Is spring here to stay? A sunny, mid-60’s afternoon in the Pioneer Valley was a perfect backdrop as the Deerfield Boys’ Junior Varsity tennis team (3-0) hosted neighboring Eaglebrook. Big Green struck hard and fast in most of their matches, walking off the courts with a 6-1 win.
Deerfield won the doubles point by taking 2 of the 3 sets. At #1, Noah and Oscar Depp continued to plague their opponents. After building a quick 3-0 a lead, they never turned back, taking their pro-set 8-2. At #2, Freddy Manning and Connor Flannery played together for the first time. They took some time to find a groove, with the score 2-2 early on, but they took 6 of the next 8 games to win 8-4. At #3, Francis Shea and Alexander Grosse went toe-to-toe with their equals. They fell behind 2-4 early on, but then battled back to even the score at 4-4. From there, they traded sets until a 7-7 tie forced a tiebreak. In the end, the tiebreak victory went to Eaglebrook 4-7. In an exhibition match, Crawford Rice and George Darling swept through their opponents like a hurricane, playing the fastest set of the day at 8-0.
In singles matches, Deerfield continued its strong play. The top four all made quick work of their opponents. At #1, Noah Depp built a quick 3-0 lead before dropping 3 of the next 4 games. But after a short break, he came back and swept 4 straights games to win 8-3. At #2, #3, and #4, Freddy Manning, Oscar Depp, and Connor Flannery each rolled to 8-2 victories. At #5, Will Schoelkopf faced stiffer competition, falling to his competitor 3-8. And at #6, after playing 15 games in his doubles match, Francis Shea needed another 13 games to complete his singles match. This time he came out on the winning end. The match was neck-and-neck to 6-5, with games being traded back and forth. Finally, Francis took over and won 2 straight to finish with an 8-5 victory.
In exhibition singles, Eaglebrook fought hard for a few wins. Malcolm Rich built an early 4-1 lead, but his opponent rallied and gained some momentum, winning 8 of the next 9 games to take the set 5-8. PJ Embree faced an equally challenging opponent, and although he stayed in the match as a strong competitor, his Eaglebrook opponent emerged with a 4-8 victory.
It was a great day for tennis and everyone on the team had a chance to participate in the action. The JV boys (hopefully) play again this Saturday, April 20 at Andover, a perennially tough opponent. Rain looms in the forecast, potentially canceling the match. Keep your eyes on the schedule.
Doubles:
1 – Noah Depp/Oscar Depp: 8-2
2 – Freddy Manning/Connor Flannery: 8-4
3 – Francis Shea/Alexander Grosse: 7-7 (TB: 4-7)
4 – (ex.) Crawford Rice/George Darling: 8-0
Singles:
1 – Noah Depp: 8-3
2 – Freddy Manning: 8-2
3 – Oscar Depp: 8-2
4 – Connor Flannery: 8-2
5 – Will Schoelkopf: 3-8
6 – Francis Shea: 8-5
7 – (ex.) Malcolm Rich: 5-8
8 – (ex.) PJ Embree: 4-8