Cedarville University Yellow Jackets

May 1, 2014

Hello fans! For the last time, I present to you our tennis blog. It’s been a fun year, and we decided to end it with swan song blog posts from our two four-year seniors on the team: David and Jared. Enjoy!

David:

Tennis is a frustrating sport…a very, very frustrating sport. I only wish I had a dollar for every time in the past four years that I have said "I HATE TENNIS!" I’ll be the first to say that not all of my tennis memories at Cedarville are happy ones. There are thousands of shanked forehands and double faults that I would love to have back. As a result of my inconsistency on the court, you wouldn’t have seen my name in the match reports very often. I promise I really have been on the team for the last four years!

Despite all of the mediocre (at best) tennis that I have played, when I look back on my four years on this team, all I can think about is how fortunate I have been to have the awesome teammates, coaches, and chaplain in my life for this time. The friendships I have built with my teammates are some of the best ones I have ever had, or will ever have. I know this sounds cliché but we seriously have so much fun together! Through all of the ridiculous conversations we have had together on long bus rides, I have gained at least 10 nicknames that I didn’t have before (Bobo the clown, wampa, the escalator, Bessy, the team cow, the calf monster, the big DB, the naked mole rat, etc.). Some of my very best memories have been from our team spring break trips to Florida. Highlights would definitely be eating at Sonny’s, going to Josh Van Zandt’s house, torturing Adam after he lost at mini-golf, and going on midnight runs through "the sketchy part of downtown Orlando." Yes, hitting tennis balls has also been fun…most of the time.

Jared:

As I think over my four years of tennis here at Cedarville, I realize how truly blessed I am. I joined the team, hoping not to embarrass myself, but as I leave the team and Cedarville, I realize how much I gained because of tennis.

From spring break trips, to the weather game, to Northland: a Church Distributed, to Chinese buffets, to Golden Corral, to nicknames galore, this year’s team competed hard, did our best to represent Christ, and had a blast while we did it all. To be honest, entering the year with half the team being new left many unknowns, but those worries were quickly eliminated as we started the season. It has been a blast getting to know the three and half freshmen (Austin is a half-freshman) and learning more about my teammates of two or three seasons. We have had some disappointing moments, both on and off the court, and some moments where we triumphed in huge ways. Whatever the circumstance, this team worked together to help each other improve our tennis skills and our off court lives. This team has been a group comprised of some of my best friends, playing a sport we love (most of the time). It doesn’t get much better than that.

So as I sign off on my final blog, I want to shoot a couple of thank yous to some very deserving people. First, thanks to the coaches this year. They put in a lot of time to help us help improve with practices, travelled with us for some long road trips, drove for hours upon hours, led us through Bible studies, and put up with us and the constant ridiculousness. Thank you to everyone who supported us throughout my time here at Cedarville. Whether that is friends, family (shout out to parents who have been by far the most faithful in attending our matches this year), or my "wonderful" fan club, it has been a huge encouragement to always have people rooting for us as we play our matches. Thank you to the fellows who have already graduated, but were a part of this team over the past four years. I have a lot of respect for all those men. Their example formed our team this year, having influence far beyond their stay at Cedarville. I also want to thank the guys on the team. It has been a fun year with a group of guys who want to grow and challenge each other both on and off the court. I definitely won’t forget the memories made this season any time soon.

At the end of the day, tennis has always been much more than hitting a fuzzy yellow ball over a net. It has been about using these gifts that God has given us to point others to Him. It has been about learning to compete well with maximum effort. It has been about learning to win and lose with grace and humility. It has been about getting to know each other better, to challenge and encourage each other. It has been about growing together as brothers in Christ. Though many times I lost this perspective, this yellow ball has provided me with more than I ever could have imagined. I am very thankful for that fuzzy, yellow ball.

For His glory.

So for the last time:

At your ‘service’ and always making a ‘racket’,

Buzzy/Jared

Thanks for your support this year. See you all next year!


April 23, 2014

On Monday, we met up for our weekly Bible study where we were challenged to live a missional life, whether at Cedarville or in our post-Cedarville lives.

On Tuesday, we moved inside for our match versus the Marauders of Central State. Playing the very team that vanquished Speedy and John two years ago, first doubles pulled out a tight victory. The rest of the matches were fairly straightforward, and we pulled out a 9-0 victory. Our post-match celebration included a trip to Chipotle, where we discovered that ordering a bowl with two tortillas on the side is the best way to get the most bang for your buck (take note).

On Wednesday, we hosted Otterbein. It was a pretty bizarre match, in that, despite many close matches (including Jared and John at 1 dubs, Joel and Ryan at 2 dubs, Stevie and Adam at 3 dubs, John at 1 singles, Jared at 5 singles, and Stevie at 6 singles) we ended up being bageled. By being bageled, I mean we won a grand total of (a bagel-shaped) 0 matches. Despite losing 9-0, we had a fun time. And David and BG pulled out the victory at exhibition doubles! #silverlining

This past weekend was Easter Break, which allowed plenty of us a good bit of rest before our final week of regular season matches - all at home. We play Capital on Wednesday, Indiana Wesleyan on Thursday, and Charleston on Friday. These will be three tough matches, but we’re excited to (hopefully) peak this week!

The biggest match of the week (and maybe the year) will be Thursday’s versus IWU. A win will send us to the NCCAA Nationals in Mobile, Alabama. Though there is still a chance we can go to nationals even if we lose, we’ll be aiming to play our hardest, run our fastest, hit our forehands best, and dominate our mostest on Thursday. Stay tuned for those results!

Always making a racket,

Buzzy and John


April 15, 2014

Howdy Cedarville tennis fans,

We welcomed the beautiful weather this past week with open arms and bonus tennis. After Monday was filled with torrential downpours, Tuesday and Wednesday were wonderful days to get out and play some tennis.

Thursday we played a home match versus Indiana East. It was another gusty day with wind speeds reaching 30 MPH (not micrometers per hour). With our propensity to the wind, we were able to take care of doubles versus the Wolves with relative ease. David "Deadlift" Barton and Brian "My-Fingers-Are-Gonna-Fall-Off" Grant dominated their opponents at #3 doubles. The domination continued into singles also. This was especially true of Joel "I-Love-Dingles" Clark who defeated his opponent into the ground, a place he is fairly familiar with (#Fridaypractice). It was also great to have Adam’s dad, all the way from The Pine Tree State (Maine), at the match. To give him the most tennis for his money, Speedy sent the match into three sets. A classic Speedy (or not so speedy) move.

On Saturday we made the trip to Mishawaka, Indiana for the final away match of the year. Because the womens’ team played at the same location and time, we, being the gentlemen we are, began with singles. And here begins the saga that was Adam "Lazarus-From-the-Dead" Levesque’s match. After dropping the first set in a tie break, Adam had some smashing results in the second set winning 6-2. Because we began with singles and had won 4 of the 5 completed singles matches, we hadn’t clinched the match yet. As a result, Adam moved into a full third set. Like the first set, this set ended in a tie break with Adam giving his opponent a crushing defeat. The overall match time was 3 hours and 6 minutes. Most of the team was able to play both a singles match and a doubles match and enjoy a 30-minute break between those matches. The Isner-Mahut wannabe match was one that will go down in history.

While Adam was playing his match, our three dubs team of Austin "Pretty-Princess" Stokes and David Barton clinched the team victory with a tie break win.

On the way back to Cedarville we stopped for the best meal of the year. And after the sub-par previous Chinese buffet experience this season, we may have a new unofficial restaurant team sponsor in The Essenhaus. This Amish-style restaurant provided us with the much-coveted buffet and ended the meal with pie. We were stuffed. Along with John "Liability-Issues" Filcik climbing pillars outside the restaurant, we had a great dinner and an amazing show. It was a great end to our final road trip of the year.

This week we have two matches before we spread out for the Easter break. We play familiar rival Central State on Tuesday, which because of the snow on the ground has been moved indoors, as well as Otterbein on Wednesday. Crazy to think there are only two weeks left in this season. We will definitely make the most of the short time we have left.

Always making a racket,

John and Jared


April 9, 2014

Hello Cedarville tennis fans!

Three headlines from this past week:

Cedarville Men’s Tennis Takes Up Kite-Flying
On Tuesday, the team displayed a total team effort (every player played in the match) by beating our opponents from right down the street, the Central State Marauders. Adam "Speedy" Levesque, in typical form, brought up the rear by beating his opponent in a close 7-5, 6-2 match. The rest of the matches were relative blowouts.

It also happened to be an extraordinarily windy day - terrible for tennis but great for kite-flying. John introduced the team to the world of kite-flying after the match, and despite David "Hands-like-a-Butcher" Barton struggling to steer the kite anywhere but into the dirt, most of the guys picked up the art of kite-flying quickly.

Coach Lewis Leads Bible Study Despite Rainy Conditions Outside
On Thursday, we made the best of a rainy day by meeting inside with Coach Lewis. This time, our topic of discussion was our need to maintain a sense of urgency when it comes to sharing the gospel with others. Our love for others should naturally be displayed by telling them the best news that anyone could ever hear! We look forward to doing so with unbelievers in our lives, but specifically our opponents on the tennis court.

11 Hours in the Van Later… the CU Jackets Return to Cedarville Post-Curfew
On Saturday, the team made the long journey to Elkins, WV to play David & Elkins - about a 5 1/2-hour drive each way. The last time we played D&E, the weather was tornado-like. Here, the school was set in a valley with an austere Hogwarts-type edifice overlooking from atop the hill, and we were relatively shielded form the wind. The other team, mostly comprised of guys hailing from France, played very well and won all the doubles points. When it came down to singles, Stevie brought home the lone W in winning his #6 singles match.

One of the highlights of the match, at least for those of us spectating at the time, was the starring role a squirrel played in Jared "Squirrel-Whisperer" Gerber’s match. At one point, a young squirrel, who we’ll refer to as King Arthur, skipped onto Jared’s court in between points to inspect a ball near the net. King Arthur scurried about the court for literally an entire minute before Jared and his opponent could continue play. I couldn’t help but think of the squirrel as being Scrat from Ice Age frantically looking everywhere for an acorn, only to find a tennis ball instead. THE LAST MELON!!

Quote of the week: From Coach Edlund after being accused of road rage - "I don’t get road rage… I get road happiness." Right coach…Whatever you say.

Well, that’s all for us this week. Come back next week for further updates and happenings.

Tennis team lovin’ to all,

Jared and John


April 1, 2014

Hello fans!

Due to weather more fitting of Christmas-time than the month of March, this past week consisted of only one completed match. It looks like March is going out like a lion this year, folks!

We all stuffed into the tennis van on Friday morning to make the 4 1/2 hour trip down to Brescia University in Owensboro, Kentucky. With two coaches and nine players, you could say we resembled overstuffed manicotti on the verge of spewing its contents onto your brand new white shirt…or maybe a balloon that was being blown up to maximum stretch to the point that you brace yourself for a POP…or better yet a Joel "Biggest-Calves-on-the-Planet" Clark’s calf muscle flexing to an expanded size.

ANYWAY, we were packed in the van. It didn’t help that Brian "The-Card-Game-War-Takes-Skill" Grant rounds out at an even 6 foot, 8 inches. That’s actually the same length as the Jamaican bobsled in Cool Runnings. #trivia

The trip consisted of Subway, homework, a game of War between Brian and Austin "Diva" Stokes, and plenty of caught Zee’s.

We arrived in Owensboro and were greeted by the most pleasant weather we’ve encountered since Florida. Doubles matches began with Ryan and Joel capturing our first point at second doubles following some superb play. Third doubles lost, and first doubles battled to an 8-6 loss. Going into singles, we faced a 2-1 deficit.

It wasn’t long before that 2-1 deficit became a 4-1 deficit as #3 and #4 singles bowed out. (On the upside, Adam "Speedy" Levesque made a new BFF in his opponent after the match. They don’t call him Mr. Friendly for nothing!)
And then, the comeback began.

Jared "Buzz-Like-It’s-My-Job" Gerber buzzed to a straight set victory, followed soon after by Stevie "Clutchplay" Comb’s come-from-behind victory in the third set at six singles. Meanwhile, Ryan "My-Parents-Are-More-Supportive-Than-Yours" Shomo dropped the first set - in front of a crowd consisting of his parents and family who drove all the way from Iowa to watch him. Ryan told himself that he couldn’t disappoint his loyal fan base and dug deep, storming back to win a 6-0 second set. Meanwhile, John "I-Get-Our-Matches-Announced-In-Chapel" Filcik played a long first set to win 7-6 (5). Ryan closed out his match 10-3 in the third-set tie-break to tie the match up at 4-4. All eyes turned to court 1 where John was literally at match point to close out the match and the victory for the team.

Unbeknownst to some, but John had been told that Stevie had lost his match. As John swatted a backhand to win the match, he was happy to have won but disappointed that the team had (as he thought) lost. It wasn’t long before the team came out on the court to tell Ryan and John that they had secured the 4th and 5th points! Lesssgooooo! It made for a much more fun ride back to Cedarville that night, which included the classic weather map game and, for some, a screening of She’s the Man. #classy

Also, a shoutout is deserved for David "I-Play-My-Best-Tennis-in-Kentucky" Barton who dominated in exhibition singles. He blasted his opponent off the courts with his guns. Figurative guns. Not real guns.

After arriving back on campus post-curfew (#rebelstatus), we were able to sleep in as long as desired due to our postponed match on Saturday morning.

This upcoming week will include two conference matches: one at home versus Central State (Tuesday) and the other at Davis and Elkins (Saturday). Stay tuned for how we do!

Thanks for the support.

Always making a racket,

Your Favorite 1 Doubles Team


March 26, 2014

Hello Cedarville tennis fans and welcome to a newsy week of Cedarville tennis happenings,

Last Thursday, we made the trip to Oakland City, Indiana for a match against the Mighty Oaks. It was their first match of the year and they were without a player due to an injury, so before the match began we had a 2-0 lead from the wins at #3 doubles and #6 singles. We cruised through the matches with the only scares coming at #1, in both doubles and singles, where John and Jared pulled out a 9-7 win and Ryan "Tie-Breaker-King" Shomo moved up in the lineup and won.

On the way back to CU, we stopped at the official dinner sponsor of CU Men’s Tennis, the all-famous Chinese buffet. John "International-Studies-PREMED" Filcik again wowed the employees with his extensive Chinese vocabulary as they begged him to stay behind so he could run the buffet. He showed his gratitude with a simple, "Xie xie" (pronounced shea-shea), but declined.

After the buffet, we enjoyed streaming the March Madness games on our phones and laughing as Ryan chose three overtime games incorrectly. After the 575 miles on the road, we were very thankful to arrive back at Cedarville.

On Saturday we returned to our home courts for a match versus the Hilltoppers of West Liberty. After a hard fought round of doubles, we led 2-1 with wins at #2 and #3 doubles. The first two completed singles matches also went our way with Jared winning in straight sets and Ryan winning by completing his team-leading 9th tie-break of his freshman year. With only one more point needed to win the match, the final four matches were all close, three of them going to a third set. Unfortunately, we were unable to win any of those close matches, losing a heartbreaker 5-4. We fought hard and hated to lose, but hopefully we can use this to propel us to some victories this next week. The match was definitely a chilly one as the "feels like" temperature dropped to 36 at the end of our match. Coach Steve joked that tennis should now be listed as a winter sport. Judging by the snowfall currently cancelling our Tuesday practice, that seems accurate.

This week, we had three scheduled matches, but our Wednesday match has already been postponed until later in April because of the freezing temperatures. On Friday we head to Kentucky to play Brescia University, and on Saturday we host Oakland City. It’ll be a busy, but exciting, weekend for us.

To celebrate March Madness, we created a league to track our picks throughout the tournament and hopefully, in the words of Corey "Coco" Whitlock, "claim our March Madness kingdom". After two rounds of madness, Jared has buzzed his way to the top of the leader board, in the 94th percentile overall, with Adam "Speedy" Levesque and Steve "defboy1017" Lesko close behind. Bringing up the bottom of the league is Joel "Wofford-All-The-Way" Clark who is struggling after filling out the first bracket of his life. Our group’s overall rank is 33,833. I’m not sure how many groups there are, but I can say with some confidence, the total is not much more than 33,834.

Lastly, we have one very necessary shout-out. We have been notified that Mary, the girlfriend of a particularly Swagilious player on our team, has an app on her mobile device that leads directly to this blog. We are pleased to announce that she is officially this week’s tennis blog’s Featured Fan of the Week. Congratulations on this résumé-building accolade.

We’ll ‘swing’ by again in a week.

Always making a racket,

Jared and John


March 19, 2014

Hello Cedarville tennis fanatics and welcome to another installment of the words that are sweeping the nation by storm. Since our last blog, we have had a number of thrilling firsts for our season.

Last Tuesday we made the trek to West Virginia to play West Virginia State. David "Golden-Boy" Barton was able to win his match without dropping a single point, claiming the much-coveted and first golden match on the season. Beyond David’s match, we were able to claim every game, that is except for John, who graciously allowed his opponent one game at number one singles. After much deliberation and feuding, the team finally decided the only appropriate way to celebrate the golden match was with everyone’s favorite buffet, Golden Corral.

We also were excited to have Brian "I-Play-Tennis-Too" Grant join the team for the rest of our spring season. He is the first basketball player, Jamaican, and tallest member to play for Cedarville tennis. We are especially excited to again be confused for a basketball team every time we step foot in a restaurant.

We also played another match later last week on Friday. This match, against Davis & Elkins, was greatly affected by the gale force winds that blew for the whole three hours of play. Lobs would fly to the other court, dropshots were very effective (to the liking of Ryan "Indigenous" Shomo and Adam "Speedy" Levesque), and many serves were simply fed in because of the wind’s effects on the toss. It was a crazy match, and after three close doubles matches that ended in losses, we moved to singles. Again there were some hard fought matches, but we came out on top of two of them. Jared and Stevie bested their opponents and the wind to give us two points in the match. We’ll be traveling to their home courts later this season for a rematch, with hopefully conditions that don’t resemble a tornado.

After Friday’s match, we were blessed with the ability to visit Joel "Longboarder-Extraordinaire" Clark’s wonderful home and enjoy, for many, our first Phillipino dinner. Our meal of Sati-Babis, pancit, and lumpia was delicious and provided us the ability to participate in an eating challenge which Stevie "Foodalicious" Combs won by eating nine Sati-Babis. We also enjoyed watching some basketball, ping-pong, seeing Joel’s tennis-inspired room, and receiving leftovers to enjoy later. Thanks to the Clarks for welcoming us to their home and for the amazing food.

This week we have two great matches, one 4 1/2 hours away in Indiana on Thursday at Oakland City University, and another, on Saturday, at home versus the always talented West Liberty State. We would love to see a great crowd, especially for our Saturday match at 1:00 p.m.

Always making a racket,

Jared and John


March 12, 2014

Hello Cedarville tennis fans,

Since we last wrote, the team concluded our Florida Spring Break! On Wednesday we pulled a double-header, as it were, playing two very good teams more-or-less back-to-back. In the early afternoon, we faced the mighty Yellow Jackets of Montana State Billings. Despite rumors that our mascots were related (second-cousins or something like that), our familial love ended there. We played some tough doubles matches, #2 and #3 fighting but losing, and Jared and John pulled out an 8-6 victory. It was a good win, made only sweeter by Joel "Cruiser-Bruiser" Clark’s mom’s "homemade" cookies after the match that happened to come in a Perkin’s box. We wound up losing all our singles matches, with Ryan "Indigenous" Shomo being the last one on the court.

We headed back to the hotel and then to Subway for a late lunch. It wasn’t too long til we were back on the courts, this time playing Grand Valley State University. GVSU has a really good team and we had a blast playing them! Austin "Dad" Stokes and David "Nadal" Barton even got to play their exhibition doubles match on the green clay courts at the park. We lost 9-0 but not without putting up plenty of fight. We especially appreciated seeing the CU men’s golf team, who came out to the match to support us. Thanks guys!

Highlight point of John’s match: After a long rally, John’s opponent smashed an overhead, and John barely got a racquet on it, sending up a lob to the sky. The ball bounced on his opponent’s side of the court and then literally bounced back all the way to the service line on John’s side of the court, making it impossible for John’s opponent to hit it. Once-in-a-lifetime shot right there! (Written by John Filcik)

Because of the forecast of rain the next day, our match against Berry (no, not blue or straw…or huckle) was moved to 8 in the morning. After playing two matches in the previous 12 hours, it was difficult to pull ourselves out of our beds at 6:45 a.m, but we managed to arrive on time. After warm-ups and a couple of games of doubles, the rains came. We tried to wait the weather out with soccer tennis (starring Adam "World-Cup-Bound" Levesque) and frisbee, but after another few games, the match was cancelled due to the slippery courts and the ominous radar. So what to do with our final day in Orlando? We began to answer that question with Sonny’s and the wonderful endless sides that accompany that glorious establishment.

The women’s team also had a match cancelled, and so we decided the best way to spend our afternoon was with some friendly bowling. After four rounds, including a final speed round, it was clear who had bowled before and who maybe should have used bumpers. We then enjoyed Slurpees, some for the first time, and the excitement that was occurring outside of the gas station…#drugbust. That night we enjoyed some pizza and Coldstone and embraced our final night in Orlando.

The next morning we began our trek back to the wonderful state of Ohio. This time the trip was much of the same: sleep and food. In between these favorite pastimes, we squeezed in a two-hour session of the weather game, with John "I-win-by-one-point" Filcik crowned as champion. We also enjoyed "Captain Phillips" from Redbox and will be sure to continue quoting, "No games, Irish" for the rest of the season. We also want to credit John’s five-person headphone splitter for its stupendous effort throughout the movie. Coach "The-Driving-Machine" Edlund made the trip fly by as he traversed the whole 950 plus miles.

We want to take this moment for a special shoutout to Steve "Snapchat-Master" Lesko for joining us on the adventure that was Spring Break. It was great to have a second coach there who is very knowledgeable about tennis and willing to help us with our games both in practice and during matches, not to mention his comedic relief.

Spring Break really was a blast. It’s often really easy for us on the team to take for granted the fun opportunities with which we are gifted. No matter how frustrating the sport of tennis can be sometimes, there’s really nothing like being on a collegiate sports team, especially when Spring Break rolls around. There’s nothing like playing night tennis, under the lights, in the balmy weather of Florida, in front of a row of palm trees. There’s nothing like unlimited sides at Sonny’s BBQ and unlimited fortune cookies at Pei Wei (not to mention unlimited pancakes at Denny’s!). There’s nothing like dips in the pools followed by late-night convos with your fellow suitemates in the hotel. There’s nothing like finding out things you never knew about your teammates, like how much thought Stevie puts into his tennis wardrobe selection on a daily basis (they don’t call him Swagalicious for nothing!). There’s nothing like seeing the team get to know each other and meld together over the course of the week and the season. Tennis is a blast, and we hope we don’t forget what a blessing it is to be a part of this team!

Thanks for all the fan support while down in Florida! Talk to you all again soon.

Always making a racket,

Jared and John

P.S. CORRECTION - In the previous blog, it was incorrectly noted that Jared discovered Northland: A Church Distributed via his google-searching prowess. That was false. He discovered the church because of the reliable recommendation of the one and only Britt "Find-Me-Under-"Churchfinder"-in-the-Yellow-Pages" Dewitt.


March 5, 2014

Hello from Florida!

Our Spring Break match schedule has begun!

Our drive down to Florida was fairly uneventful. Between screenings of Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, and Taken, we were all officially geared-up for the Oscars weekend. We arrived in Orlando at about 11 p.m. and promptly went for a four-mile team run. We found the "sketchy" part of town, right next to the giant skyscraper, the luxury condos, and the beautifully landscaped lake. To say David was frightened would be a massive understatement, but we made it through.

On Sunday, per Jared’s Google-searching success, we attended Northland: A Church Distributed’s morning service. After sitting through the most visually appealing (#spotlights, #jumbotron, #lightinyoureyesfortheamen) worship we’ve ever been a part of, we had the privilege to hear Nick Vujicic speak. Nick was born without arms and legs, and since his teenage years, has traveled the globe telling people about Christ. He spouted off no shortage of jokes about his lack of limbs, that, though slightly uncomfortable, were pretty hilarious. His message about finding purpose for his life was motivational as well.

We practiced on Sunday afternoon, followed by a trip to our much-beloved Pei Wei restaurant where we consumed copious amount of fortune cookies.

On Monday, we practiced in the morning and then returned to the courts at 6:30 p.m. for our first match of the week versus Trine University. The Cedarville Men’s tennis team last played Trine 35 years ago, which according to Coach "Steel Trap Mind" Edlund, was a 6-3 win. We didn’t lose to them then, and we weren’t about to lose to them now! After our #2 and #3 doubles teams both won, Jared carried one dubs to an 8-6 victory. Confidence was high entering into the singles competition.
An hour and a half later, however, we found ourselves with four singles losses and a sole victory from Adam "Speedy" Levesque at #4 singles. ("Victory" doesn’t really express Adam’s performance. More like demolition/beat-down/your-mom-called-and-she-wants-her-son’s-pride-back win.)

Tied at 4-apiece, all eyes turned to court five, where Buzzy was entering a third-set super-tiebreak to decide the fate of the match. Jared overheard from the opposing team’s coach that it had all come down to this match. And Jared ROSE TO THE OCCASION. Jared said, "No, you aren’t about to beat me. I am Buzzy. Hear me BUZZZZZZZ!" (In case you’re wondering, this portion of the blog was written by Jared). After some net-charging high-stakes tennis, Jared pulled out the victory 6-7, 6-1, 10-7. A soft buzz swept over the crowd that soon erupted into raucous applause and laughter. Buzzy had done it. Buzzy had won!

(Also, I was joking about Jared writing the preceding paragraph.)

Great way to start our Spring Break tour with a W!

We also loved seeing one of our favorite tennis alums at the match: the one and only Josh "Iron Curtain" Van Zandt! It was great to see that he’s doing well! (And great to eat his mom’s fresh fruit.)

On Tuesday, we hit up the beach after an EARLY morning practice. This year we decided to travel to the Gulf Coast, near Tampa. We played volleyball, swam, dug holes, and washed sand out of our swim trunks that had been placed there by our beloved teammates. It was definitely a top beach day in our books.

It took us a while to get out of Tampa at rush hour, but we made it home. Once back, we hit up P-Bread, John’s former employer, and went mini-golfing at the Congo River golf course near the hotel (it had live gators! #wut). We split up randomly into teams of two, with a torturous consequence on the line for the loser. Ryan "I-Putt-Like-It’s-My-Job" Shomo and John "I-Got-A-Good-Partner" Filcik came away with the victory while Adam "Tickle" Levesque and Austin "Me" Stokes pulled up the rear. If you’d like to hear about the consequences that they earned, feel free to shoot them an email.

Today, on Wednesday, we’ll have two more matches versus Montana State Billings and Grand Valley State. Both should be very tough matches, but we’re excited for the challenge. Thanks for cheering us on!

It's still up in the air whether or not we'll survive the week. Between "Cruiser Bruisers," Slugbug punches, and "Cooper Boopers," van rides consist of Joel punching us all left and right. Throwback to preschool!

Always making a racket,

Jared and John


February 27, 2014

Dearest Cedarville tennis fans,

We hope you’ve been able to enjoy your long, cold, snowy winters inside by the fireplace, watching replays of past Cedarville tennis matches, and dreaming of the day when Cedarville men’s tennis team will be back in action. Well fans. It is our distinct pleasure to tell you that that moment has come. That moment is NOW.

(*We realize that the previous statement about "cold, snowy winters" does not apply to our legions of fans who dwell in the Southern hemisphere. We apologize for that confusion.)

The off season, as always, passed by quicker than a David Barton serve on the lightning-quick courts of the Doden Field House. After two months off from tennis, practice started up again in January. We practiced on those quick courts twice a week and traveled to Five Seasons weekly, always visiting our favorite redhead (and John’s mom’s personal friend), Wendy, on the way home. Ryan "Make it a Meal" Shomo claimed the title of "Most Money Spent on Wendy’s Visits." His Wendy’s eating habits have left us all wondering - how does he keep his youthful figure?

The Cedarville tennis team has often been praised for its academic excellence. (It’s no secret that 25% of our team got 4.0’s this past semester, and 50% the semester before.) We always love to learn. So, what have we learned since our last blog in October?

We happen to have the next Mozart on our team. Two weeks ago, at our first match of the season indoors in Kettering, Ohio, the tennis team was milling about, watching the Olympics, stretching, eating fruit-rollups (you know, just normal things tennis players do) when out of nowhere a Beethoven-esque concierto resounded throughout the lobby. Had Beethoven been resurrected from the dead? Was it the next Tchaikovsky? Had Alicia Keys come to serenade us prior to the season-kickoff match? None of the above. Austin "Sebastian Bach" Stokes was in the house, unleashing his inner pianist (three syllables) in a never-before-known way! It’s no wonder that Austin also was able to woo a girl into getting engaged to him in December!

Nothing brings a team together like a Federer-Nadal match at 3:30 in the morning. The distinctively-Cedarville-men’s-tennis-beige sweatshirts were out in full force in the wee hours of the morning to watch the two tennis greats face off in Australia (shoutout to our Southern hemisphere friends again!). The last time Adam "Speedy" Levesque and John "Pre-med" Filcik were awake together at such an hour was due to an all-nighter before the most devastating organic chemistry exam known to man. It was nice to be awake at such an hour because of more pleasant circumstances.

Stevie Combs doesn’t just bring the swag to his love life, but also to the basketball court. Stevie, and his three point prowess, led our team to another solid one-win season. We again ended on a high note, defeating our final opponent of the season, but somehow missed the playoffs. In one of the most dramatic, yet anti-climactic basketball games ever, we battled back from a first half deficit of 28-1 to within three points with 12 seconds left. And then we lost. Like we said, anti-climactic.
Joel "Hit-the-Snooze-Button" Clark may well be turning over a new leaf since we last saw him in October. After a wake-up call from all the guys on the team before a morning match in the fall, Joel only overslept once when attempting to make it to our off-season team Bible studies. Progress!

Coach Lewis knows how to bring the Word! Throughout the off-season we have enjoyed studying I Timothy 3 and Titus 1, looking at the qualifications for an elder. As hopeful future leaders of our families, jobs, and churches, we have realized the importance of pointing others to Christ through the display of these qualities. We each were responsible for presenting one character trait from the passage to the group. Coach Lewis reminded us, though, that the key to adopting these character traits into our life is not to "try harder" to gain these characteristics, but to pursue the person of Christ, become more like Him, and thereby display these qualities.

On Saturday morning, the team will be taking off for the sandy beaches of Florida. A look-ahead at Orlando weather shows balmy temperatures in the 80’s. Next time we talk to you, we’ll likely be lounging on the beaches, enjoying the salty spray, and reminiscing about the days not long ago when the temperatures were negative 40. We have a tough schedule next week, so any and all support at our matches would be greatly appreciated! Come on out!

The week in Florida tends to be one of the most fun of the school year for us, so we are all pretty darn excited. On Friday night, we’ll have our ceremonial buzz-cutting before the trek down. Oh no, we can hear the groans of all Adam’s fans who will no longer be able to feast their eyes on his streaming locks. But do not fear! Jared "Buzzy" Gerber will be adopting his trademark buzzy look (*cue massive sigh of relief from all female fans*). Knowing his buzzy ways, it will look buzztatic.

Buzzingly yours,

Jared and John

P.S. For you loyal blog readers you will have noticed that the possibility of going to Puerto Rico over Spring Break did not pan out (for numerous logistical reasons). However, if our massive Southern Hemisphere fan base lobbies Coach, maybe we’ll be spending next Spring Break in Fiji! (Or better yet, Guam, birthplace of our very own David "I-Promise-I-Really-Am-An-American-Citizen" Barton.)


October 9, 2013

Helloooooooooooooo Cedarville tennis fanatics!

The time has come. The leaves are turning; the temperatures are dropping.; and the racquets have officially entered their hibernation until January. Unfortunately for our many loyal blog readers, that also means we will be taking a break from our blogging duties for a time. BUT, we’re going out with a BANG!

For our final blog of the fall season, we will be resurrecting the ever-popular A to Z’s of Cedarville tennis. (*cue anticipatory standing ovation*)

Things to look forward to in the rest of the year:

A – Al: Here’s hoping this will be the year Coach Edlund officially decides to go by Big Al instead of just "Alan." Dream big!

B – Basketball: This is the year.

C – Calves: Needless to say, everyone is looking forward to another calf-full season with David Barton. Workout schedule for the off-season: calves, calves, and more calves!

D – Door: Adam "Speedy" Levesque has a habit of sticking his fingers in soon-to-be-closed doors. Hopefully he returns to the spring season with all ten fingers.

E – Environmental science: Adam bares the distinction of being the first Environmental Science major to ever play tennis at Cedarville. No big deal. Of course, who knows how long he’ll be playing tennis if he keeps sticking his fingers in doors?

F – Fruit roll ups: We all have decided that we’ll let Joel stay on the team… as long as his parents keep bringing fruit roll ups to all our matches. Official team snack of the 2013-14 season!

G – Gone: Next time we write this blog, Ryan (along with the rest of the team) will have undergone the traditional pre-Spring Break buzz cut. We all know Ryan is excited for his new "do". Pictures to come…

H – Heartbeat: Though Austin came close to flat lining this fall, we’re hoping his heart remains healthy for the rest of the season. We’ll make sure he stocks up on some heart-healthy, cholesterol-lowering, yellow-jacket-on-the-box, delicious Honey Nut Cheerios.

I – Intramural: We’re going for the shirt this year. After all, we’re currently on the longest winning streak in tennis team basketball history! (one game… and counting)

J – Just do it: Once again, we’ll be sporting Nike apparel throughout the season, following in the footsteps of former Cedarville tennis player, Roger Federer.

K – Karate: Dr. "Karate King" White promised to make it out to at least one of our matches this season. And Mrs. White even said tennis is her favorite sport. The new prez and first lady are scoring points with the tennis team alright!

L – Lewis: The best parts about the offseason are Coach Lewis’ weekly Bible studies. We’re excited to grow together spiritually this year, and see where God is going to take our team. Lots to be excited about!

M – Marcie: We can’t wait to hear, probably upwards of fifteen times this year, the story of John’s mom and Wendy (from Wendy’s) going to high school together. Connections don’t get much better than this.

N – Noodles: We’ll be lo-meining it up at Chinese buffets all season long!

O – Ohio: After an Ohioan-free year on the team last year, we have the privilege of having two Ohioans on the team this season. Joel and Stevie will be repping the Buckeye state!

P – Puerto Rico: We’re hoping that the next time we write this blog, we’ll be lounging on the sandy beaches of Puerto Rico and saying "Hola" to fellow loungers.

Q – Quick: The courts in the Doden Field House, where we’ll practice at times in the winter, are fast, with little to no bounce. Hopefully the blue floors will propel us to play like we’re at the US Open.

R – Rebound: No, we’re not talking about our intramural basketball season. Rather, we’re talking about Jared "Buzzy" Gerber. Two out of the few matches we played in the fall saw Jared rebounding from multiple match points against him to win the match. In each case, his lobs saved him. #thatssobuzzy

S – Swag: By the spring, when you look up "swag" in the dictionary, all you’ll see is the face of Stevie "Swaggalicious" Combs.

T – Tunes: Prepare yourself for more warm-up tunes at all our home matches in the spring! Our goal isn’t just to attract hundreds of more fans to the matches, though that will likely be an unintended outcome.

U – Unbelievable: Yeah, it is unbelievable. Roger Federer isn’t a Cedarville alum. Gotcha!

V – Venus Williams: We can only hope that our favorite professional will continue to play, prosper, and someday tweet back at John again. This past week we dominated our match versus Indiana East, Venus’ alma mater. Unfortunately another year came and went in which Venus failed to show up to our tennis match :(.

W – Wooden racquets: This past weekend we had the privilege of hosting former Cedarville tennis players at our Alumni Match. Reconnecting with them was fun, but being owned by a doubles team wielding wooden rackets was more humbling than anything. We’ll all be honing our wooden racket-playing skills this year!

X – Xcellent bloggers: That’s us!

Y – You: We hope you all have a great winter, enjoying the snowy season. Be sure to be prepping for our spring season by sending any funds you may have for our trip to Puerto Rico. 10% of your income will do.

Z – Zzzzzzzzzzz: This fall our team struggled with oversleeping (shoutout to Joel, Ryan, and Adam). Let’s hope they turn up the volume on their alarms in the spring.

That’s all for now folks! The rest of the off-season we (Jared and John) will be spending our time honing our blogging skills to make the spring season blog even better. Thanks for supporting us, loving us, and giving us a reason to stay up til 2 am every Monday night to crank out this blog!

See ya in the Spring!

Always makin’ a racket,

Jared and John


October 1, 2013

Hello Cedarville tennis faithful!

Another week has come and gone. Three big head-liners for this week:

Joel "Sleepyhead" Clark might not be as "freshman-esque" as we thought.
When Coach told us on Friday night, that the van to Findlay would be leaving at 8 AM on Saturday morning, all heads turned to Joel Clark. After the escapade two weeks ago in which the tennis team had to pay a visit to Lawlor dorm and wake up a contentedly dozing Joel, no one was sure what to expect this Saturday morning. Despite our fears, Joel defied expectations and made the first step towards carving out a new reputation for himself.

The Ungeheuerlichkeit multiplied.
Last year, in the blog following our Findlay match, John described the epic victory by then Cedarville #1 Aaron "Princess" Niemiec. His opponent at the time was the Ungeheuerlichkeit, the Monster, of Munich. Well this year, Ryan had the privilege of playing the Monster, while the rest of his played the rest of his cohorts. Findlay has recently seen an influx of foreigners on their tennis team. (Jared’s opponent even had an umlaut in his name!) The names on the team’s roster were more-or-less unpronounceable. That didn’t stop us from putting up a good fight, though! Stevie "Swaggin" Combs took the cake by winning seven games versus his opponent. In all seriousness, however, it was a fun match, and we were simply outclassed on the court by an older team with loads of talent.

The Findlay Denny’s boasts charming waitresses.
Following our loss on Saturday, we ate our post-match meal at the one and only Denny’s! The waitress, a middle-aged woman, kept us on our toes. She confided in us the hatred for her hometown of Findlay, commended Adam for taking off his shoes at the table ("I do the same thing, too. I like you!"), and encouraged us to trip our opponents in our next match so as to hurt them and win the match. Besides her charming presence, the lunch also involved Austin and Jared scarfing down the deepest-friedest peanut butter, chocolate hush puppies this side of a heart attack.

THIS JUST IN!
Over lunch on Saturday, coach alerted us to the possibility of the tennis team traveling to Puerto Rico over Spring Break, rather than Florida. After years of lobbying for a Hawaii trip, Puerto Rico sounds pretty awesome! The fund raising hurdle will be substantial, but we’ve already tossed around ideas of selling photos of David "Schwarzenegger" Barton to help raise the funds. Then again, a simple donation from each of our loyal readers would do the trick as well! If each of our readers chips in $4799 we will reach our goal of $4799*! We’re talking to you, staring at the computer screen right now. Yes, you.

Well, our last week of the fall season is before us, and as always we’re excited to see where this week takes us. Indiana East is beckoning us on Thursday, and the tennis alumni will be out to relive their Cedarville tennis glory days on Saturday. If you can, remember to come out and "Back the Jackets"! If we’re lucky our favorite dental duo will be providing more cavity-creating, heart-disease-forming fruit roll ups and fruit snacks for the team. Yes, we can see right through your evil plans Mr. and Mrs. Clark.

Always making a racket,

Buzzy and John

*dollar amount related to possible Spring Break trip is not the official, calculated total, but rather a completely uneducated approximation of the cost by yours truly


September 24, 2013

Hello CU tennis blog patrons,

Welcome to installment number three of this fall blog. We have to start this week asking for your mercy and forgiveness. Because of the hour at which we wrote the blog last week, we missed many crucial parts of the week that was. We should have had shout-outs to the many parents who were able to watch us play at the Wittenberg tennis tournament including Stevie "Swagalicious" Combs’, Ryan "Rafa" Shomo’s, David "Muscles" Barton’s, and Joel "I-like-to-sleep" Clark’s. It was great to have their support throughout the tournament. We also neglected a key partner in our success at the tournaments, Joel’s wonderful family providing us with 2 - 48 Fruit Roll-up boxes, a treasure to anyone’s eyes.

It also appears that our freshmen, excited to be in a new environment and no longer contained by their parents’ bedtime standards, are not getting enough sleep. On Saturday of the tournament, we were forced to enter Joel’s room to wake him up. This sleepy behavior must have been contagious because three days later his doubles partner, Ryan, slept through the first part of practice. The rookies will soon learn.
Also exciting news from this week. Austin "Heartbreaker" Stokes has been cleared to play medically. His heart appears to be working and will hopefully make it through the tennis season that is to come.

This past week on Wednesday we played Anderson University from Indiana. For the second time in team history, and the first in recent recollection, our team played music while we warmed up. This enhanced warm-up clearly led to excellent play on the court. We swept doubles with scores of 8-1, 8-5, 8-5 across first, second, and third doubles. We then went to singles, where straight set wins seemed to be the theme. That is except on court five. After winning the first set 6-3, Jared lost the second 2-6 after breaking his strings and having to use double partner’s racket. He then got down 5-9 in the race to 10 points. Jared kept his cool and ended up victorious 11-9, winning the final 6 points of the match. This gave us the 9-0 sweep. It is crazy to think our next home match is over six months away.

This week will be full of practice in what is supposed to be a beautiful week of weather. On Saturday, we travel to the University of Findlay to attempt to bring our record in this short fall season above .500. It will be difficult, but our team is up to the challenge. We appreciate your continued support throughout the year!

Always making a racket,

Jared and John


September 17, 2013

Hello Cedarville tennis fans,

Welcome to the second installment of the best blog this side of the Mississippi.

We played our first match of the season this past Tuesday against nearby Wittenberg. Sadly, we lost 8-1, with the win coming from yours truly at one doubles, accentuated with a preplanned chest bump. We had three freshmen starting in the lineup, so nerves over their first college match were a big factor. There were several other close matches but we could not pull any of them out. We ended the evening at our favorite pizza joint, Colonial, where Nadal, hot off his US Open win, is loved and supported.

On Friday, we skipped school and headed to play AT Wittenberg in a tournament versus four other teams. Team scoring was not factored into the tournament, so it was basically every man for himself! Over the course of the tournament on Friday and Saturday, every player won at least one singles match. The hypothetical highlight reel for the weekend included Jared saving two match points to down his Wittenberg foe, David making it to the championship match in his bracket, Ryan hitting a down-the-line passing shot tweener winner (as in hitting the ball through his legs while running backwards), and Joel hitting a winning tweener to win a point in his doubles match amid thunderous applause from the stands.

After the tournament on Saturday, when all was said and done, the team upheld our most loved tradition. What is that you ask? The way of the Chinese buffet. You can never go wrong when one of those is involved. Ni hao!

We’ll play Anderson University at 5:00 pm on Wednesday at home. It’s our last home match until the spring, so make sure to make it out to the courts!

Thanks for reading!

Oh, and our Stephen quote of the week: "Coach is like a Christmas elf." This was said by Stevie while Coach was handing out Cedarville tennis T-shirts to us. It was probably the first time Coach Edlund had ever been compared to a Christmas elf.

Always making a racket,

John and Jared


September 10, 2013

Hello Cedarville Tennis Fanatics,

It is that time of the year again. Students have left their homes, returned to school, and begun the joys of academia. For those of us on the tennis team, this time of year also marks a return to the tennis courts, where we’ll dust off our tennis skills and prepare for the fall season. This past summer saw our team go international. From China, Peru, England, and the Dominican Republic, we covered four continents! You know, no big deal.

Before we get into the down and dirty on the new season, we have some breaking news to pass on to you (if you couldn’t already guessed by the picture above)! During the 2011-2012 tennis season, the tennis blogs, written by our favorite Allied Health major, brought joy and excitement into your life. Throughout the 2012-2013 tennis season, the tradition of superb tennis blogs continued with our favorite 6’5" guy who can’t play basketball. How could this year’s blog be any better? Well, wait for it. You might just want to sit down.

Jared and John have decided to combine forces to write a blog that’s worthy of you, our much loved fans. For the FIRST time in Cedarville athletics history, there will be two team bloggers sharing all the stories about the team you want to hear (and a whole lot of things you probably don’t)! That’s right people. The job was simply too big for any one man to handle. Two legendary, respected, and hallowed bloggers were needed to cover this material. So, here we write. Stay tuned to this blog for all the tennis buzz.

This year we have four new additions to our team. In order from our favorite to our least favorite:

Austin "Heartbreak" Stokes - A junior from Indiana, Austin has had to sit out the season thus far because of some needed health tests for the NCAA. The tennis team considers it a privilege to have Cedarville’s intramural ping-pong champion on our team. Thanks for taking a break from the paddling to head to the big time, Austin! Warning that these courts are a lot bigger!

Joel "I-go-through-shoes-like-it’s-my-job" Clark - Besides attracting more ladies than all his fellow mechanical engineering majors combined, Joel has already wowed the crowds with his impossible gets on the court. Looks like Adam "Speedy" Levesque may have some competition in the speed department this year.

Ryan "Go-back-to-the-cornfields-with-Jared" Shomo - Hailing from Iowa, without a doubt the best state ever (note: John does not endorse this clause), Ryan has been known to bear a striking resemblance to his idol, Rafael Nadal: lefty forehand, bulging biceps, and hair that could use a good buzz cut (hello Florida!).

Stephen "Swaggalicious" Combs - We’ve already acknowledged that the bulk of embarrassing quotes for the blog this year will be coming from ‘Stevie.’ When discussing a match time, he was heard to say, "I’ll have to finish the match quick, so I’ll have time to get my swag on." Stevie has been known to not just buy socks to match his shoes, but buy shoes to match his socks. Now that’s swag for ya.

We’re excited to get to know the new guys better and see how this team will be totally different than last year, yet equally memorable.

This week is a big first week of competition for us. On Tuesday, we play Wittenberg at home under the lights. On Friday and Saturday we’ll (skip school and) head to a tournament at Wittenberg. It will be a busy first week, but it’ll definitely be a great experience to compete against someone other than our teammates.

Stay tuned for results!

Always making a ‘racket’,

Jared and John