Though 5-4 is a very close final score, the boys spared their coaches some stress Tuesday as they got to five wins pretty quickly.  One of the nicest things about playing at Northgate is the twelve courts.  This allows all of the matches, including the exhibition, to go on at the same time.  It’s a little chaotic for coaching, but we always manage.

#4 Foster finished first with a routine straight set victory, 6-2, 6-0.  #3 Brewer was right behind him with a 6-3, 6-1 win.  #5 Shah and #3 doubles Tantameng/Lofting came next, both also winning in straight sets.  Right away, we were up 4-0.  Though #6 Ledezma and #2 doubles Fisher/Marshall lost, they both went the distance.  Ledezma lost 10-4 in the deciding super tiebreaker, and Fisher/Marshall lost 10-8.  It was then #1 doubles Reeder/Hoeberechts who finished and clinched the overall match for us with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Sheldon/Pourzand.  Reeder/Hoeberechts improved to 7-1 as a doubles team and have been a huge asset.

Though we were now leading 5-2, the focus shifted to #1 Owens and #2 Eagens.  Both were in tight battles.  Eagans lost the first set 6-2, but really turned up the heat in the second set.  His opponent, Lee, is an experienced senior with a lot of game, but our only freshman Eagens hung tough.  In the end, Lee won the second set 8-6 in the tiebreaker.  #1 Owens vs. Northgate freshman Raihan Lele was the last match going and both teams were fully engaged supporting their player.  To say the match was extremely close would be an understatement.  The first two sets were decided by tiebreakers.  Owens won the first one 7-5, and Lele won the second 7-3.  It was almost predictable early on that this one would be settled by a super tiebreaker.  In the end, Lele got the win 10-3.  The ball striking and long rallies were high quality stuff.  We’ll be ready for the rematch.

This win puts the Dons at 3-2 in league play.  We’ll now go back and play all five teams a second time.  The boys have been focused and working hard in practice.  They know what we’re up against after the spring break.  Tomorrow, we play our last practice match, which is against Piedmont away.  The match starts at 3:30. We had a lot of family members supporting us at Northgate today.  Thank you so much.  Aaron Brown, Ben Reinsberg and James Cortez (last year’s seniors) also made an appearance.  We sure miss them!  Go Dons.  Coach Rick