It was a really exciting day on the courts as the DA boys varsity tennis team defeated Westminster 4-3 at home on Wednesday, 5/3.
Doubles started in the pavilion- the first boys match held in there since 2019- and DA jumped to an early lead thanks to a dominating win by Max Peh/Anthony Sparacio on the #2 court. Westminster soon leveled the field with a win at #1, so the point came down to #3 Tai Feng/Walker Naughton. Playing in only their second match together, the duo went up 5-2 but found themselves down 5-6 and again at 6-7 as the other courts concluded their play. Knowing the doubles point was on the line, the team played the final three games with such determination and intensity and pulled out the win 9-7.
With the outdoor courts dry and dark clouds seemingly moving away, singles began outdoors. Quickly, however, the rain returned and matches had to pause as we moved back into the pavilion. Westminster was successful in the first three matches to finish, giving their team a 3-1 overall lead and needing only one more win to clinch the match. That left #3 Ethan Li, #5 Tai Feng, and #5 Walker Naughton battling. Only Li had won the first set in his match and it seemed like a loss was inevitable; low and behold, Feng and Naughton kept battling and both ended up winning their second sets.
Li and Feng were still battling in their second sets as Naughton entered his deciding third-set tiebreaker. Despite some back pain, he was solid as a rock, hitting beautiful slices and big passing shots to get the win 10-5 and close Westminster’s lead to 3-2. Soon after, Li closed out his match in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 to level the match at 3.
Now all eyes were on freshman Feng as he closed out his second set 6-4 to bring his match- and the competition as a whole- to a final 10-point tiebreaker. Feng battled cramps throughout the second half of his match but through sheer will and bravery closed it out 10-5 to give DA the win! It was late and freezing but it was a true display of what team tennis is all about.
The win brings the team to a 4-3 record overall as they enter the final stretch of competition. Next up is the always tough Choate team on Saturday, 5/6 at 3:30pm in Wallingford, CT.
RESULTS
Order of finish (doubles): 2,1,3
1. Nelson/Suit def. Johnson/Molson (DA) 8-4
2. Peh/Sparacio (DA) def. Sun/Hocking 8-0
3. Feng/Naughton (DA) def. Whiting/Henry 9-7
Order of finish (singles): 4,2,1,6,3,5
1. Nelson def. Tom Molson (DA) 7-5, 6-2
2. Suit def. Max Peh (DA) 6-4, 6-0
3. Ethan Li (DA) def. Whiting 6-4, 6-4
4. Sun def. Anthony Sparacio (DA) 6-1, 6-2
5. Tai Feng (DA) def. Hocking 4-6, 6-4, 10-5
6. Walker Naughton (DA) def. Henry 3-6, 6-2, 10-5