After the final ball of the final match of the season was struck on Wednesday, the Cedarville men’s tennis team was left with many hilarious inside jokes, countless memories, and life-long friendships. Instead of delivering the last word on the season myself, I thought I would leave it to the seniors to do so. Presenting Aaron, Corey, Josh, and Quinton with their thoughts and memories on the past season as they say goodbye to Cedarville and hello to post-college life.
"This year, being a part of the Cedarville men's tennis team has been incredibly special to me and something I will never forget. To see how a group of eight men, each with such unique personalities, can come together as one team has been especially fun. From the quiet and reserved Josh Van Zandt to the always sleeping Quinton Paul (just kidding, just kidding). I meant to say the always talkative John Filcik....But, as I was saying, to see each member, although different, love, support, and encourage one another has been so enjoyable to be a part of. Not only that, but to be challenged in my own personal walk with Christ by each of the guys has been a privilege I cannot put a price on. I thank God for each man on the team and the testimony each has on the court, in the classroom, and throughout their lives. I consider myself blessed that, this year, I was able to be a part of each of their lives."
"Being a part of the Cedarville men’s tennis team has perhaps been one of the greatest blessings I have received from the Lord. I have played on this team for the last three years, and, being my last, I have grown to know these men as my own brothers. They have been graciously patient with my antics and erratic personality (most notably my foreign alter-egos), pushed me to know Jesus Christ more each day, and have blessed me with strong godly friendships. Tennis is indeed fun, as are the trips to away matches (unless I get the back-middle seat), but neither is comparable to the value of the men on this team; these are men with whom I have played tennis and had a good time, yet while in the midst of this striving together to know Jesus Christ through prayer, Bible study, and simply talking about our great faith. Coaches Edlund and Lewis have been instrumental in the spiritual growth of the team, stressing the importance of playing tennis and living life solely for the glory of Jesus Christ, and that includes being a constant testimony to His great love.
Simply a paragraph cannot express my immense love in Christ for these incredible men of God, but I pray they understand my striving in prayer for them as well as my deep sadness for departing, even if for a short time. To my beloved brothers in Christ: Thank you for being who you are, for blessing me with your love, and for allowing me to watch and share a part in your growth in Christ. Know that my prayers for you will never cease."
"This past season has been my favorite as a member of Cedarville’s men’s tennis team. We had a great time both on and off the tennis court. On the court, my favorite part of the year was our six- match winning streak. During that streak, I tried to live up to Corey’s expectations of me as an "Iron Curtain" and I tried to follow David’s advice by "penetrating the minds" of my opponents. Off the court, I enjoyed spending time with everyone. Whether it was Corey’s encouraging devotionals or the rambunctious car rides, we always had a great time together. I have been very blessed to be able to spend the past three years with such kind and godly men. Although I am excited to graduate, I will definitely miss the fun times that we have had as a tennis team."
"Looking back at this season, I can say that it was by far the most fun and exciting of my four years. I believe that the season was so fun because of our devotions with Coach Lewis. In our devotions we focused on pride and playing for Christ. The team took what we learned to heart and we grew closer as a team because of this. I have never seen a tennis team that was so close. This season the team also performed better on the court. We came close to having a .500 record and making regionals for the first time in my four-year career. I will never forget all of the guys on the team this year and how well we got along and carried ourselves on and off the court for God's glory."
To wrap things up, I want to thank all our fans out there. I want to specifically thank my grandpa who faithfully attends so many matches throughout the season. It seriously makes my day to play in front of the guy who got me interested in tennis in the first place. Thanks Papa!
Lastly and most importantly, I want to give a big THANK YOU to the team, and especially the seniors, for making this season great. I can’t wait to hear about Aaron’s new life in Seattle working for Boeing, Corey’s seminary experience, Josh’s CPA studying in Florida and job thereafter, and Quinton’s new marriage. This team is going to share a life-long bond, and I thank God for that. All glory to Him for a great season.
In honor of our SIX match winning streak, by far the longest of the season, I thought I’d share with you three more PLAYS OF THE GAME from this past week’s matches:
On Tuesday, we traveled over to Anderson, Indiana to take on the Trojans of Anderson University. The PLAY OF THE GAME for this match goes to Adam "Speedy" Levesque - not for some amazing stroke, underdog victory (although he did win), or admirable act of sportsmanship. The PLAY OF THE GAME goes to Adam for his extensive knowledge of bee communities. You read that right. It was on the way to Anderson that the tennis team first discovered that Adam "Speedy" Levesque’s family tree (besides containing notable names like Usain Bolt and Roger Bannister) includes a grandfather who is a professional beekeeper. We’ll refer to his grandfather as Burt. Burt and Burt’s bees (gotcha) dispensed much of his bee knowledge to Adam, much of which you’d probably rather not know. For example, did you know the title of Queen Bee is passed on through a royal blood line in the bee community - a royal blood line that contains only black bees? Or that all the male bees in the hive are drones, which means their sole purpose is to mate with the queen bee and then die? Or that a single honey bee, throughout their entire lifetime, will produce 1/12
of a teaspoon of honey? Burt would surely be proud of his grandson if he were in the van with us on Tuesday. Whether or not Adam will continue the family legacy and go into the beekeeping business is still up in the air - but I’m bee-ginning to bee-lieve he will. After all, the chapstick industry is booming, right Burt?
Second-place PLAY OF THE GAME: Corey’s tongue twister skills. My personal favorite that Corey OWNED in the van on Tuesday:
"Picky people pick Peter Pan Peanut Butter, 'tis the peanut butter picky people pick."
Or what we soon discovered to be the most difficult tongue twister on the planet (short but deadly):
Third-place PLAY OF THE GAME: the wind. Holy cow.
In beating Central State for the second time this season on Thursday (in the Doden Field House no less), we not only improved our overall record to .500 but clinched the unofficial title of G-MAC conference champion. True, the conference includes only two men’s tennis teams (Cedarville and Central State), but it doesn’t take away from the title of conference champion being the single greatest success of my tennis career - well at least my playing-tennis-on-the-fastest-courts-ever-in-the-field-house career.
The PLAY OF THE GAME against Central State is officially awarded to David Barton for withstanding the mind games of Central State’s #6 singles. Central State’s #6, after playing the first six games against David, insisted on playing a pro-set (one set, first to eight) instead of a best-two-out-of-three match because he was "tired." Though revealing this about this match more than anything reflects the quality of competition in our fledgling conference, it should also reveal the stalwart mental game of David "The Penetrator" Barton. Clearly the Central State #6 was trying to penetrate David’s mind by insisting on playing a shorter match, but David had nothing of it, beating the guy 8-0.
Second-place PLAY OF THE GAME: Quinton Paul. Quinton’s dad had never seen Q play a collegiate tennis match until Thursday. Quinton showed off to his parents by winning every single game in his doubles and singles matches. Quinton’s parents were ACTUALLY proud of Quinton for once. Way to go Q!
On Friday, the Bethel College male and female Pilots traveled to Cedarville to play on a cold, windy day. With wind chills dipping into the 40’s, both the men’s and women’s teams walked away with victories. The PLAY OF THE GAME goes to me for exemplifying the golden rule. Though this may seem to be a self-centered proclamation, you will soon see why I am deserving of this award. With our doubles match close, I missed a routine return off a serve. Aaron gave me a high-five and said an encouraging comment. I didn’t think he was angry at me, but boy, was I wrong.
Aaron lined up to return the next point. The serve from our opponent missed the box by a foot, but rather than catching the ball or gently hitting the ball back to our opponents like most civilized tennis players would do, Aaron wound up and slammed the ball in my direction. The green fuzzy ball grew bigger, greener, and fuzzier as it inched closer to my head, and then
it slammed into my forehead. My head started spinning. Though the pain coursing through my head made it difficult to even think, the emotional pain I felt knowing my doubles partner had willfully caused said pain was far more painful. After all we had been through… It was at this moment the Golden Rule came to mind. Rather than retaliate against Aaron, I swallowed my pride, laughed it off, ignored the huge red bump on my forehead, and played on. I employed Golden Rule wisdom and promised never to tell Aaron about the continuing headaches I’ve dealt with every night since.
Second-place PLAY OF THE GAME: David Wright (one of our loyal fans) for snagging all three Fan Appreciation tennis balls following my singles match. If you’ve watched the U.S. Open in the last few years, you’ll know that after every match, the winning player will sign and hit three balls into the stands following their victory. A similar tradition for Cedarville tennis was started on Friday. After winning my singles match, I looked to the bleachers where the fans were quieting their cheering. I held up the three balls in my hand and blasted them all into the stands. The fans jumped over each other, mouths gaping, arms stretched wide, and voices bellowing. Going against all statistical laws and athletic precedents, SOMEHOW David Wright wrestled to the ground the other fans (including an old granny and a three-year-old girl) to eventually retrieve all three of the Fan Appreciation balls. We may never know exactly how David managed such a feat, but it nonetheless gives David this week’s title of FAN OF THE MATCH.
That’s all for now folks. Our final three matches are this coming week on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Will our six-match winning streak be extended to nine? Only one way to find out... Come out to our matches! You could even walk away with a Fan Appreciation ball (just pray David Wright doesn’t show up).
Three matches this past week equal three victories! Let’s look at the fan-selected
On Wednesday, the team traveled to Columbus to play Capital University. We narrowly defeated the Crusaders 5-4. The
came on match point in Aaron and John’s doubles match. With Aaron and John up 7-3, 40-30, the #1 doubles team for Capital, in desperation, resorted to lobbing a ball over Aaron’s head. Aaron, channeling his inner David "Federer" Barton, unleashed a tweener. For those of you illiterate in tennis lingo, a tweener involves turning your back to the net and swinging at the ball through your legs. Aaron swung between the legs and time seemed to come to a halt. The ball sprung off the racquet strings and sailed over the net into our opponents’ court! Capital returned the ball (an easy sitter), and John put it away with a backhand winner (like always). It was one of the most epic match points in Cedarville tennis history and according to Aaron "reflected years and years of hard work and training." The opposing team gaped in amazement at Aaron’s
, prompting both to ask him for autographs - Aaron’s used to that kind of attention, though, being royalty and all.
against Capital was Coco’s serve that hit David square in the back during their exhibition doubles match. If it weren’t for Coco lying and saying it was an accident, I might have awarded Coco the
. But you know what they say: Cheaters never prosper.
Yaroslava Shvedova, a professional women’s tennis player from Kazakhstan, made headlines this past June when she won a golden set in the third round at Wimbledon. A golden set, in which not a single point is lost, had only been accomplished once previously in professional tennis and never at a Grand Slam Tournament. A few weeks ago, Josh sent shockwaves across campus and around the world when he accomplished a golden set versus an opponent. Neither Josh nor Yaroslava have anything on Jared "Buzzy" Gerber, however. Against Central State on Thursday, Jared pulled off a (literally) UNPRECEDENTED feat that makes him more than worthy of the
. Jared won a golden match. Over the course of the match at #5 singles Jared neither double-faulted, hit a forehand into the net, or sailed an overhead long. Jared was perfect. (Really though, would we expect anything less than perfect from our Cedarville SAAC president?) The fact that his opponent hadn’t played tennis prior to a couple weeks ago is beside the point. Jared’s opponent still managed to have fun on the court, drawing laughs from the crowd. Whatever the case, Buzzy will go down in Cedarville tennis lore for that win. As far as the rest of the team goes, Central State failed to win a game across all nine matches. The best part about it is that we get to play Central State again next week. Anything less than a golden match for Jared will be a disappointment!
On Friday night, the team drove the four-hour trip to Indiana (which featured showings of "Skyfall" and "Mr. Deeds"), spent the night, and played the Mighty Oaks of Oakland City bright and early Saturday morning. The trip resulted in an 8-1 victory. (No point in mentioning who the one loser was, though. In the words of Coach, "John, there were no losers today." That meant a lot, Coach.) Coach’s "quick"-wittedness and "fast" tendencies were on full display this weekend, so shout-out to him!
, however, against OCU isn’t accredited to Coach, or anybody on our team for that matter, but to our favorite Washington, Indiana Holiday Inn employee who baked the team the best pre-match snack anyone could ask for. On Friday night, following an arduous drive through the night, the team arrived at Holiday Inn. We gathered in coach’s room for another stellar, Corey-led devotional and then took a dip in the 24/7 hotel pool. Sentimentality was high as Quinton, Aaron, and Josh realized this may be their last hotel stay with the Cedarville tennis team EVER. (Though we all expect Aaron’s job in to Seattle not to pan out and that he’ll return to Cedarville to take over coaching duties from coach, there’s no guarantee that’ll happen.) The
came when leaving the pool. The hotel receptionist, an unnamed man we’ll refer to as Bill from henceforth, approached the tennis team with a plate of cookies and eight pints of milk. The fresh-baked cookies were compliments of the hotel and solidified Bill as the official hotel receptionist of the Cedarville Men’s Tennis Team. What better way to prepare for our match ten hours later than a plate-full of the best cookies east of the Mississippi? After a lethargic day of tennis on Saturday, I realized that maybe the ten cookies I ate Friday night weren’t a good idea. Who would’ve thunk? Either way, great play from Bill!
Email me at jfilck@cedarville.edu with which song you think the Cedarville tennis team should cover in our end-of-the-season lip dub video! Winner will be featured in the video (whether in face or in mention) and go on a date with Adam "Cupcake" Levesque. #youllbehissprinkles
I want to first thank Corey for his killer blog last week! I know you were all hoping he would guest blog for the rest of the year, but unfortunately you’re back to me. Ok, enough with the booing…
Because of Easter Break this past week, Coach allowed us the weekend to celebrate Easter with family and friends (aka: no matches!). So there is only one match to talk about from this past week: Ohio Wesleyan on Monday. Instead of telling you about it MYSELF, I thought it would be easier for me (and more interesting for you guys) to copy and paste some of the many tweets trending from fans on Monday under the hashtag #CUTennisRocksMyLife. They basically tell the story of our match, so read on!
@CUTennisLover: "So much snow last night! Worried about where CU tennis will be playing this afternoon! Anybody out there know? #10freakinginches #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@coachedlund: "Hi there @CUTennislover. Moved indoors on Ohio Wesleyan’s campus. #yolo #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@JoshVanZandtFanForLife: "I can’t find Josh!!! Where are these courts?! #lovethatguy #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@OWUathletics: "If you’re having trouble finding our courts, just follow the masses of fans who have their chests painted blue and yellow. So much Cedarvile tennis spirit. #toomuch #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@JoshVanZandtFanForLife: "Found him! The courts are weird. So #slow….. and #squishy. Plus anyone else see the ceiling? It’s wooden and has eaves! #old #tenniscathedral #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@cocowhitlock: "I and my kingdom are forever. #2Samuel328b #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@buzzylover: "Jared’s doubles match is underway here at the OWU arena! Trying to get to the front row…#movepeople Oh yeah, the rest of the doubles matches have started, too. #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@Princessgurrrrrl: "Best part about John and Aaron’s match: seeing them jump headlong into the big blue mat after every changeover. #wherearethechairs #dontneedthem #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@CUTennisLover: "Aaron and John: best doubles match of the year. Easy victory for the number one pairing! Cedarville takes the early lead #goodstart #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@JoshVanZandtFanForLife: "Adam just held serve after a (literally) 20 minute game! #EPIC #cupcake #illbeyoursprinkles #bemine #ilovejoshmore #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@ilovecalves1221: "David Barton just won his exhibition singles match 8-3! His forehand looked good, but his calves looked better. #glorious #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@buzzylover: "Jared and Q are tied up at 6-6, and Adam and Josh are down 6-5. It’s down to the wire folks. #letsgobuzzy #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@buzzylover: "Btw, did you hear that Jared is praying in front of everyone at chapel on Tuesday? #lovehimevenmore #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@coachedlund: "Jared and Q succumb 8-6 to their opponents. The match is tied up. All attention shifts to 3 dubs. #yolo #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@JoshVanZandtFanForLife: "Dearest Josh and Speedy just lost 8-6, too. Cedarville’s down 1-2 going into singles. #wewilllturnthisaround #stillhope #because #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@CUTennisLover: "John’s the first to take to the court in singles. Opponent looks to be faking injury. #likealways #benefitofthedoubtthough #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@Princessgurrrrrl: "Princess Aaron is on court now, too. Playing great #likealways. Looks like he’ll have too much firepower for this guy to handle. #likealways."
@QT_1990: "Quinton here! Tweeting during my changeover… Playing a guy with a wicked good forehand, but it’s no match for me. Just won the first set! #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@cocowhitlock: "When Corey takes the throne of his kingdom… #Deuteronomy1718a #theCocoVersion #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@LalalaloveCU: "Adam has taken to the court for singles. Tough start, but he’s showing himself worthy of his nickname! #speedynotcupcake #CHILL!! #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@buzzylover: "Jared still hasn’t taken the court for his singles match. WE WANT JARED! WE WANT BUZZY! #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@coachedlund: "John took the first set 6-4, but then his opponent took a lengthy medical timeout and came back better than ever. #mindgamesmuch? #yolo #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@CUTennisLover: "Aaron destroys his opponent 6-1, 6-2 and ties up this match at two apiece. Cedarville has hope! #princessaaron #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@JoshVanZandtFanForLife: "John finally finished his match with a W! Cedarville goes up 3-2. Josh is about to take John’s court. ABOUT TIME!! #lovehim #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@LalalaloveCU: "Adam drops his match. Everything is tied up 3-3. All fans’ eyes are now glued to Quinton, Josh, and Jared’s matches. #allontheline #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@QT_1990: "I dropped the second set and am down to start the third. Not giving up though. #everypointcounts #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@JessikaRupena: "Quinton inspires me. #lovehim #engagedtohim #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@CUTennisLover: "The lights just went out! It’s totally black! Can’t see ball or lines. #whatishappening? #CUTennisRocksMyLife."
@ilovecalves1221: "I can’t see any calves. David where are you??? Power outage? #superbowldejavu #CUTennisRocksMyLife
@coachedlund: "With the match tied up at 3-3, the power has gone out in the building. Jared is up 3-0 in the first set, Quinton is down in the third set, and Josh is up 2-1 in his first set. #yolo #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@OWUathletics: "We apologize for the delay. The power will be on within the next forty-five minutes. Hang tight. #old #tenniscathedral #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@buzzylover: "Getting a little impatient. I paid good money for these seats to watch Buzzy. #disgruntled #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@JoshVanZandtFanForLife: "45 minutes later the lights are back on! #playon! #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@coachedlund: "All the matches have resumed. #finally #yolo #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@LalalaloveCU: "Quinton is down 5-2, but he’s battling. It’s not over til it’s over! #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@LalalaloveCU: "It’s over. #CUTennisRocksMyLife … Cedarville down 3-4."
@JoshVanZandtFanForLife: "Josh lost the first set, but his aggressive play is looking good! Down in the second set… #istillbelieve #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@buzzylover: "Jared is dominating! First set domination. Looking like a much closer second set. #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@CUTennisLover: "Looks like Jared will have to channel the same competitive drive that led the CU men’s tennis team to an intramural basketball victory this winter. #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@JoshVanZandtFanForLife: "Josh succumbs in the second set. He fought hard, though! #myinspiration #CUTennisRocksMyLife."
@OWUAthletics: "Ohio Wesleyan has vanquished Cedarville by securing that fifth point. One match still on court, though. #underdogvictory #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@buzzylover: "All eyes now turn to my Buzzy’s match. He’s on the brink of victory! #likealways #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
@coachedlund: "Jared pulls it out 6-2, 6-4!!!!!! #imsoexcited #toughlossoverall #wellgetemnexttime #yolo #CUTennisRocksMyLife"
That’s all from this end. Three matches this week, so I’ll keep you all posted!
Corey Whitlock here, filling in for the legendary blogger John Mark Filcik. I have some pretty big shoes to fill this week (that was by no means an exaggeration; his shoes are probably twice the size as mine), so I hope I do justice to his name. Not to mention that I apparently have been conferred with the immense pressure of surpassing the quantity and quality of last week’s blog. To quote the man himself, "I apologize for the shortness and simplicity of this blog.
The Plague may or may not be in our midst. Over the last two or so weeks the team has been plagued with some sort of contagion which has spread from one infirmed player (Aaron) to at least three other of our teammates. (Way to be a team player, Aaron!)
Nonetheless, let’s just say that bus rides to and from matches have been rather interesting: I perceive that these rides would be likened to a bus full of people being rushed to the hospital for treatment of respiratory diseases. And I, being for the most part a "germophobe," huddled in the middle row against the window in deep prayer in hopes of avoiding contamination. (I may or may not have been yelling "Get thee hence, Satan!" and perhaps a few Hail, Marys, but the Lord will forgive me for that.) I’m sure the opposing teams were quite thrilled to shake our hands after the match.
"When I think about the goodness of Jesus…." Our team has been constantly encouraged and inspired by the words of the great theologian, Madea, words so poignant yet simple that even David has been known to call them into remembrance both on and off the court. (I jest, by the way, because David is quite intelligent and uses big words [and he can beat me up]). I quote,
"When I think about the goodness of Jesus, and all that He has donnnnnne | for me, my soul cries out, ‘Hallelujer! Praise God for savin’ me!" (Madea, | added to denote an immediate, abrupt palatal stop, and yes, it is pronounced /hal-le-lu-yer/)
That’s preachin’ right there.
The Cedarville Men’s Tennis Team likes match scores involving the numbers 5 and 4. Should one peruse the results of our tennis matches this season (found
here) he or she would observe that there are
four matches whose scores involve the numerals 5 and 4: Mount Saint Mary (W 5-4), (the dreaded) Wartburg (L 4-5), Malone (W 5-4), and, most recently, Ohio Wesleyan (L 4-5). I have yet to discern whether or not this has spiritual connotations, but we shall see.
Among these, the match against Malone was one well-fought, a satisfying outcome of 5-4 considering that the singles results yielded a nail-biting 3-3 match score. I would just like to say that John Filcik, one of the three to grasp victory, is a killer of pride, defeating the up-to-that-point undefeated # 2 singles player from Malone. I suspect this to be the source of that young man’s post-match ‘disappointment,’ shall we say.
In addition, the beloved Quinton (as I call him, "Quintus Lucienus filius Jeromei") fought a grueling match against an intense opponent hailing from the frigid nation of Russia. (I was going to ask him to teach me Russian, but I feared that he would deceptively teach me profanity; it’s happened before…) Quinton, down 4-6 in the first set, valiantly mustered a magnificent second-wind whereby he was able to soundly and decisively defeat his opponent in the next two sets 6-4, 6-3.
Josh played as well as usual, defeating his opponent with ease 6-1, 6-1 by means of both mind games and well-placed, consistent shots which undoubtedly provided his opponent with a good bit of running. (On a related note, I attribute my great condition and figure to Josh Van Zandt, whose countless hours of devoted hitting has made me run more than Jake’s 10-mile "jaunts." Thanks, Josh!)
Many spectators anticipated with great angst the assumed arduous doubles matches which were to ensue, but few were expecting the reality that #1 and #2 doubles were finished in less than thirty minutes! Unfortunately, our #3 doubles (Adam and myself) succumbed to the well-skilled opponents, but I will attribute our defeat to my backhand (or lack thereof), which received quite a bit of practice during that match…
The Yellow Jacket Men’s Tennis Team loves playing at Five Seasons Sports Club. Despite the fact that you can only see three of the four courts in their entirety as a spectator, we have had the privilege to have secured nice facilities wherein our team may compete should the weather not allow us to play outdoors (which has essentially been the case for the entire season). Our most recent feat in these facilities was against Indiana University - East. I don’t want to spend much time about this match because it was quite a sound win, 8-1 overall, and because I’m sure this is getting a bit long.
"Country roads, take me home…" And that they did, in something like a three-ton van barreling up and down the delightful mountains of my home state of West Virginia. As we entered the wild and wonderful state of WV, I felt a sense of calm brought on by the familiar atmosphere of awe-inspiring mountains and the informative signs reading, "COAL. IT’S WHAT KEEPS THE LIGHTS ON."
As we wound left and right, ascending the steep and treacherous mountain towards the courts of West Liberty University, I thought I heard some groans indicative of car sickness. I suppose such a traverse is difficult when you have not grown up around mountains or make your residence in an inordinately flat landscape like Ohio. But that’s okay, because when I first came to Ohio, I got sick because I thought I was literally going to fall off the edge of the earth because I was not enclosed by the safety of mountains.
Nonetheless, although putting up a good fight, our boys fell against West Liberty 7-2, securing victories only in #2 and #3 singles, John and Quinton. Both played extremely well, with John defeating his opponent 6-2, 6-2 and Quinton his 6-2, 6-3. All in all I thought everyone played exceptionally well. David attributed our loss to the variance in atmosphere. I can’t lie: in a way I sort of hope this is true, for such would be the perfect explanation for why my tennis game dies as I descend from the mountains of WV…
Alas, I am sure you are weary of suffering from my long-windedness, but I at least met John’s promise of a longer blog this week! As for quality, I’ll let you be the judge. On a serious note, please pray for our team, that we would continue to strive to be God’s ambassadors to our opponents and that we would strive to know our Lord more and more each day. May you be blessed as you celebrate the death and resurrection of our living Savior, Jesus Christ, and may you rejoice in the hope of His imminent return!
In Christ,
Corey Whitlock
March 19, 2013
Hey there Yellow Jacket tennis fans!
The transition from Spring Break back into school is always difficult. Waking up early and rushing to class replaces waking up later and moseying to breakfast. Dodging puddles on the sidewalk replaces dodging geckos on the pavement. And the stress-free Florida-living lifestyle is replaced by constant due dates and responsibilities. Warmth is now a distant memory, and sleep is an impossibly-attained commodity.
Every cloud has a silver lining, however. This past week, that cloud had a golden lining. We played two matches. The first was a relatively easy win over the Yellow Jackets of West Virginia State University. No match was easier than that of Josh Van Zandt’s at #5 singles. Josh walked off the court having secured a Golden Set in his 6-0, 6-0 victory. I’ll briefly explain for those of you who aren’t tennis diehards. It’s one thing to win a set without losing a game, but it’s quite another to win a set without losing a point. Winning a set without losing a point constitutes a golden set—a highlight of many people’s lives. Very few people can say they’ve ever won a golden set in a competitive match. Three cheers for Josh Van Zandt!
On Saturday, we played our second match versus Indian Wesleyan in Indiana. Cedarville’s athletics page said it best when they so graciously headlined the match "IWU dumps Yellow Jackets." The match was definitely disappointing. I know we felt as if we were unable to play our best tennis. Silver lining: Jared "Buzzy" Gerber pulled out the three-set victory at #6 singles to secure our lone point for our team! Great win for him, and for those of you wondering, Jared recently de-privatized his Twitter account and is now accepting new followers (@GerberBaby7). If every CU tennis fan reading this page followed him, we could get his follower count into the millions!
After last week, we have plenty still to work on in practice. It will be exciting to see what happens in the coming few weeks!
Lastly, I owe a shout out to Abby Niemiec, Aaron’s sister (and CU class of 2017), for attending our match versus IWU. I also owe a shout out to Britt Dewitt and Brittni Schneider for their loyal attendance at our match in Florida. Appreciate it!
I apologize for the shortness and simplicity of this blog. Next week’s will be better. Promise.
May the "ads" be ever in your favor,
John
March 12, 2013
Helloooooooooo Cedarville tennis fans!
Before I begin, I must sincerely apologize to my readers for neglecting an important detail in the last blog. Somehow, while looking back on the off season, I forgot to inform you all of the most significant event of the winter. On February 4, 2013, a day that will go down in the record books, the Cedarville men’s tennis team won their first intramural basketball game in over three years. The team not only had to overcome a teammate who failed to show up that night (Aaron), but also a teammate who unfortunately DID show up (John). The odds were against the team, but with the final score of 47-39, the team brought home the W. Woohoo!
Well five matches and over thirty hours in the van later, the team returned from the palm trees, warm weather, and relaxing lifestyle of Florida to the corn fields, cold weather, and hectic college lifestyle of Cedarville University. The week in Florida was a blast, and as much as I know you’d love to hear play-by-play details of the whole break, I’ll limit myself to telling you about a few of the things we learned over the course of the week.
Miracles do happen. Aaron has a girlfriend. Enough said.
Quinton can sleep anywhere. Few words inspire more dread in a Cedarville tennis player’s mind than the words "back middle." As you all know, when a road trip embarks at four in the morning and all that can be heard is the steady whir of the engine, any attempts at staying awake are pointless. The black hole of sleep will suck you in without fail…unless you find yourself in the back middle seat. This spot in the van has been notorious for causing insomnia in narcoleptic tennis players for years. If the fact that you’re squeezed between Corey and Josh doesn’t bother you then the fact that you’re sitting on a misplaced seatbelt buckle will. If that forsaken buckle doesn’t bother you, then the awkwardly protruding seatbelt holster on the seat in front of you will. If that holster doesn’t bother you, then there’s always the music blaring out of David’s "noise-cancelling" headphones in front of you that will. Any way you look at it, middle back is the most unwanted seat on any tennis trip. Cursed is the man who gets stuck in back middle—unless your name is Quinton Emanuel Lucien Paul. Quinton’s successful attempt at sleeping in back middle can be viewed here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJuf6BAwVwU&feature=youtu.be
I dare you not to laugh.
Adam is a firm believer in Matthew 20:16. Corey, on the other hand, not so much. Adam could teach Corey a thing or two about "the last shall be first." While Adam is consistently the final player on the court in any given match, Corey greedily jumps to the middle of the pack when waiting in line for food. While Adam is the last person out of bed every morning, Corey hastily races to be the first one at breakfast before the sun even rises. It’s possible I’m interpreting this verse incorrectly, but I just can’t help but worry about Corey’s eternal future.
Tiebreaks might not be the Cedarville tennis team’s forte. The word that inspires almost as much dread in a Cedarville tennis player’s mind as "back middle" is the word "Wartburg." On Wednesday, we played the Iowan Knights of Wartburg, losing the match by a 5-4 score line. Five tiebreaks were played across the nine matches, and unfortunately Cedarville lost every one. It was a heartbreaking result (my overhead at match point in my match tiebreak will haunt my dreams forever), but it DID give us all something to work on in practice… namely: WINNING.
Jared is better known in his family circles as Buzzy. As if Jared’s previously disclosed nicknames of Sweatpants Boy, the Gerbster, G-Baby, and Jazer weren’t enough.
This is going to be one fantasmic season. To quote Corey Whitlock, our resident wordsmith: "There’s only one word better than ‘delightful’ and Disney stole it from me. That word is ‘fantasmic.’ It’s so good it’s spiritual." I don’t mean to cause you to question Corey’s sanity by sharing that quote, but rather to emphasize how fantasmic this season is going to be. Between late-night YouTube video-watching sessions, chilling on Josh’s dock watching dolphins, driving the Cedarville tennis van along the beach, eating more fortune cookies than we could count, and driving the wrong way down a one-way street, Spring Break was FUN.
What made this Spring Break so fantasmic, though, was the bonding within the team over commonalities beyond fun. Corey’s devotionals at night sparked conversation that, in combination with the testimony time every night and the encouraging texts from Coach Lewis every morning, focused the tennis team on what’s really important. Tennis isn’t about winning. Tennis is about bringing glory to the One who gives us the body and well-being to hit a little green ball over a 3-and-a-half-foot tall net. That means that after the final point is played, the competitive intensity is turned off like a light switch and we shift our attention to our opponent—engaging them, building relationships, and Lord-willing planting some sort of seed in their lives by showing them that, for us, winning a match is not the do-all and end-all.
In a world that is rocked by misplaced priorities and insignificant concerns, maybe Cedarville tennis, and Christians involved in sports everywhere, can be a beacon of light pointing others to Who really matters. That’s something we discussed plenty over break, and though it may sound awfully cliché, it’s that kind of perspective that I believe is going to make this season FANTASMIC.
Stay tuned.
May the "ads" be ever in your favor,
John
March 3, 2013
Hello Cedarville tennis fans and greetings from the sandy beaches of the Sunshine State!
As I lounge on my beach chair, listening to waves crash against the beach and sipping a VIRGIN piña colada, it’s hard to believe that we play our first match of the season tomorrow (Monday, March 4)!
Let’s briefly get the lowdown on tennis happenings since the last blog:
Here comes the groom…In the final blog of the fall season, I made known our hopes for Quinton to man up and buy Jess a ring. Well, it looks like Q took my advice. Their wedding date is set for August 9! Unfortunately, Quinton forgot to invite a few important guests. Namely, THE WHOLE TENNIS TEAM! (No hard feelings though, Quinton. Excuse me while I return the BMW I bought you two.)
The return of Adam Levesque! Adam utilized his semester away from Cedarville to perfect his tennis game. Known worldwide for his nickname, Speedy, only the astute Cedarville tennis fan knows that Adam’s other nickname is that of a delicious bakery item/dessert. Yup, you guessed it. CUPCAKE!
New job for Aaron! Since the fall, Aaron accepted a job making airplanes in Seattle after graduation. Boeing stock has catapulted to pre-Civil War levels since the job choice was made public. In an exclusive interview, Boeing executives confirmed Aaron’s eight-figure salary and tried to calm any fears the public may now have in the safety of Boeing airplanes.
Coach Lewis’ Bible studies…Throughout the offseason, the team has had the privilege of meeting with Coach Lewis about once a week for our Bible study time. This year, the topic of discussion has been pride. The discussions we’ve had have been convicting and challenging as we’ve been striving to relate our own struggles with pride to our actions on the court. We’ve been learning how we need to play tennis solely for an audience of One, God, and that though winning is our goal, it’s merely a pleasant byproduct of striving to bring God honor while we play.
Well we’ve arrived in Florida now! After getting buzz cuts Friday night, we drove an alternate route to Orlando this year, which unfortunately involved being evacuated off the interstate near Daytona to avoid a huge brush fire. Because of this, the entire trip took about 16 hours. The upside to the alternate route was that Jared got to set foot for the first time in the great state of Virginia (best day of his life). The McDonalds’ was good in Viginia, but the state wasn’t much to our liking after we found out all the outlet malls were taken away (long story). We eventually arrived at the hotel safe and sound Saturday night.
Sunday was an eventful day. It involved attending a not-so-mega church (if you want to know what the sermon was about, don’t ask David. Zzzzzzzzzz), driving the wrong way down a busy road outside Universal Studios (we have a video to prove it, but you can’t hear much over Josh’s screams of terror), getting pictures taken by a Disney World sign (pretending like we actually went to the park), eating deep dish Chicago-style pizza (a meal which included the waiter affectionately calling Aaron a "pain in the butt"), playing tennis for the first time this year in the Sunshine State, jumping off the second story of our "penthouse suite" onto a mattress (quite the thrill), and finally gathering together as a team for our nightly devotional (led by Corey, whose church we all plan to be members of some day).
It’s been a great break so far, and the good news is that it has only just begun! It’s going to be a busy week with five matches, including our first one versus Aquinas tomorrow (Monday). I’ll keep you posted on how we do, but for now I need to get to bed. I’ve stayed up WAY too late getting this blog done. It’s nice knowing, though, it’s all in the service of the Cedarville men’s tennis fans, the best fans in the world (the few, the proud)!
May the ‘ads’ be ever in your favor,
John
October 9, 2012
Hey there Cedarville tennis fans!
The trees around campus have officially burst into the colors of fall that anyone who has been to Cedarville in the fall knows so well. With the fall season advancing and winter coming, all of us tennis players realize we are about to have a prolonged hiatus from daily practice of the sport. For some this brings joy, for others it brings distress, but for most it brings a new motivation to work really hard in the off season to come back in the spring better than ever.
This past week we played Wilmington College. We were trying to turn around a winless fall season with a win, and we did. Jared and Quinton won easily in doubles, and Aaron and John struggled through some serving woes to win as well. Jake and Josh won easily in singles, and Quinton withstood an opponent who was the most funniest person ever. John almost dropped the ball big time, but battled back to seal the 9-0 victory for the Yellow Jackets. Great to finish the fall season on a high note!
Our matches this fall season didn’t go too well by and large. Luckily, however, there seriously is nowhere to go but up in the spring!
On Saturday, the team celebrated Homecoming Weekend with our annual homecoming match. Much fun was had hanging out and playing with the Cedarville tennis players of yore. Special shout-out to Ted Berry, the only confirmed loyal blog-reader of the bunch (and a happy anniversary)!
Jared had to be reminded on numerous occasions that he didn’t need to be hitting winners left and right… it was only an alumni match. We all know for whom he was showing off, though. (See Joanna, I told you I’d fit you into the rest of my blogs now.)
This week’s blog will be the final blog until the season resumes again in the spring. Though it’s difficult to say good-bye to all the Cedarville tennis fans and loyal blog readers, respite from my blog duties will allow me the opportunity to hone my blogging skills and produce a better blog come spring.
I’ll leave you with a few things the team will be looking forward to in the spring.
1) Adam Levesque returning to the Cedarville tennis squad better than ever.
2) Aaron Niemiec learning that if a ball lands on the line, it’s in, and Aaron Niemiec being relegated to ninth singles.
3) David Barton finally realizing that excessive weight-lifting does not necessarily result in success on the tennis court.
4) Josh receiving his seventh consecutive 4.0 mug.
5) Jake realizing that indoor half-marathons are for sissies, and that real men run 208 times around an indoor track instead of only 104.
6) Quinton manning up and getting Jess a ring.
7) Corey admitting to us all that he has an eHarmony account.
8) Jared learning to bench more than the bar.
9) John not losing.
10) Coach Edlund buying us tennis sweatshirts that aren’t beige-colored and then taking us to Hawaii for Spring Break!
Trust me when I say that my heart will shed a tear for every day I am out of contact from you my fans.
Hopefully the next blog will be written from the sunny beaches of Oahu. Farewell and have a great fall/winter!
May the ‘ads’ be ever in your favor,
John
October 1, 2012
Hello my favorite fans!
Last week before our Taylor match, Corey, in typical Corey fashion, articulated a prayer for the ages in which he asked that the rain be held back and that play might be able to be completed. Corey’s prayers were answered then, and we were able to complete our Taylor match before the mighty waters fell from the sky.
This week, however, it was a different story. Rain ended up cancelling two of our practices and leaving us somewhat unprepared for our match on Saturday. Who is to blame? I don’t want to name any names, but let’s just say it’s pretty obvious that SOMEONE’S prayer life was a little lacking this week.
Once Saturday came around, however, beautiful weather greeted us. Not much else went well besides that, though. We lost our first eight matches, including an epic three-setter from Quinton. The final match of the day came at #1 singles in which Aaron was playing a German heavyweight known in Munich as Ungeheuerlichkeit, the Monster.
Aaron lost the first set, but was able to battle back to win the second. In the third set tie-break, Aaron’s serving struggles became all the more apparent as he double-faulted three-times in a row. He continued to battle, however, putting those double faults behind him, to capture the match 10-8 in the tie-break. It wasn’t pretty, but he was able to give our team a point in front of his mom, sister, cousins (including Libby who I found out is a loyal blog reader!), and grandpa.
Our post-match meal was at the new restaurant in town, the Double Dragon. The restaurant was not a disappointment! Though Chinese buffets are the official food sponsor of the team, we were all enthused by the delicious Chinese cuisine at D-Dubs.
The highlight of the day when I cracked open my fortune cookie, and after eating the cookie, read aloud the following fortune:
“The win is not what is important. Rather it’s the will to win.”
Wow. It solidified in my mind the all-knowing wisdom of the Chinese fortune-cookie scribes.
And our lucky numbers were 3-6, 6-4, 10-8, the same score as Aaron’s match!
Ok, just kidding.
The time has come. I am about to announce the winner of our contest. If you remember, three weeks ago I asked all our loyal tennis fans and blog readers to submit their favorite Cedarville tennis memory. We had a wide variety of responses both from former Cedarville tennis players, loyal fans who attend our home matches, people whose favorite memories solely involve reading the blogs, and a fan who only comes to the matches because of her secret (or not so secret?) love interest on the team.
Well, I won’t tell you into which category the winner of the contest falls (though I will say she could have just answered “Jared” as her favorite tennis memory). The winner of the first blog contest of 2012 and the winner of a tennis ball signed by the whole team is (drum roll please) Joanna Wheatley!
*Cue sighs of disappointment from the thousands of other contest participants around the world.*
Joanna actually submitted FIVE Cedarville tennis memories (she wanted to win pretty badly). One involved driving three hours to our match in Orlando only to run into a random old man at the courts who divulged his life story to Joanna for over two hours and withheld Joanna from actually watching the match. Another involved debating during one of Josh’s matches whether his opponent was male or female. Another involved watching Jake play our first match of the spring season last year against an opponent who was so good Jake could only resort to laughter on court at how badly he was being pummeled. But, the memory of Joanna’s that I’ve decided to highlight as Numero Uno in our contest is the following:
“Another fond memory is that at every single tennis match I've gone to (sum total of probably 10 +) someone has explained, clarified, reminded of, reiterated, gone into great detail about the scoring of the game. I still don't completely understand the order/idea of game, set, match. I'm hoping this is the year... but thanks to all the members of the team who have attempted to teach me the ways of the sport.”
No, Joanna. Thank you.
We gave Joanna the surprise of her life: the ball signed by our team and the title of Contest Champion. Joanna, at a loss for words (but at the same time not), described what winning this contest meant to her:
“Accepting this token from the Cedarville tennis team will be a constant reminder of my love for the tennis team, all members equally. For those of you who were not able to accept this honor, my greatest gift that I can give to you is the advice to continue to support and attend the matches. The only way you can make true memories is to come out and support with all your heart, soul, and mind! And above all else, continue to follow the team and loyally support the tennis blog by my favorite CU sports blogger, John Filcik!”
Congrats Joanna, on your two big wins this weekend! (wink,wink)
May the ‘ads’ be ever in your favor,
John
September 24, 2012
Greetings CU tennis fans!
In this week’s blog, I will not be telling you the whole truth. First I will tell you the boring version of our match on Thursday versus Taylor University and then I’ll tell you the exciting version of our match. The truth falls somewhere in between, but likely closer to the exciting side of things. If you find the boring version reading material your great-aunt Agnes would read while knitting an unwanted pair of mittens for you and worrying that her ride for Wednesday evening bingo might be tardy, then I have done my job. If you find the exciting version reading material that Batman would read and still be on the edge of his seat then I too, have done my job.
First, the mundane:
Our Match Against Taylor
First, we played doubles. Aaron and I won. Jared and Quinton lost. Jake and David lost. We played our best and the matches were close. We came out of doubles with only one win.
Then we played singles. Everyone lost but Aaron. Our team lost 7-2. We were sad. So we ate pizza. Aaron didn’t come eat pizza with us. We don’t know why.
Now, the exciting:
As the sun crested on the horizon the morning of Thursday, September 20, 2012, each member of the Yellow Jacket men’s tennis team awoke with a sense of purpose and urgency. It was clear that today would not be simply a day like any other, but a day in which their bodies would be tested, their minds challenged, and their willpower confronted. As a sign of commitment, each member of the team slept with their weapon of choice for the day, whether it be a Wilson, a Prince, or the ALMIGHTY Technifibre.
Arriving at the courts at 3:15 p.m., the buzz among the crowd of what the day would hold was clearly evident. The thunderous applause as the team members walked out onto the court was only equaled in magnitude by the steady, heavy beating of the opposing team’s nervous hearts.
Match introductions (in which each player was treated to a standing ovation) commenced, and the doubles matches began. As the doubles teams warmed up, Aaron and John tried to take the heavy pressure they felt from all their adoring fans off their shoulders by cracking a few jokes and quoting some lines from the epic movie Mr. Deeds. This pressure lifting seemed to do just the trick, and Aaron and John were soon granted un-human abilities. John thwacked down-the-line forehands out of his opponents’ reach as if threading a needle with a Twizzler. And Aaron ACTUALLY got a serve in. Aaron and John were soon crowned #1 doubles victors by a score of 8-1.
Whilst Aaron and John signed autographs in the crowd, gave a couple interviews, and kissed a few babies, attention shifted to the ensuing battle on court two. Jared and Quinton were facing a three-game deficit. Down 7-4, the audience let out a sigh as if asking the Taylor #2 doubles team to make the killing quick and painless. Jared and Quinton had other ideas. They knew that for which they fought. They knew their motivation was higher and greater than any motivation their opponents might be clinging to.
And so, the comeback began.
After saving matchpoint at 7-4, Quinton and Jared battled back to take an unimaginable 8-7 lead. It was at this point, a divine being seemed to intercede as rain drops started to fall to the court. Jared and Quinton pressed on, however, and were soon serving for their second match point. An epic point ensued. Taylor lobbed the ball up as if beckoning the clouds to unleash more rain that might cause their opponents to slip up and bring an end to Cedarville’s dream run. Unfortunately, Taylor’s beckoning seemed to work.
As the ball sailed into the sky amid drops of cascading water, it was clear the ball would land just over the net onto Cedarville’s side of the court. Jared and Quinton, both yearning for the chance to deal the fatal blow, claimed this overhead as their own. Confusion followed and as the ball fell back down to earth, time slowed. The enormous crowd shifted their wait to their legs, readying themselves to stand up and applaud what was soon to be a momentous win for the Yellow Jackets. It became clear the overhead would be Jared’s to unleash. Jared let out a primal scream as he hit the final overhead, bouncing inside the court and away from his opponent. The crowd went wild!
BUT then, the rain got the best of the Quinton and Jared. Quinton who had also been running toward the high-flying ball tried to screech to a halt but instead slid headlong across the slippery court. Everything in Quinton’s being tried to stop his body from sliding but unfortunately, his years of training and hard work failed him. He slammed into Jared at the net which in turn sent Jared flying. Jared found himself entangled in the net. Point to Taylor.
The match continued. The rain picked up. The match was halted for a time. When it resumed however, Cedarville simply couldn’t recover from the loss of that matchpoint. Much to the crowd’s dismay and to adoring Cedarville tennis fans around the world, Cedarville found itself down 2-1.
Before long, the #6 singles battles began. Aaron’s opponent, fatigued from doubles walloping, retired halfway through his match. Amidst tears of joy, Aaron wrapped up a perfect day, knowing he had done his part to give Cedarville tennis victory. Unfortunately for Aaron and the team, the rest of the team was not faring quite so well. After Quinton, Jake, Jared and John lost, Cedarville realized they would not be the victors that day. Still, however, they yearned for a more respectable showing, and all attention in the stadium turned to the match at #4 singles. Josh Van Zandt was up against a formidable foe in the Taylor #4 singles player, but a win looked to be within Josh’s grasp.
Josh battled his way to a 10-point tiebreaker. And then the unthinkable happened. As the crowd looked on, Josh reached down and grasped his calf. Pain shot up his leg, and soon he could barely walk. Cramps. As Josh’s pain was flashed on the stadium big screens for the world to see, the hearts of the crowd went out to Josh. As he received medical treatment, flowers showered down from the spectators and Josh had to turn down a few marriage proposals.
With the steely nerve that can only come from toiling in the trenches of the Cedarville men’s tennis team, Josh rebounded. Amidst grimaces, he fought and he battled. He never gave up. He fought his hardest against his opponent and the circumstances until the very end. In the battle between Josh and the pain, however, pain won that day. Josh succumbed in the 10-point tiebreaker.
The day was not a complete loss, however. Besides enjoying the battle, we also enjoyed the post-war celebration. Though it was difficult to know what exactly to celebrate, the team decided at the very least they were celebrating the newfound knowledge that Jared Gerber’s nickname in elementary school was Sweatpants Boy. There is no greater thing for which celebration is deserved.
Phew. Wow. Sorry. That was long.
The contest from the last couple weeks has now drawn to a close. Thanks to everyone who entered. The winner will be announced in the next blog!
We have one match this week versus Findlay on Saturday (rescheduled from this past Friday). Hopefully, we’ll turn our losing streak around. I’ll let you know how we do!
If you’ve read this far in the blog, I really appreciate it. This one got a little out of hand as far as length goes. Thanks for being loyal readers!
May the ‘ads’ be ever in your favor,
John
September 17, 2012
Hello Cedarville tennis fans,
This past week featured our first match of the season versus Wittenberg University! Practices beforehand went really well and on Tuesday our favorite coach’s wife brought us fresh made apple pie as an after-practice snack! Score! Thanks, Mrs. E!
On Wednesday, we traveled to Springfield to take on the Wittenberg Tigers. The one word to describe how the day went would be “rusty.” We lost the closer-than-it-might-appear match 8-1. Our only win came at #1 singles, where Aaron exacted revenge on a guy who beat him badly last year. For the most part, the rest of us played decently well, but we’re all still shaking off the rust and getting back into the match groove. We were disappointed not to get the W, but our disappointment was made up for in part by our post-match dinner at Rudy’s in Springfield. The best cornbread this side of the Mississippi!
This upcoming week, we’re playing two matches against two tough teams. On Thursday, we’ll be playing Taylor University, in a makeup match for the one cancelled a couple weeks ago. We’re still convinced Taylor’s scared of us, but I guess we’ll settle that on the court. On Friday, we play the University of Findlay, a solid Division II program.
At the Wittenberg match, I discovered something I hadn’t known before: our very own Quinton Paul is a regular tweeter on Twitter. You can learn a lot about a person from his or her tweets.
What can we learn about Quinton?
September 10, 2012: “Life is short. Live it the right way.”
Sounds like a fortune cookie, but very true nonetheless. Quinton is philosophical but struggles with living life the way it was meant to be lived. (Quinton, I’m here for you if you need me.)
June 19, 2012: “Sleep hasn’t been good to me.”
Sleep and Quinton have a very good relationship. This tweet worries me that maybe their relationship is on the rocks. Worst case scenario, they can always make-up on their annual car ride to Florida over Spring Break.
October 27, 2011: “I am hungry. No breakfast and forgot my sandwich. Not happy at all. Don’t get to eat for another 2 hours.”
Though this would fit well under the popular hashtag #firstworldproblems, it also is easy to conclude that the key to happiness for Quinton is food. Luckily, he has a good friend on the tennis team who helps him out with the food needs.
EMBARASSING CORRECTION FROM LAST WEEK: The last blog was my A-Z analysis of the team. At our match on Wednesday, though, we came to the embarrassing realization that I had forgotten the letter “I” in the blog! So I will include that now.
I - Ironic because as a member of the Cedarville men’s athletic team with the highest average GPA on campus (no big deal), I was unintelligent enough to forget what letter comes between H and J. Luckily we have Josh’s GPA to keep our team average up!
Finally, this is the last week for our contest! The entries are pouring in (hard to keep up with them all), but there’s still time and you could win! Email me at jfilcik@cedarville.edu with your favorite Cedarville tennis memory and you could win a tennis ball from our Sports Information office signed by the Yellow Jacket tennis team!
Well now, that you’ve gotten the update on the tennis happenings this week, learned a little something about Quinton, feel stupid that YOU didn’t catch the fact I had left out the letter “I” last week (not a single person noticed to my knowledge), and are about to shoot me an email to win that signed ball (do it!), make sure you come out to support us on Thursday and Friday! The stands are normally pretty packed, but I’m sure we’ll be able to squeeze you in somehow. Plus, remember there is no admission charge to come watch us play!!
‘Serving’ you weekly,
John
September 10, 2012
Hey Cedarville tennis fans!
Well it’s blog time again, but not much has happened this week! We practiced all week hoping to play Taylor on Saturday. Unfortunately, due to possible bad weather (bad weather that never happened), the match was cancelled. In honor of an uneventful week, I’m going to tell you twenty-six things about our team that you (might not) want to know! One for every letter of the alphabet!
Adam Levesque – Our first letter symbolizes a moment of silence for our long-lost teammate….. Ok, moving on.
Buffet – Chinese buffets are the official food sponsor of the Cedarville Men’s tennis team. If you don’t like Chinese buffets, you shouldn’t bother trying out for the team. Ni hao ma!
Calves – David Barton has an obsession with large calves. Rarely will you watch a sporting event with David in which he doesn’t comment on the size of someone or other’s calves. This obsession is likely fueled by covetousness. And ladies, did I mention he is single?
Down-the-line – Sometimes it seems like every shot Jared Gerber hits is down the line. I have now shared this secret about Jared’s game for every college tennis team to see. If Jared loses every match this year because every team knows exactly what his tendencies are, I’ll be happy because it means people are actually reading my blogs!
Edlund – Alan Edlund is our coach. He’s one of those guys who you feel like you’ll never really know what makes him tick. I for one would not be surprised if I found out one day he is actually the inventor of jarred peanuts, the mastermind behind the operation to find Osama Bin Laden, or the man who fired the first shot of the Revolutionary War. Just kidding. But seriously.
Forty-one – Josh Van Zandt on our team has a sister who is 41 years old. Josh barely has the right to vote and his sister’s rapidly approaching retirement. Ok, maybe that’s an exaggeration. Crazy age gap, though!
Girls – The Cedarville girls tennis team are some of our biggest supporters and we hope we are the same to them. Though we only went on one road trip together last year, we’re hoping that changes this season. They’re pretty cool; and by pretty cool, I mean awesome.
Hoops – The tennis team has an intramural basketball team in the winter every year. Last season our record was a less than spectacular 0-5. My being on the team sure didn’t help things, but hopefully this year we’ll be scoring touchdowns left and right. Wait, is that the wrong sport?
Jacksonville – Last Spring Break, we spent the week in Jacksonville, Florida. We all want to go back to the same place this year, but we won’t be too upset if coach decides we’re going to Hawaii instead. One of the best parts about Spring Break for me was eating out a lot. The dining option of choice? You got it. Chinese buffet!
Kilt – Corey Whitlock has been known to wear a kilt and the rest of the traditional Scottish garb while playing the bagpipes at special occasions like funerals and Lawlorpalooza. The jury is still out on whether or not he wears the traditional dress under the kilt (aka nothing). An investigative report should determine the answer this question, so stay tuned to this blog for more details.
Lewis – Coach Jeff Lewis is our team chaplain. We’ll be meeting once a week or so throughout the school year with him as we learn more about being Godly men on and off the court! I can’t think of a better man than Coach Lewis to lead this discussion!
Missions trip – This summer the Cedarville tennis team is planning on a missions trip to China. The love story between the Cedarville men’s tennis team and Chinese food will likely continue overseas. Additionally, though, and more importantly, it should be a great experience to serve and learn for those of us who are able to go.
Niemiec – If all things go as planned, Aaron Niemiec will be our two singles player this year. He also happens to be my doubles partner at one doubles and has played the one singles flight for his freshman, sophomore, and junior years. During the off season (as well as on tennis road trips), he enjoys perfecting his PGA golfing skills on his iPad.
Outstanding – The men’s tennis team has one of the highest (if not the highest) cumulative GPA for any sports team on campus. That is outstanding.
Polygamy – Last year, I was able to convince our former #2 singles player, Bobby, that my grandpa was a polygamist. It was hilarious for all of us, but my grandpa probably found it the funniest out of everyone.
Quinton – Quinton Paul is joining the Cedarville tennis team for a fourth consecutive season. He’ll be taking a “victory lap” at Cedarville next year, completing his engineering degree in five years. Coach asked me the other day why we have Quinton on our team. I told him that without Quinton, what I would I put in the blog as my “Q”? Quebec?
Rocky – The Rocky movies were the movies of choice over Spring Break this past year.
Sunscreen – Jake Miller uses so much sunscreen, we joke that he might as well just eat the stuff. They say the day that Jake gets a bronzed tan is the day Roger Federer comes to watch a Cedarville tennis match.
Taylor – Taylor University is obviously scared of playing the Cedarville Yellow Jackets. With beautiful weather this past Saturday, Taylor decided to stay home and not come play us. Were they scared of the weather? Or simply scared to face the stinging powerhouse of tennis that is the Yellow Jacket tennis team? I’m thinking the latter.
United States of America – This past season all eleven players on the team were from different states except for Aaron and me. That includes the following states: Florida, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and West Virginia.
Venus Williams – Tennis superstar Venus Williams once tweeted about the Cedarville Men’s
tennis team. I kid you not. This is neither an exaggeration nor a fabrication. Last April, she tweeted this article along with an invitation to come watch Indiana-East play Cedarville University: http://www.iueredwolves.com/article/1637.php. Though she didn’t show up to watch in person, we felt her presence throughout the match, and we hope we made her proud!
Weight room – This past season, and hopefully this upcoming season as well, the tennis team hit the weight rooms for our daily “Lifting with David” sessions. While lifting in the varsity weight room, the baseball coach approached us and said, “The tennis team? Have you guys ever lifted before?” Thanks, Coach. Love you too.
Xcellent blogger – Hey, that’s me!
Yellow – Coach pointed out to us this past week that our school colors are NOT gold and blue as
previously thought, but yellow and blue.
Zzzzzz – Though this could symbolize Quinton’s constant naps during tennis road trips, it actually symbolizes one of our team chants. Before every match, we put our hands in the middle for a prolonged, “Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz,” punctuated at the end by a shout of “Jackets!” Float like a butterfly, buzz like a yellow jacket! Ok, that was cheezzzzzzzzzzzzy.
Well this turned into a really long blog, but I hope you enjoyed it. Come back next week to see how we do versus Wittenberg University on Wednesday! Should be a fun match!
Finally I’m going to announce a contest! Email me at jfilcik@cedarville.edu with your favorite Cedarville tennis memory and you could win a tennis ball from our Sports Information office signed by the Yellow Jacket tennis team !
‘Serving’ you weekly,
John
September 3, 2012
Hello, Cedarville tennis fans!
Hope you all had a summer full of fun and relaxation! Now that all of the CU tennis players are back at school, we’re ready to get our noses to the grindstone, working hard in tennis and in school to succeed this year.
Tennis practice started this past week on freshly-redone courts here at Cedarville. The new vibrancy of the blue and green courts reflected the enthusiasm each of us had to finally be back out hitting. Though, it wasn’t necessarily the best tennis we’ll see all year (or at least we hope not), it felt great knowing that a whole new year of tennis fun was about to begin!
In some ways it seems like just yesterday that our team was playing in the OIC final against Walsh University, but at the same time it seems like a long time ago. All the guys on our team have had exciting and eventful summers.
Bobby, one of our two seniors last year, moved back to Cincinnati after a prolonged vacation with his parents in Great Britain this summer. He’s now studying for the CPA exam prior to beginning his new job at a Cincinnati accounting firm. We will miss him.
Mike, our other senior from last year, has returned to Cedarville for one more semester before his graduation with a B.S. in Biology. Not much exciting has happened with Mike this summer…except, oh yeah, he got engaged! I’m planning on leading the Cedarville tennis contingent to his wedding this summer on the sandy beaches of Jamaica.
As far as the returnees go, Aaron enjoyed a summer internship working for Boeing in St. Louis, in what he called “one of the best summers” of his life. Quinton worked at Cedarville during the summer doing various things including helping with different summer camps. Josh enjoyed working as an intern at a radio station in Illinois. Jared spent the summer working as a camp counselor for underprivileged children at various locations around the state of Iowa. Jake worked at an internship for an engineering company near his home in Harrisburg, PA and made time to run triathlons and backpack in Colorado.
David waited tables at a restaurant for most of the summer and ended the summer by working at the Cincinnati professional tennis tournament, waiting on the likes of Caroline Wozniacki, the Bryan brothers, and even golfer Rory McIlroy. Corey worked at a country club in West Virginia and made time to play plenty of tennis. I had a great summer as well, spending the first month of summer along the Amazon River in Brazil through a Cedarville MIS trip and the rest of the summer teaching tennis and working at a restaurant.
For you dedicated Cedarville tennis fans, you will have noticed a notable exception from the list I just gave, and that is Adam. Adam, my fellow sophomore, has opted to take the fall semester off from Cedarville and will Lord-willing be returning in January for the spring season. We all miss him but hope he’ll be back soon. The team isn’t complete without him!
It’s still unclear how many, if any, freshmen will be joining us this year, but we should know that fairly soon. It’s going to be another exciting year that will most likely culminate in a team missions trip to China in May. Details are still being worked out, but on Thursday after practice we were able to hear from Todd, the missionary from China (and former Cedarville tennis player) we’ll be assisting in the Far East. It sounds like an exciting opportunity for the Cedarville tennis team! I’ll be sure to share updates as plans for the trip progress.
The whole team is pumped for what will be another exciting season. I can’t wait to see what God has planned for this year. It’ll definitely be electrifying so stay tuned to the blog for the inside scoop on Cedarville tennis happenings.
‘Serving’ you weekly,
John
John Filcik is a sophomore international studies/pre-med double major from Holland, Michigan.
