A beautiful day for tennis blessed the Northwestern courts today as we played region opponent Gaffney to clinch a spot in the SC 4A playoffs. With the 7-0 sweep of Gaffney, we climb back to .500 with a 6-6 record and are 4-5 in region.
We had a little extra motivation as it was senior night and we paid tribute to Ahmad Sheffield and Tyler Hutson before and after the match as well as Coach Sally Bartelmo. I cannot say enough about these fine representatives of our school. Thank you each for all your hard work this year and for setting a great example for the younger players on our team.
Ahmad and Tyler paired up to play 2 doubles tonight. I hadn't even made my first round by the time these two had already claimed the first set 6-1. They rolled through the second set as well and posted a shutout in the second. Great job tonight seniors!
Hunter Love played a near flawless match tonight and scored a double bagel victory at line 3. Not only was Hunter his normal consistent-self, but he also placed his serve very well and methodically picked apart at his opponent's weaknesses. It was a fine performance.
Seth Russell claimed our third win of the night at 1 singles. His Gaffney opponent has improved since their last meeting and put up a better performance than anticipated. However in the end, Seth was just too much as he claimed the line 6-2, 6-1.
Jonathan Clark clinched the win for us at 5 singles. His Gaffney opponent was a tough, consistent player that hung tough. Jonathan was too good for him at the end and clinched the win 6-3, 6-3.
Drayton Wade closely followed with a win at 2 singles. Avenging an early season defeat, Drayton placed his ground strokes nicely and reduced his errors to dominate line 2 tonight. The result reflects how dominant Drayton was tonight to get the 6-2, 6-2 win.
Brian Fitzpatrick was the last man out on the courts at this point for the varsity squad. After winning a lopsided first set 6-1, Brian found himself frustrated by some consistency problems. He trailed 2-5 in the second set before rattling off a service break and hold to stand at 4-5. Gaffney claimed the next game and forced the decisive tiebreak. Brian's stroke returned to him in the tiebreak as he lead from beginning to end and claimed the win with a 10-5 tiebreak.
Hunter and Seth got their season long wish and I played them together at 1 doubles. Taking on Gaffney's 2 & 5, I was hoping for a stronger showing. The result was a win, but it wasn't a walk in the park.
We are off until Monday when we take on Rock Hill at our place. We'll have the same starting lineup tonight at singles. We then have practice Tuesday and take on Nation Ford on Wednesday. Wednesday will be the last match for all team members and I'll be collecting jerseys on Thursday before or after the Clover match from those that received them. We'll have the top 10 players dress for the trip to playoffs, but all players are asked to come.
Go Trojans!
Box Score:
Location: Northwestern HS
Result: Northwestern 7, Gaffney 0
1s: Seth Russell def James Belue 6-2, 6-1
2s: Drayton Wade def Nick Parker 6-2, 6-2
3s: Hunter Love def Trenton Trauh 6-0, 6-0
4s: Brian Fitzpatrick def Mark Lovingood 6-1, 4-6, 10-5
5s: Jonathan Clark def Clayton Whitt 6-3, 6-3
1d: Love/Russell def Parker/Whitt 8-5
2d: Ahmad Sheffield/Tyler Hutson def Alex Hinchliffe/Adam Payne 6-1, 6-0
We had a little extra motivation as it was senior night and we paid tribute to Ahmad Sheffield and Tyler Hutson before and after the match as well as Coach Sally Bartelmo. I cannot say enough about these fine representatives of our school. Thank you each for all your hard work this year and for setting a great example for the younger players on our team.
Ahmad and Tyler paired up to play 2 doubles tonight. I hadn't even made my first round by the time these two had already claimed the first set 6-1. They rolled through the second set as well and posted a shutout in the second. Great job tonight seniors!
Hunter Love played a near flawless match tonight and scored a double bagel victory at line 3. Not only was Hunter his normal consistent-self, but he also placed his serve very well and methodically picked apart at his opponent's weaknesses. It was a fine performance.
Seth Russell claimed our third win of the night at 1 singles. His Gaffney opponent has improved since their last meeting and put up a better performance than anticipated. However in the end, Seth was just too much as he claimed the line 6-2, 6-1.
Jonathan Clark clinched the win for us at 5 singles. His Gaffney opponent was a tough, consistent player that hung tough. Jonathan was too good for him at the end and clinched the win 6-3, 6-3.
Drayton Wade closely followed with a win at 2 singles. Avenging an early season defeat, Drayton placed his ground strokes nicely and reduced his errors to dominate line 2 tonight. The result reflects how dominant Drayton was tonight to get the 6-2, 6-2 win.
Brian Fitzpatrick was the last man out on the courts at this point for the varsity squad. After winning a lopsided first set 6-1, Brian found himself frustrated by some consistency problems. He trailed 2-5 in the second set before rattling off a service break and hold to stand at 4-5. Gaffney claimed the next game and forced the decisive tiebreak. Brian's stroke returned to him in the tiebreak as he lead from beginning to end and claimed the win with a 10-5 tiebreak.
Hunter and Seth got their season long wish and I played them together at 1 doubles. Taking on Gaffney's 2 & 5, I was hoping for a stronger showing. The result was a win, but it wasn't a walk in the park.
We are off until Monday when we take on Rock Hill at our place. We'll have the same starting lineup tonight at singles. We then have practice Tuesday and take on Nation Ford on Wednesday. Wednesday will be the last match for all team members and I'll be collecting jerseys on Thursday before or after the Clover match from those that received them. We'll have the top 10 players dress for the trip to playoffs, but all players are asked to come.
Go Trojans!
Box Score:
Location: Northwestern HS
Result: Northwestern 7, Gaffney 0
1s: Seth Russell def James Belue 6-2, 6-1
2s: Drayton Wade def Nick Parker 6-2, 6-2
3s: Hunter Love def Trenton Trauh 6-0, 6-0
4s: Brian Fitzpatrick def Mark Lovingood 6-1, 4-6, 10-5
5s: Jonathan Clark def Clayton Whitt 6-3, 6-3
1d: Love/Russell def Parker/Whitt 8-5
2d: Ahmad Sheffield/Tyler Hutson def Alex Hinchliffe/Adam Payne 6-1, 6-0
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