Trojans defeated by Spartanburg in State Playoffs

We ventured over to Spartanburg to take on the #3 ranked Spartanburg Vikings at their courts. Spartanburg was the top seed out of Region 2 and played like it was very well deserved.

Although our scores don't reflect it, we did display some moments of brilliance and solid play at all courts. I was impressed with Seth's attempts to set up and finish off points at #2 singles. His opponent is undefeated this year and has not dropped a set in singles matches. Although Seth was blanked, he made a lot of correct decisions in how he tried to attack him.

Jeff served very well at times, but struggled with consistancy at 1 singles against a highly talented opponent. Zach played well at 3 singles in the second set after an unusually quick first set. Alex started off well at 4 singles and had some opportunities that he just came up short on.

On the top courts, Drayton struggled to find his flow at 5 singles, but hit very well against an extremely strong #5 player from Spartanburg. I actually felt that Drayton was controlling most of the points, but was coming up with errors in spots that he is used to scoring points. Our doubles line of Brian & Paul had a tough time getting going today and were blanked by a fairly dominant Spartanburg team. However, even with such a lopsided score, I was happy that they were making their serves and not giving away points. Their opponents were just very good at making the right shots.

This does conclude our team's season with an overall record of 10-8. I am proud of all the boys that participated on the tennis team this year and will cherish our time together at practice, matches, and post game meals. This job is one that has brought me great personal satisfaction this year in seeing you guys grow and improve on a daily basis. I look forward to the off-season and seeing how hard you will work to elevate your games even further. I have previously expressed my thanks to our seniors that participated this year, but again - a big thank you for your hard work and leadership.

I mentioned to the boys that I will have a team meeting on Friday after school to collect their washed uniforms if they do not wish to keep them. I will need one (1) of the following from each boy on Friday 5/2
- shorts, white jersey, and purple jersey (washed) - or -
- $8 for shorts, $12.50 for each jersey if the boys wish to keep their uniforms

Go Trojans!

Box Score:

1S: Alex Holland (S) def Jeff Zimmerman 6-0, 6-1
2S: Benjamin Barnette (S) def Seth Russell 6-0, 6-0
3S: Forest Weir (S) def Zach Beaver 6-0, 6-2
4S: Ben Bramhall (S) def Alex Atzberger 6-2, 6-0
5S: Jonathan Allsbrook (S) def Drayton Wade 6-0, 6-1

1D: Azucey / Azucey (S) def Russell / Eric Sabin 8-2
2D: W Weir / W Epps (S) def Brian Fitzpatrick/Paul Sabisch 6-0, 6-0

Northwestern's Jeff Zimmerman & Zach Beaver selected to Region 3 AAAA All Region Team

The coaches tonight met in Rock Hill to vote on all region athletes from boys tennis. Two Northwestern athletes were selected to the all region team.

Senior Jeff Zimmerman was the first non-Fort Mill player to be selected. Jeff had a region record of 10-4 this year playing 1 singles for the Trojans all year. The coaches unanimously voted Jeff all region for 2008. Jeff was also nominated to play in the South Carolina state singles championships May 16 & 17 in Columbia. Jeff is the second nominee from the region on the list of five potential names, behind only Will Reigel of Fort Mill who was undefeated in region matches and is the region's automatic qualifier. I submitted Jeff's current USTA & Southern Section rankings and am hopeful that he will be selected by the South Carolina High School League to participate in the 32-player field. Jeff is a two-time all region athlete for the Trojans.

Senior Zach Beaver was also selected to the all region team by the coaches. Zach had a region record of 10-4 this season as well playing anywhere from line 5 through line 3 singles for the Trojans. The coaches agreed that based on his region record as well as input from other coaches on the exemplary sportsmanship that he displayed. I also brought up that Zach is one of the top students in the senior class and stressed the fact that he was an all around athlete that had never played competitive tennis before this year.

We are very proud of both these senior athletes and thankful for their contributions to this team and hope that their leadership will push us through our first round playoff match tomorrow at Spartanburg.

Go Trojans!

2008 All Region 3 AAAA

Will Reigel - Fort Mill
Jeff Zimmerman - Northwestern
Glen Thomason - Rock Hill
Chase Altieri - Clover
Robbie Davis - Fort Mill
Nick Deahl - Clover
Paul Shaw - Fort Mill
Will Decker - Clover
Kyle Osborne - Fort Mill
Ken Long - Clover
Zach Beaver - Northwestern
Chase Lee - Fort Mill
Nihal Patel - Rock Hill
Mitesh Patel - Rock Hill

Player of the Year
Will Reigel - Fort Mill

Coach of the Year
Willie Ware - Fort Mill

AAAA State Playoff nominees:

Will Reigel - Fort Mill (automatic)
Jeff Zimmerman - Northwestern
Glen Thomason - Rock Hill
Chase Altieri - Clover
Robbie Davis - Fort Mill

State playoff Bracket released

The South Carolina High School League posted the brackets this morning for the boys tennis state playoffs. As expected, we will travel to Spartanburg tomorrow afternoon to take on the Spartans of Spartanburg. If we are successful in taking down the Spartans, we will face the winner of South Aiken & Easley on May 1.

Our athletic director has arranged for our boys to be dismissed from class at 2:45 PM so the boys can load the bus and we can be on the road by 3:00 or 3:15 at the latest. The trip to Spartanburg High is a little over an hour and 15 minutes.

To view the full bracket, click on the following link:

http://www.schsl.org/2007%20Brackets/bte%20aaaa.htm

Go Trojans!