BY RYAN WALKER
Bluffton’s boys’ tennis team took the court for the second time in as many days to begin their 2022 season. The previous night came down to the wire, but ended in favor of Mississinewa, a good challenge to begin the year with.
“Mississinewa’s a tough team,” Tigers 19th year head coach Robert Vanderkolk said. “I honestly can’t remember the last time we beat them.” Twenty-four hours later, the Tigers had another chance at a tough opponent, hosting Union City.
Six matches occupied all the courts, including one junior varsity game. The No. 1 singles match featured senior leader Keegan Schwartz, and Union City’s Owen Dowler.
In the first set, Schwartz went down early 2-5, looking out of sync and visibly frustrated, shaking his head after mistakes. He was fresh off of a 2-1 loss in the season opener to Mississinewa’s Garrett Spencer.
Then, after an adjustment, he started to find his groove and slow the game down.
“I decided to settle myself down a little bit,” Schwartz said.
In the blink of an eye, momentum shifted completely, with Schwartz winning the next game. Then another. Then three in a row to tie it 5-5. After losing the next one, Schwartz tied things up again to force a tiebreaker.
At that point, he gained confidence and the control was in his favor, finally winning 7-4 to snatch the first set.
His competitve edge that kicked in allowed for him to win the second set without a problem 6-0, taking down Dowler and handing Bluffton a much-needed point.
“I started out by trying to force some shots that I didn’t need to,” Schwartz said. “So I just decided to just get the ball in play and let him make the mistakes.”
After four matches, the team score was at an even 2-2, waiting for the last doubles team to finish their match. It all came down to senior Max Worth and sophomore Nolan Lambert with both teams huddling around, watching intently in the background.
The first set went to Bluffton 7-5, followed by the same score in the second set in favor of Union City. It came down to the third, in which it was neck and neck from beginning to end.
Both coaching staffs were giving instruction, their teammates encouraging them, and the winner gets to be the hero for one of the teams. But in the end, the Tigers overcame the pressure and finished the match 6-4 in a hard-fought battle, bouncing back from the previous night’s loss.
“I’m always happy to walk away with a win,” Vanderkolk said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s 3-2 or 5-0. We had a new varsity player tonight that won us that third point, so that’s always fun and exciting for a new varsity guy to step up and get that deciding point for us.”
The Tigers walked away with a win and a loss to start the season, but they have a quick turnaround Thursday against another tough opponent at Bellmont, a future sectional opponent. “It’s good to play these non-conference matches, some tough opponents early, because we’re able to figure out what we need to work on,” Vanderkolk said.
But that doesn’t mean it’s easy for the coach.
“It’s always nice to walk out 3-2, especially after losing the previous night 3-2,” he said. “Those are a little tougher and cause me to toss and turn that night, so I didn’t get much sleep last night. But I’m glad we got the victory, and so coach is sleeping a little bit better tonight.”
sports@news-banner.com
