Tennis Team Wins TRC Tourney, Beats Kokomo
13 Sep 2007 - ( Sports )
The boys’ tennis team had a successful week last week, knocking off the 11 time defending regional champion, nearly pulling off an upset against the 12th ranked team in the state, and winning four of five positions at the TRC Tournament.
Win Over Kokomo
The Squires lost three matches in 2006, two of them to Kokomo, including getting eliminated by the Wildkats in the regional championship. Fast forward a season, and the Squires have put themselves in contention for a regional title with a 4-1 win over Kokomo.
“This was a huge win for our program,” head coach Eric Christiansen said. “This was the match we had circled on our schedule since last October. The guys really stepped up and played an amazing match.”
The Squires had no trouble in the doubles matches with David Cable and Bryant Wiley winning 6-2, 6-2, and Steven Camp and Kyle Lahman winning 6-3, 6-4.
Andrew Gnagy, playing three singles, also had little trouble, pulling off a 6-0, 6-2 win to clinch the match.
Gavin McNeeley overcame a slow start to pull out a 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 win at two singles, while Nate Cain fell 6-1, 6-2.
“We were ready to play today, and came in with confidence,” Christiansen said. “I think the regional title still goes through Kokomo, no matter who wins our sectional.”
The JV team beat Kokomo 4-2. Winning singles matches were Scott Spaulding (8-2) and Dennis Svennsen (8-6), while winning doubles matches were the teams of Andrew Baker/Jacob Kincaid (8-2) and Spaulding/Dale Ruppert (6-3).
Loss To #12 Canterbury
Against highly ranked Canterbury, the Squires put themselves in a position they wanted to be in, with a chance to win the match.
In the end, it was the 12th ranked team in the state (one class system) edging the Squires 3-2.
Once again, the doubles teams proved victorious, setting up a dramatic finish at number three singles.
Cable and Wiley battled for two sets, winning the first 7-5, but dropping the second 6-3. The third set, however, was all Manchester, as the number one duo looked unbeatable in a 6-0 thrashing.
At two doubles, Camp and Lahman started off strong, winning the first set 6-2, but also was forced into a third set, dropping the second 6-4. The Manchester senior and sophomore never trailed in the second set and came away with a 6-4 win in the third.
Cain played what Christiansen said was his best match of the year, but fell short 6-4, 6-2, and McNeeley lost his match 6-3, 6-0, turning all eyes to the number three singles court, where Andrew Gnagy was also doing battle in a third set.
Gnagy dropped the first set 6-4, but stormed back to win the second set 6-1. In the third set, Gnagy fell behind 4-1, and then 5-2, but looked to rally, closing the gap to 5-3, and held a game point to get it to 5-4.
Canterbury’s Alex Yahanda, however, never let Gnagy any closer, pulling off the 6-3 win, squashing any chances the Squires had of an upset.
“This was the best loss I’ve been around in 11 years of coaching,” Christiansen said. “Our doubles are rolling, and Andrew never stopped fighting. This will be a learning match for him. He is so new at singles still, but is learning what it takes to play this spot.
“I’m proud of the whole team,” he continued. “Our doubles teams showed a lot of heart in those third sets, and Nate and Gavin played well against very good competition.”
The JV team also lost to Canterbury 4-2. Winning for the JV were the doubles teams of Baker/Spaulding (8-0) and Svennsen/Andy Dockter (8-0).
TRC Tournament
The Squires finished the Three Rivers Conference tournament with four first place finishes to win the team competition with 26 points. Wabash was second with 19, Whitko was third with 15, and Rochester and Tippecanoe Valley tied for fourth with 10 points.
Nate Cain won the number one singles tournament, beating Tippecanoe Valley 4-6, 6-2 (10-5) (super tie-break in lieu of 3rd set), Whitko 6-1, 6-3, and Rochester 6-4, 6-0 in the finals.
Andrew Gnagy won the number three singles tournament, beating Rochester 6-0, 6-2, and Wabash 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
Cable and Wiley stormed through the number one doubles tournament, beating Whitko 6-0, 6-2, and Wabash 6-0, 6-0.
Camp and Lahman were just as dominant, beating Whitko 6-1, 6-0, and Wabash 6-0, 6-0.
McNeeeley had a rough day, dropping a hard fought match with Wabash 4-6, 7-6 (4), (10-6), but bounced back to beat Tippecanoe Valley 8-5. Andrew Baker subbed in for the final match and lost to Rochester 8-2.
“I was really happy with how the day went,” Christiansen said. “The doubles teams had no trouble, and I loved the way Nate and Andrew fought through some tough matches. Gavin gave everything he had in his loss, and never quit.
“We start the TRC schedule this week, and we showed that we will be favored, but nothing will be easy,” he continued.
The tennis team will be at DeKalb on Wedensday, at Whitko on Thursday, at the Homestead Invitational on Saturday, and at Columbia City on Monday.