Boys varsity tennis fell to Loomis at home on Wednesday, 4/19 in a tight 4-3 battle. Missing two of our top players and dealing with cold, windy conditions, the rest of the team stepped up and almost eked out a win for the Doors ultimately fell just short.
The doubles point went to Loomis with wins at the #2 and #3 positions for the Pelicans, but the DA team of Brick Johnson and Ethan Li played dominant tennis and won at the #1 spot 8-5. At #2, Sparacio/Naughton tried to use their momentum from Saturday’s win against Taft but made too many mistakes and fell 8-2. Tai Feng and Jack Willett battled at #3 doubles but at 4-5 their Loomis opponents were able to win the next 3 games and take the match 8-4. Willett, a senior, played in his very first varsity level match and his net game was impressive to say the least!
The team entered their singles competitions with determination and willingness to compete. The second Loomis point went to the #3 position when Sparacio, despite setting up points beautifully throughout the match, fell 6-2, 6-1. #1 Brick Johnson quickly gave the Doors their first point of the day winning his match handily 6-0, 6-2. At #4, Tai Feng battled hard but lost his match in straight sets to put Loomis one point away from victory.
DA needed the remaining 3 courts in order to win the match. On court #2, Ethan Li was up a set; on court #6, Ryan Diffley- also playing in his first varsity level match- was down but fighting hard. The excitement mounted as #5 Walker Naughton entered a deciding third set tiebreaker after rallying back to win his second set. Just as his tiebreaker started, Diffley fell 6-2, 6-2 to his amazingly consistent opponent to clinch the win for Loomis.
Though the match was decided, the team rallied behind Naughton as he finished his match. Down 1-4 in the breaker, Naughton showed determination and grit and battled back to win it 10-5! As he was playing his final points, #2 Ethan Li’s opponent retired for a final team score of 4-3. It was a true battle and the team should be proud of how they fought under less-than-ideal conditions.
The loss brings the team to a record of 2-2 on the season. On Saturday, April 22, the Doors will look to seek revenge against Andover for a 1:30pm away match. We look forward to the parents who will travel with us and support the team during Parent’s Weekend!
RESULTS
Order of finish (doubles): 2,3,1
1. Johnson/Li (DA) def. Howley/Park 8-5
2. Lee/Cao def. Sparacio/Naughton (DA) 8-2
3. Bronner/Dodd def. Feng/Willett 8-4
Order of finish (singles): 3,1,4,6,5,2
1. Johnson (DA) def. Howley 6-0, 6-2
2. Li (DA) def. Park 7-5, 3-0 ret.
3. Lee def. Sparacio (DA) 6-2, 6-1
4. Bronner def. Feng (DA) 6-3, 6-4
5. Naughton (DA) def. Cao 3-6, 6-3, 10-5
6. Dodd def. Diffley (DA) 6-2, 6-2