The tigers continued practice yesterday for the beginning of their season starting March 18th when they take on Calvin College. This is the first meeting between the crosstown schools and figures to be just one of many. This will be a tough test for the tigers but one that Coach Miedema is looking forward to mentioning that, “with our quick athletic players, the slow courts at Calvin will benefit us. We’ll be able to get to a lot of shots and look to create errors from the other team. Furthermore, our aggressive doubles will be an asset in the Calvin facility.
This is the Men’s match however we will have a couple of our female tennis players traveling with us. Due to some injuries we will have the women traveling with the Men’s team and playing exhibition matches when possible.
March 18th-6 pm at Calvin.

Grace began preparation for their upcoming season with practices indoors starting at the end of January. We caught up with Coach Jon Miedema on what he sees for this inaugural season at Grace.

Coach-What are the primary strengths of your team and the primary areas that need work?

Coach “We have very aggressive, competitive players which is a great asset. I think our doubles play will be strong because of our length and aggressive nature. Doubles play is also about gelling together as players, moving together on the court, and communication. I think our team will be excellent is those areas as we have a lot of character and outspoken personalities. I believe we can improve on our technique and our singles play and over time I think those areas will improve.”

What are your realistic expectations for this coming year?
“I expect us to be very competitive with some established teams and for us to improve as the year goes on. Those are my primary goals. In addition I believe we will grab our first win as a College tennis team. I expect a lot from these players and look forward to continuing to work with them.”

Want to hear more about opportunities of playing tennis at Grace? Contact Coach Jon Miedema.

Email: JMiedema@gbcol.edu

Phone: 616-915-4781

Come see if Grace is a good fit for you!

Several match dates have been scheduled for the inaugural Women’s tennis season including the following.

March 17th-Calvin
March 25th-Olivet
April 9th-Saint Joseph
April 9th-Purdue Calumet
April 15th-Adrian

Continue to check for further updates on the scheduling section as these times and places become available.

The Women’s tennis team is looking forward to their inaugural season as a tennis program. Their schedule is being completed with matches against many local schools including Calvin College to start the season. “I’m excited for the challenges of the upcoming season, and look forward to improving as a team, but the more preparation that goes in now, the quicker players hit the ground running when the season starts,” said Coach Miedema. “Many of our girls are involved in other sports so they’ll already be in great shape and with good foot speed. That will help greatly and I expect us to have a great start to our season.”

Coach Jon Miedema comes from the Grand Rapids, MI area. He has taught and coached tennis for both juniors and adults for over 8 years at country clubs, recreation departments, and local athletic clubs.
During his playing days Coach Miedema enjoyed success in both high school and college. He played #1 singles at Grand Rapids Christian High School and earned all conference honors. From there he went on to play for four years at Calvin College. His proudest accomplishment was his contribution to the team his senior year, when he played #1 Singles and #1 doubles and helped captain the team to a 16-3 record while being named to the first team all conference.
Coach Miedema said he looks forward to ‘building a winning program at Grace that focuses on success for students both on and off the court.’

The Tiger Den apparel store at Grace is finally open.  The store has a few shirts and sweatshirts available now with many more shirts, sweatshirts, hats, pictures and miscellaneous items coming soon.   You can visit the store online by clicking the Tiger Den button the the athletics site.  You can also visit the store in the Adrich Center on the GBC campus to make your purchase.