During these months I resume my job as a teaching pro for the community, hosting clinics and giving private lessons, so I am still at the tennis center daily.  To my surprise this year, the team is there everyday hitting.  And from what the older guys have told me, they are also in the weight room building strength and doing speed workouts.  As a coach, this is exactly what you want from your team.  They know coming in that I can't hold practice every day of the year and I can only entice them to continue.  It is extremely easy to not do the work, citing that there are too many other things that need to get done.  But not this team.  They are all good managers of their time and are finding a way to get better every day. 

I am very happy with this group of guys.  They are hard workers and they know what they need to do to help us achieve our goals for this upcoming season.  It is November 12 and we do not start for about 2 months, if the guys continue working at this pace, our preseason practices will be outstanding and we will definitely be prepared for the tough challenges ahead.  The Wabash College Tennis Team can truly follow the motto, "WABASH ALWAYS FIGHTS!"

And to football team and coaches as well as the entire community, best of luck this Saturday, bring the bell back to its official home!

GO LITTLE GIANTS!

Coach

Our trip wasn’t just a team building exercise though. The tournament was a good opportunity to see what parts of our tennis game we needed to work on. It was a new environment to be in as a freshman for sure. We saw the likes of the University of Chicago, Washington University in St. Louis, and our strong conference foe Kenyon College at the tournament. Even though those teams were noticeably the stronger of the competition, it was great to play them to see how we stacked up. I played with Peter Gunderman, a sophomore, in doubles and we drew Chicago in one of our matches. Though we lost, we committed ourselves to staying focused and refused to be intimidated by our opponents. In playing them I got a chance to see what it takes to play at the collegiate level.

We’re currently working on staying in shape for our upcoming season. We combine weight training with speed workouts throughout the week to keep our workout schedule balanced. Hitting sessions are also done to make sure that we maintain our strokes when official spring practices roll around. We’re working hard to improve our tennis games and I’m eager to see how we perform in our season this year.

One thing is for sure about this year's team:  We will be fit and we will fight.  Every member knows what we need to do to compete and to this point they are putting the time in to get better.  Every one of them is just a "good kid" and wants to see their teammates succeed.  We hosted a little tournament last weekend and things went well.  Now are preparing for the ITA Central Region Tournament hosted by Washington Univeristy in St. Louis.  In one week we will be there competing against the region's best players.  Should be an excellent test of where we are after our tough practices.  Once we get back, I will let all of you know how we did.  Wish us luck! 

2009-2010 Roster:(* denotes letters earned)

Evan Bayless (SO)  Crawfordsville, IN    *

Bryan Burzon (JR)  Fort Wayne, IN

Michael Demeter (FR)  Crawfordsville, IN

Elliot Dewey (FR)  Warren, OH

Billy Evans (JR)  Gary, IN  **

Peter Gunderman (SO)  Zionsville, IN  *

Rob Janda (SR)  Burr Ridge, IL

Ian Leonard (FR)  Bloomington, IN

Zach Lowry (SO)  Indianapolis, IN  *

Ricky Ritter (JR)  New Palestine, IN **

Nick Smith (SO)  Fort Wayne, IN

Lewis Towne (SO)  Danville, IL

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Wabash Tennis Always Fights,

Coach

It is Monday morning and I have some fantastic news for all of you.  As you recall if you have been following the blog and our season, we started hot, going 3-0.  Then lost 2, won 1, and then we decided to play some very good competition and lost 7 in a row making our record 4-9.  As I discussed in the last blog, our guys did not let that affect them, they were ready to make a turnaround to the season and they have to this point.

It began last Wednesday when we hosted Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.  I knew that they were going to be a tough test, especially since we were in a losing streak.  Monday and Tuesday of last week we spent a large amount of time on doubles and I just kept pushing the guys to prepare themselves.  They did not disappoint.  We came out ready to go, we cruised at 2 dubs and fought back to win a tough one at 3 dubs.  One doubles had a tough one.  So going into singles we are up 2-1.  I brought them in and told them to go out, play aggressively and put this match away.  Again, they did not disappoint.  We won at 1, 3, 4, 6 making the final score 6-3.  A very good win and the streak of losses was over.  Plus with that win at #1 singles, Jay Horrey tied the career victories record in singles.

Moving into the weekend we had a test against Ohio Wesleyan, a conference opponent.  I told the guys on Friday night in the hotel that this team was going to similar to Rose-Hulman, so we needed to come ready to go.  They did.  We swept the doubles.  Jay and Sean Clerget at #1 doubles won 8-6 and that broke the record for career doubles victories for Jay and moved Sean up the list as well.  Singles was a little in doubt.  OWU decided they weren't going to give up.  Jay lost the first set at 1, but came back strong to take the second and third, thus breaking the record for most singles victories in a career.  Awesome match!  Ricky at 2 won 4,4 in a tough match, one that he probably wouldn't have won last year.  We also won at 4 (in 3 sets, 6-0 in the 3rd), 5, and 6.  Making the score 8-1 and moving us to 2-0 in our division of conference.

That afternoon we played Capital University out of the OAC.  They only brought 5 guys, so before we even started the match we were up 2-0.  Crusied at 1 and 2 dubs and finished with an 8-1 victory.

3 wins in a row moving into the annual Kerry Seward Invitational.  This is an individual tournament, so no chance to continue the team win streak, but nevertheless a good tournament to get us ready for our next conference opponent, Wittenberg, on April 4.  Keep reading and following the season as we continue to shoot for our goals.

Wabash Tennis Always Fights,

Coach Hutchison

It is Monday, March 16 and we are back in good, old Crawfordsville.  Luckily it is not in the 30's.  We returned late Saturday night from our spring break trip in Orlando, Florida.  I have been trying to think of the best way to let everyone know how the trip went and the best thing I can say is that we are now a much closer team, a more positive team, and a team that is eager to finish the season strong.

When I scheduled our opponents last fall for this trip, I was unaware of how good they were.  Most of the teams we played were either regionally or nationally ranked.  One good thing about our tennis team is that they don't care how good their opponent is, they are going to fight until they have to shake hands.  This is a group of guys that want to get better and will work extremely hard to get there.  We did not win a match while down there, but there was only one match that I felt we didn't have a chance at pulling off once it had started.  The teams that we played were experienced and well coached and just had more shots and a little tougher mentality than we did.  It seems like we haven't won a match in a long time, but it has not discouraged the guys, they are eager to start the second half of their season.  All results from the matches are posted on our tennis webpage at www.wabash.edu.

Now for the fun stuff...on Monday I took the guys to Cocoa Beach for the day.  They had an awesome time.  Got burnt, but had a great time.  We went out to dinner almost every night and it was nice to get something different from Frat food, fast food, or anything in Crawfordsville.  We played 4 mathces on Tues and Wed, and then on Thursday we went to a Braves/Nationals Spring Training Day game at Disney's Wide World of Sports.  Great time.   

Despite the losses, the seniors told me they had a great final trip and the younger guys feel more like part of the team.  This will help guide us through the remainder of the season.  Once I get some pictures downloaded, I will put them up on my next blog.

This week we have Rose-Hulman Wednesday at 5pm and then we travel to OWU on Friday for matches against them and Capital on Saturday.  Talk to all of you next week!

Wabash Always Fights,

Coach Hutchison

I apologize for the missed entry last week.  Valentine's Day weekend was a tough one for us.  We took to the road and headed east to Kenyon College.  We knew coming into the match that it was going to be a tough one.  At that time they were #8 in the nation and they played like it.  The good thing about a match like that is it gives us a chance to work on some areas of our games that we wouldn't normally do.  The guys went out and fought, like I knew they would, in the end, Kenyon was just too tough.

The morning match against University of Chicago was a strong showing.  We lost 9-0, but Jay had a chance at his second set, Ryan lost in three and probably should have won, Zach was up 5-2 in the first set and let it slip away, Peter played a great second set and the rest of the guys gave it what they could.  We just came up short.  Rough weekend, but it was a chance to see what we need to work on.

This past weekend we were scheduled to have matches against Grace College (NAIA) and Earlham College.  Grace's coach called and informed me that due to the nasty weather that came in on Friday, they were going to be unable to make it down.  Luckily Earlham came over to Crawfordsville before the weather hit and we moved that match up to a noon start time.  Earlham's coach is Adam Van Zee, a Wabash alum that played for me for 3 years.  He is doing a great job, they just don't have the talent.  he will definitely get the program moving in the right direction.

The team came out ready to go.  In nine matches I believe we gave up just 13 games.  I told the guys before the match that it was important for us to win 9-0 against them because a match like this has seeding implications at our conference tournament.

This weekend we have 2 more tough opponents.  Luther College tomorrow night and Hope College on Saturday afternoon.  We will be ready, but are going to have to play our best to win.

I bring up Spring Break because the guys (and myself) are ready to get out of this weather and see some sunshine.  We leave for Orlando a week from tomorrow and are definitely ready.  We will play 5 matches while down there.  All opponents will be solid, but nobody that we can't compete with. 

I will be back the first of next week to discuss the Luther/Hope matches.  Have a wonderful day and don't be afraid to send me back some comments.

Wabash Always Fights,

Coach

I apologize for the delay in writing, but as you may know we are knee deep in our season.  We began practice on January 14th and before we knew it, February 4th was here and our first match. My plan is to write weekly to keep everyone updated with our results from the previous week and weekend.  I am going to be somewhat of a color commentator; try to give everyohe a little insight into how the matches went from my perspective.  You can obviously go to our website and see the results and maybe get an idea, but hopefully my thoughts will relay how we played.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009 - Match vs. Franklin College

Every year Franklin is generous enough to come to the Collett Tennis Center to play us in the first match of the season.  Did not know what to expect out of Franklin.  I knew the had basically the same team as last year and ours was quite different.  I told the guys that we have beaten Franklin 3 straight times, but we had to be ready.  I could tell that some of the younger guys were nervous playing in their first collegiate match and on top of that, we were playing our first dual in the renovated tennis center, so it was important for us to get a win. 

Franklin came ready to play, we had some new combinations in doubles and they made sure to give us a good fight.  We won all three positions, but they were extremely close.  I was definitely a little nervous watching them play.  But the guys stepped up and finished the doubles well.  Especially at #2 where we were down pretty much the entire match.  Ryan and Ricky came through and fought.  We don't chant "Wabash Always Fights" for nothing.  When the singles started I could tell that the guys were relieved to be up 3-0.  They took the courts and ran through Franklin without much difficulty. 

Finished with a strong 9-0 win.  An excellent start to the season. 

Saturday, February 7, 2009 - match vs. Augustana College

As soon as we finished with Franklin, I told the guys that Saturday morning was going to be a big match.  Augustana has always had good teams and they were going to come ready to play.  We are currently ranked in the region and they were looking for the opportunity to get a win over a ranked program.  They also have a great young coach and I knew that they would have them physically and mentally prepared to compete.

The quality of the tennis in this match was very high.  I could not believe that both teams were playing as well as they were this early in the season.  Every doubles match was tight and in the end, Augie was up 2-1.  Jay and Peter finished with an impressive 8-6 win.  Ryan and Ricky played well but lost 8-5 and Sean and Evan lost a tough one at #3, 9-7.  We had our chances in both 2 and 3, but Augie kept applying pressure and we couldn't get over the hump.

I told the guys when we huddled up before singles that I was very impressed with their play and we are only down 2-1, go out and compete.  I also took some pressure off by stating that this was not a conference match, so the importance of the win was not that big.  It seemed to ease them a little.  Things seemed to roll from there.  Jay and Ryan got off to a good start and before I knew it they had both won their first sets.  Freshman Zach Lowry was playing a great lefty and had some trouble adjusting to his style of play.  Jay wins first, evening the match at 2-2.  Then as Zach loses a tough second set, Ryan Waldon splits sets at #2.  We are down 3-2 with #4 and #5 going on.  I immediately move to Ryan's court.  That thirs set was a battle, but somehow I knew that Ryan's toughness would get him through and it did.  As he won, with a thundering roar of "COME ON!", Ricky won his first set at #5 and Peter lost his first set at #4.  The match was now at 3-3.  Ricky felt confident, but started the second set slow and lost it.  Peter regained his confidence and won the second set.  We put Ian on at #6 excited to see how it was going to end.  Peter stepped up and won the third set putting us up 4-3.  Ricky was cruising up 5-1 in the third and victory was near.  Ian had a very difficult match as his opponent decided not to miss any forehands.  Ricky let a couple of games get away from him, but pulled in out 6-3 in third, clinching the victory for us.  Ian kept fighting but in the end lost.  Did not phase him, he knew that his team had won.

Saturday, February 7, 2009 - match vs. Adrain College

Adrian has a new coach that I think can get that program moving in the right direction.  She played DI tennis and knows the game.  If she can get the recruits, they can get better.  I was somewhat worried going into this match.  We just had an outstanding win and I was also sitting 2 of my starters.  It did not affect our team, we went out and took care of business in high fashion.  Swept them 9-0.  Nice to start the season 3-0. 

We have an extremely difficult weekend ahead as we go to Kenyon.  Kenyon is currently #8 in the nation.  We will have to come ready to play.  We will also be playing the University of Chicago while there.  They are in the top 20 in the nation as well.

Keep checking in to see how we are doing and I will keep posting.  Take care everyone.

Wabash Tennis Always Fights,

Coach

I had a great break, took some much needed time myself to be with my family, especially since once January 14th hits, I am in "coach mode."  That is our first official day of practice and I am extremely eager.  As I have stated in the past I have a great group of guys with some talent and we are all hungry to break some records.  I am spending these next 10 days preparing for our preseason practices, developing our challenge match schedule, and planning out our trips.  I know that the team has been spending as much time as possible preparing for our season both in the weight room and on the court.  Come 1/14, we will be ready.

One exciting note that everyone should know is that senior and captain Jay Horrey is close to breaking the school record for most victories in a career.  When it will happen I don't know for sure, but I will keep all of you posted.  For those of you that are close to campus, I hope that you can make it down for some matches this season.  Our schedule is online at www.wabash.edu/sports/tennis.  We have plenty of home matches this season.

It is going to be a great spring.  Our first match is against Franklin College on February 4 at 5:00pm at the Collett Tennis Center.  Hope you guys can make it and we'll talk soon.

Wabash Tennis Always Fights,

Coach Hutchison

Hope everyone is doing well and those of you in the midwest, be safe on the roads.  Also before I start, I want to wish all of you a happy and healthy Holiday Season and a Happy New Year.

I just returned from my annual coaches convention in Naples, Florida.  Last year was my first year and really got a lot of information from it.  This year was slightly less informative, but still worth the trip.  The timing of the convention is perfect because it does get me excited for our season which starts in less than a month.  The weather was pretty nice down there (about 75 each day) and to come home to this icy madness is never fun.  I was ready to be back though to see my family.

The convention starts with a roundtable discussion among other DIII coaches.  It highlights some rule changes and it a question and answer session with the national committee.  A lot of vital information comes from it as well as some heated discussions, especially from the top tier teams in DIII.  From there begins the workshops including:  team unity, recruiting, nutrition, mental toughness, fundraising, among others.  And then in the afternoons there are on court sessions covering:  singles tactics, explosive movement training, high performance drills, doubles drills, and others.

There is a banquet on Saturday night and then on Sunday afternoon there is a One-on-One Doubles tournament hosted by Ed Krass.  Ed hosts a College Exposure Camp for junior players looking to compete in college in various areas across the country and is very energetic.  The draw this year consisted of former tour players, former DI players, and guys just out to have a good time.  I made it to the quarterfinals, losing to last years champ who played his tennis at NC State and is the assistant coach at Princeton.  Good player, had my chances, but couldn't pull through.  If I would have won that match, I would have been in the money.  Too bad, but a great experience and nice to get my competitive juices flowing.

The final day is the just the morning with some other workshops and a farewell lunch.  I was back in the 19 degree temps by that evening.  The biggest item that I got from the convention was a session on team unity.  From this I found our team motto for the 2009 Spring Season:  "GET COMFORTABLE BEING UNCOMFORTABLE."  As the season goes on, I will go into more detail.

The team has a good chance to do some real damage in the conference and in our schedule.  I have high hopes for what we can accomplish and will make sure to keep all of you posted once the season begins.  I love to hear from former players or just fans of tennis that are reading.  So send me back some comments.  Again, Happy Holidays and be safe out there!

Wabash Tennis Always Fights,

Coach Hutchison

Even though we are not practicing and competing, we are extremely busy.  This time of year on campus is crazy.  Recently we had the Rededication of the Collett Tennis Center on Saturday, November 1.  We had a nice turnout and are grateful to the Class of 1976 and other donors that made this renovation possible.  It was nice to have a mix of recent and past alums.  Once the ceremony was over, we had a little doubles round robin tournament.  Nice to see that some have not lost a step since they graduated.

IMs are in full swing as well as basketball, wrestling, and swimming starting their seasons.  Also this Friday is the Top 10% Scholarship Day on campus.  There will probably be somewhere around 400 prospective students and families on campus.  This is also the time of year where we are getting ready for the Monon Bell game on November 15.  The extra grandstands are being put up as we speak and we are finalizing the details for this extravaganza.  

Lets not forget about the recruiting.  This is the perfect time of year to get guys on campus to sit in on a class, take a tour, and meet with the teams.  We are also pushing to get the applications in before the first deadline.

Personally I am starting to prepare for the upcoming season and finding flights for our trip to Orlando on Spring Break.  This is an exciting time at Wabash, the campus is beautiful with the colors of the leaves.  If you haven't been to campus in awhile, take a trip while the weather continues to be perfect.

Have a wonderful day and take some time to respond and let me know how the fans of Wabash and Wabash Tennis are doing.

Wabash Always FIghts,

Coach Hutchison

We just returned Sunday afternoon from Washington University in St. Louis and the ITA Central Region Tournament.  The guys all performed well and honestly better than I expected.  That is a difficult tournament because you go in with no match experience other than challenge matches and more than likely playing doubles with different partners.  But the guys worked hard this fall in practice and came ready to compete.  I took six players and everyone got a win in either singles or doubles.  It was a good indicator of how the spring may be as far as the line-up.  If you would like to see the results from the tournament, it can be found at the Wash U. tennis website.

Now it is on the guys to put extra time in on court and in the weight room.  For those that don't know, DIII rules do not allow me to train with the guys until our first practice in January.  I just do what I can during our fall season to get them to have the drive to get better and play on their own, which I feel confident will happen.  I have strong leadership with my seniors and I know they will push the younger guys to hit.

Hope all is well with everyone and we will be in touch soon.  

Wabash Always Fights,

Coach

Just a quick note to let everyone out there know what is going on with Wabash College Tennis.  It has been one week since we started our non-traditional season.  For those of you that don't know, during this time I can only have practice with the guys 3 times a week.  This year I have decided to go Monday, Wednesday, and Sunday.  The whole goal of the five week fall season is for the guys to get to know one another and for me to get a feel for what a possible line-up may be come January.  Another goal is to figure what doubles combinations may be good for the spring season.

We have one tournament in the fall.  It is the ITA Central Region Tournament and this year it is going to be held at Washington University in St. Louis.  The best players from our region will be a part of this tournament.  An excellent chance for us to see where we stand.  There are actually 2 draws in the tournament, the main and then one they are calling the Collegiate Open.  The Collegiate open will consist of players that play in the middle to lower part of the line-up or for schools that are not particularly strong.  I really like have this draw because it gives me a chance to take some of the younger guys on the team and they get to see how tough our region is.  The toughest and deepest in the nation.

I am going to be taking 6 guys to the tournament.  Jay Horrey (captain and #1 singles) will be playing in the main draw and he will have a partner for the doubles.  The rest of the guys will compete in the other draw.  Who is going?  I have no idea and very little time to get it figured out.  We will begin challenge matches this weekend to figure it out.  I will keep you posted as I know.

The weather has been back and forth here in west central Indiana.  We have been practicing in our beautiful new indoor tennis courts as well as outdoors.  The surface itself plays like outdoor courts, so the transition is not difficult.  We are extremely lucky to have a facility to practice in if it rains.

Again, next time you are on campus, please come over and check out the new Collett Tennis Center.  We are having a rededication on November 1 after the football game.  When there is time, respond back with a comment and let me know who is following Wabash Tennis and wish us luck in our upcoming tournament.

Have a great day!

Wabash Always Fights,

Coach Hutchison

I am excited that the summer is almost over. It sure is quiet without the students around. I am ready for the heat to be over, for football to start, and to get the 2008-2009 tennis team back on the court. Not to say that it has been slow around campus, it is a very busy time, but it is definitely different when the guys are back.

As most of you may know, the Collett Tennis Center has been under renovation since early July. This is another reason I am ready for the school year to start. Only a couple of guys have seen some of the work that has been done and I am eager to see how the team will react. It is awesome, first class. The contractors did an excellent job. There are a few items to finish up on, but it should be completed within a few days. Here is what has been renovated:

1. New indirect lights and insulation.

2. New black backdrop curtains with "California Corners" which angle off in between courts.

3. Black divider nets between Courts 1 and 2 and 2 and 3

4. Painting in areas that needed it

5. New nets and net posts

6. New energy efficient roof (painted on)

7. Vent fan on the west end and 2 on the south side

8. The playing surface has been painted red and the outside of the courts are now gray

9. Updated bathroom (new sink/vanity, toilet, and light)

10. Bottom three outdoor courts repainted

As I said, a lot of work and it looks unbelievable. Those of you that remember the old building will not believe your eyes when you see it. This is going to help tremendously with recruiting. No longer will I be weary of taking recruits to our center.

I hope that you fans can make it to campus and see the place. We only have one tournament in the fall and this year it is in St. Louis, but we have a home heavy schedule this spring, so please come and support your Little Giant tennis program. If you have any questions about the facility, do not hesitate to give me a call or shoot me an email.

Also want to say thanks for all involved in making this project a reality. Have a wonderful end of the summer and pictures should be up on the web of the finished product soon.

Wabash Always Fights,

Coach

It has been a great month of June and we had record numbers for our summer camps.  Around 85 campers (2nd grade - High School).  The biggest goal was to make sure that the young ones had fun and that they want to continue playing tennis.  For the middle school and high school, it was about teaching them the right way to act on the court and how to play smart.  Crawfordsville is by no means a tennis mecca, but we can get it there with numbers like we had.  

Evan Bayless, an incoming freshman, did an awesome job of being my assistant and Bryce Barton, the high school AD, did a great job as usual with the high schoolers.  I am glad that it is done, but it is great to hear the kids that they are looking forward to our fall clinic that will begin in October.  

This past weekend I attended the USTA Midwest Closed Championships in Indianapolis.  The first rounds are spread out across the city, but it is based at North Central High School.  Other than the Boys National Open at Kalamazoo and maybe the Midwest Open in Chicago, this is the biggest tournament of the summer.  Players from Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and a few from Kentucky were all here.  There was a boys 18 division and a boys 16 division.  Some of the guys had graduated this spring, but a majority are going to be seniors this academic year.  It was just awesome to see the level of play.  These guys are fighting their way through the draw and competing like it is Wimbledon.

Through this tournament, I made my list of recruits that I want to be in this program.  It is going to be an uphill battle because as I was watching certain players, I looked to my right and saw the Marquette coach, the Ohio State coach, and the Western Michigan coach.  Looking to my left I saw Purdue, Indiana, Butler, and DePauw.  These are all great programs, so for me to be going after the same guys proves we are heading in the right direction.

The next step is to get in contact with these guys and get them here for a visit.  Once this summer and then again for an overnight and football game.  As we all know, no one really understands Wabash unless you are on campus.  This is especially true for these recruits, because most are from out of state and don't know much about us.  

It is an exciting time talking to future Wabash men.  For any of you alums that follow tennis and and read this blog, please get with me so that if a recruit is in your area, maybe we can double-team him.  Have a great rest of the summer, I will be on the road continuing to build a nationally recognized tennis program.

Wabash Always Fights,

Coach Hutchison