2012 Men's Tennis Players of the Week

April 15-21: Adam Summitt
The Storm only had one meet this week against Wartburg and Adam had another solid week for us. He partnered with Blake Billings at No. 1 doubles and played a very close match. They were on serve at 5-6 before falling in an 8-5 decision. Adam then took on Chris Buckingham at the No. 1 singles spot. After losing a tigh first set, Adam battled back to take the second set and force a superbreaker. The super was a battle as well. He fought hard but ended up falling 10-7. Adam has had a good career at Simpson and we thank him for all he has done for the school.

April 2-7: Alex Hook/Jeff Armstrong
Alex and Jeff both played very well this past weekend. In the morning they both fought hard in their singles matches agaisnt some tough players from Dubuque. Alex lost 6-4, 6-1 and Jeff lost 6-2, 6-4.  In the afternoon meet with Loras, Hook and Armstrong paired together for a convincing 8-3 win at No. 2 doubles. They each followed up the doubles win with singles victories. Jeff has been playing better lately and stepped up in the No. 3 singles spot this week and pulled out a 6-4, 4-6 (10-8) win. Alex got down 4-1 in his match before rattling off 11 of the next 12 games en route to a 6-4, 6-1 victory. Nice week gentleman, keep working hard and building towards the future.

March 25-April 1: Dan Schneider
Dan had a very solid week for the Storm this week against Minnesota Morris. He partnered with Adam Summitt at the No. 1 doubles spot and picked up a convincing 8-1 victory. Dan then notched a 6-1, 6-3 victory at No. 3 singles against a strong Morris player. Dan’s contributions to the team have been invaluable this season. He has been very helpful with the newcomers and he leads by example on the court by fighting hard in his matches. I appreciate all he has done for Storm tennis in his time at Simpson and wish him the best in his plans for after college.

March 18-24: Adam Summitt
Adam had another good week of tennis.  For the second time this season he picked up the team's only two wins. He partnered with Alex Hook at number one doubles and notched a convincing 8-3 victory against Cornell. He then lost a tight battle at No. 1 singles, falling 10-7 in a third set superbreaker. Adam followed that up with the team's only win against Coe. He battled hard after losing the first set and finally came out on the right side of a third set superbreaker, winning 4-6, 6-4, 10-3. I appreciate everything Adam has done for the men’s tennis program in his time at Simpson and wish him the best in his future after college.

March 11-17: Alex Hook
Alex went 3-1 this week for the Storm. He pulled out Simpson’s only victory against Morningside with 7-6(5), 6-3 win at the No. 2 spot. He also partnered with Jeff Armstrong at No. 2 doubles and fought hard in a very tight 9-7 loss. Alex won both of his matches against Grand View as well at No. 2 singles and doubles. Alex has continued to work hard throughout the season and continues to improve. It has been nice to see him develop into a leadership role this season and we are looking for that to continue the rest of the year and into the future. 

Feb. 27-March 1: Adam Summitt
Adam had a very strong week, picking up the Storm's only two wins. He won a very tight 7-6(3), 7-5 win at No. 2 singles against Central and followed that up with another tight 6-4, 6-4 win against a strong Luther player. Adam also teamed with partner Alex Hook in doubles and lost a very tight 8-6 match at the No. 1 spot against Luther. Adam has worked hard in his time at Simpson and it is nice to see his hard work pay off for him during his senior season.

Feb. 20-26: Blake Billings
Blake had a very tight singles match at the No. 4 spot against St. Ambrose. He lost a very close first set 7-5 and continued to battle hard in the second set, before falling 6-3. Blake has been a very nice surprise this year with the team after transferring in at semester. He hasn’t played since high school and is really starting to get his game back. He works hard each day in practice and is very open to feedback and coaching. Blake is willing to put the team ahead of himself and has had a great attitude from the start of the season. 

Feb. 13-19: Alex Hook
Alex went 4-2 on the week playing at No. 2 singles and doubles. He won all three of his singles matches against some tough competition in Concordia, Doane and Midland Lutheran.  He also won his No. 2 doubles match with partner Blake Billings against Midland and lost a close 6-8 decision against Doane. Alex has continued to improve as the year continues and shows outstanding sportsmanship while on the court. He has been a wonderful asset for the team this year and we look for him to continue to improve and lead by example.

Feb. 6-12: Jeff Armstrong
Jeff went 1-3 during the week, picking up his lone victory with a come-from-behind victory at No. 5 singles against Northwestern (Minn.). After losing the first set 6-4, Jeff came back to win the second set in a tiebreaker, 7-5. He then played a tight supertiebreaker to decide the match and was able to hold on to win the match 4-6, 7-6(5), 10-8. Jeff, along with partner Andy Arduser, had a very close doubles match against Northwestern as well, losing 8-4 at No. 3 doubles.  Jeff has been working hard and improving each week and we expect big things out of him this season.