lightning began to interfere. Although none of the players on the court wanted to stop, the weather became too much of a factor to ignore. The match between St. Francis and Cedarville was eventually called a no-decision. We were comforted by this rather disappointing finish to a long day by knowing that we had played well and had set our team in position for another win.
The next day, our team spent at Disney World. We all had a magical day as we enjoyed the adventures of Universal Studios. From the Rockin’ Rollercoaster, the Tower of Terror, the Indiana Jones show, and the Beauty and the Beast event, we loved visiting this famous park.
With one more match still slated for Friday morning, the team is ready to finish strong before heading back to Ohio.
Thanks for following Lady Jacket tennis. We appreciate your faithful support!
February 28, 2011
Our match this past weekend at the University of Indianapolis was quite an experience. It definitely showed areas where each of us need to improve. We will definitely need to practice harder and play more aggressively in order to effectively compete with the NCAA Division II schools that we will be facing this season. It was nice because Brooke’s parents and Joy Dice’s parents were able to come out and support our team at our first match of the spring. Brooke’s mom even made us snacks and muffins!
This week we are hitting the practice courts before leaving for Florida on Saturday. It is exciting because, for the first time, we will be flying down instead of driving. Everyone is pumped for the reduced travel time! During our trip, we will be practicing regularly and playing five more matches. These experiences will help us to improve as we advance in our season. Getting outdoors and playing against different styles of players will be great challenges for us.
Continue to follow updates to our season on the website!
February 21, 2011
The Cedarville women’s tennis team is excited to start play this Saturday, February 26th at the University of Indianapolis. After two months of spring practices, we are ready to compete in actual match play. Over the past several weeks, our team has been hitting tennis balls in the Doden Field House and going to the Springfield Racquet Club quite regularly.
We are anticipating a strong season led by solid returning players, including Brooke Johnson, Joy Dice, Melissa Stoltzfus (back from a semester in Africa!!!), and Cindy Hoke, as well as some eager freshmen (Lyndsay Stine and Emma Rahn).
Most immediately, everyone is looking forward to our spring break trip. We are flying to Orlando, Florida to play a series of five matches against other university tennis programs. Personally, I love the sunshine and warm weather and cannot wait to play tennis outside under those conditions!
As our team begins to play more NCAA Division II schools, we will be able to more precisely gauge our skill level. This season, our team is specifically committed to hard work, passionate play, and a high level of endurance.
We want all of our efforts and actions on the court to reflect Jesus Christ. Our ultimate goal is to bring Him honor this season.
October 4, 2010
This past week the women’s tennis team had some strong practices. We were particularly focusing on increasing consistency by going through several drill rotations. It was a lot of fun for us to be outside working in this fall weather.
Homecoming festivities marked the highlight of this week in tennis! On Friday night, we had the annual tennis reunion banquet. That event is always a special time in which players from years past can interact with current players and share highlights and memories. This banquet is a great reminder of the legacy that athletes hold even after they graduate from college. Saturday, for the tennis team, was filled with soccer concessions and participating in the parade.
This coming week, we are going to continue practices and then cap off the fall season with a mixed doubles scrimmage match, including players from both the women’s and men’s Cedarville tennis teams.
As our fall season comes to a close, I am excited for the regular season coming up in the spring. It’s hard for me to believe that next spring will be my final season of playing college tennis. Thanks to all of our fans who have been following our season this fall.
September 27, 2010
The tennis team has been in full force this past week. Starting off on Tuesday, we had an away match against Ohio Wesleyan University. That competition proved to be a tight match up for our players as we pulled out a 5 to 4 victory.
One awesome thing about that match was that a friend from my church in my hometown drove up for this match just to watch us play. That was so encouraging to me. It was uncommonly hot for late September, so that made for great tennis weather. Unfortunately, Cedarville freshman Emma Rahn’s opponent stepped on a ball and was forced to retire her singles match due to injury.
On Thursday, we played against Otterbein University. This team proved to be quite a challenge for us. We lost that match. In spite of the loss, I loved playing against the strong opponents. The more we play strong opponents, the better and sharper our match experience becomes.
To cap off our week, we played an exhibition match against Sinclair Community College. The Yellow Jackets squeaked by with yet another 5 to 4 win: Talk about nail biters! The weather was funky on Friday to say the least. The rain kept teasing us, and we weren’t sure whether it was going to downpour or completely clear up. Finally, the biggest and most distinct rainbow I’ve ever seen popped up, and we all enjoyed the beautiful view.
This coming week, we are looking to hit the practice courts hard in training for our home match against Georgetown October 8th. Practicing with intensity is a requirement for improving our performance.
Keep staying up-to-date with our activity this fall. Thanks for the support!
September 20, 2010
Great times in tennis this past week! On Tuesday, we made the 2 & ½ hour trek up to Tiffin University. Even though it was disappointing that our team didn’t end up winning the match, we got some good match play experience in. The courts were lined up right in front of a railroad crossing, so every 15 minutes or so the trains would roll by and blare the horns so loud that everything vibrated. That was a unique experience.
The match on Friday night against Wilmington College was particularly special because Ann Vogel and her daughter Lauren came to watch us play. Mrs. Vogel is a Cedarville alum, and she was also a four-year number one player on the women’s tennis team. There was a great crowd of fans out to watch the match. A lot of parents and friends came to support the team, and that was awesome! It was such a beautiful night. Everyone played well overall, and we got an exciting win.
Saturday was filled with cross country and soccer concessions. The women’s tennis team runs a lot of concessions in order to raise more money for our spring break trip. It can be a fun bonding time, hanging out with teammates, too.
This coming week, we have several matches. It’ll be a crazy and busy week! Stay tuned to our website for scores and updates.
September 13, 2010
This has definitely been a fun week in tennis! The weather has been absolutely perfect for practices which is always a plus! After returning from a relaxing Labor Day break, we had our weekly Bible study on Wednesday. It’s been so fun hearing personal testimonies from the girls in that setting.
On Thursday, former player and amazing girl Rachel Arthur (a 2010 Cedarville alum) came to practice with the team. She and another former CU tennis player, Carissa Parmerlee, will be leaving this week for their year-long stay in Spain! It was so nice for our team to be able to say goodbye.
And, in other news, I finally got some brand new pink and white tennis shoes! It’s been kind of an inside joke about my tennis shoes because I kept forgetting to tell Coach Morris what kind of shoe I wanted, and, during the Taylor match, my shoes completely wore through to the ground. That was pretty funny.
Friday was another great day of tennis events as I was able to participate in the athletic panel for prospective Cedarville students. About fifteen or so CU athletes discussed their love for sports and how they manage the time spent in training while juggling academics.
After that, it was out to the soccer fields for the men’s game to work the concession stands. The women’s tennis team does most of the soccer concessions for home games because this outlet raises money to support our spring break training trip to Florida!
Thanks again for keeping track of our team’s progress! We are looking forward to our next match on Tuesday against Tiffin University. The team is pumped up to play and hungry for a win!
September 7, 2010
This week in tennis, the Cedarville women's tennis team was able to get our first fall match under our belt. Thankfully, Friday night turned out to be dry but windy even though the forecast had called for thunderstorms. Playing at the same time as the guys team, the atmosphere was full of excitement at Cedarville's Johnson-Murdoch Tennis Complex.
There was a nice showing of support from our faithful fans as it got to be a cold night for watching tennis. Our doubles matches involved tough fights, but we did not take the opportunities that we needed to win. Singles shout-outs go to Joy Dice at #3 singles for her first college win along with Emma Rahn's first win at #5 singles!
It's definitely hard to lose. Taylor is a strong team, and I just love playing against good competition. There's nothing like the adrenaline rush of laying everything you have out on the court in a college tennis match and walking away knowing that you gave your best effort. Individually and as a team, the Taylor match showed me a number of areas to work on in training. After losing tough matches in tennis, it's all about having the right response - understanding what went wrong and taking steps to improve. I know, for myself, that means moving my opponent side to side, hitting the ball deep in the court, and upping my first serve percentage.
One of the things that I have noticed so far about my senior year is that I am not nearly as nervous as I used to be for a match. In my earlier college years, I would get almost paralyzed by nerves and tightness when I would start out playing a match. The mental strength and growth definitely makes playing tennis more fun. The beauty of this year's team is that we have a lot of underclassmen who have plenty of room for improvement and progress.
In off-the-court news, returning players on our team and Coach Morris & Becky Kuhn (our team chaplain) made the trek up to Michigan on Sunday to support Georgianne McClure in her wedding. It was so neat to get to see the senior girls from last year (Carissa, Rachel, & George) and from two years ago (Anna Strayhorn & Sarah Andersen)!
This coming week, we are looking forward to hitting practices hard and training for the rest of our season! Thanks for following the women's tennis team! Stay tuned for more news.
September 2, 2010
The Cedarville women’s tennis team is fired up to begin the 2010 fall season! With a full match schedule, our team is looking forward to a strong season and some quality wins.
Both returning and rookie members of the team are excited to play tennis and make deeper friendships as a team this year. New additions for the season include freshmen Lyndsay Stine, Emma Rahn, and Joy Dice as well as junior Alison Scharold.
With the first official practice this past Saturday, we followed up a tough workout on the court with an annual Young’s Run! We are working to get our lineup determined as soon as possible in order to be ready for the first match. At Young’s we were able to celebrate Brooke’s 20th birthday with some yummy ice cream cake and delicious food.
Our first match of the season will be against Taylor University - a traditionally solid team. This competition will be a true challenge testing how much progress our team has made over the course of the summer.
It’s hard to imagine going through this year without our stellar seniors from last year. Thankfully, we will all be reuniting over Labor Day weekend to celebrate the marriage of 2010 tennis alum Georgianne McClure to Kyle Hess in Michigan. Sharing this special event with Georgianne along with the other two seniors from last year - Carissa Parmerlee and Rachel Arthur - will be an awesome time of fun for our team.
Make sure to come out and support the Lady Jackets at the home courts on September 3rd! We’re ready for an awesome season to come!
Joy Kellogg is a Dean’s List student as a marketing major from Arlington, Ohio. She has played in the #1 singles position for the Lady Jackets in each of the past two seasons.
