JV Tennis enjoyed an opportunity to grow under skies threatening to bring down April showers as they took the courts in Lynchburg, VA. Luckily for both teams, the showers never materialized, but rather the clouds provided a welcome respite from the heat for the group of family and students that came by to cheer on a VES Grandparent’s Day competition. A young team (only 1 had prior interscholastic competition experience) was able to settle down to business and both see the rewards of the last month of hard work as well as points for future growth. At the end of the day, regardless of wins or losses, players on both teams were complimented on their efforts, enthusiasm, and potential for growth.
On the singles side, #2 Cadet Anthony Leinbach was able to jump to a 5-1 lead before the momentum shifted as his opponent dug in his heels and forced a seesaw match for the last few games. At #6, tennis newcomer Cadet Yang Zhao was down 0-3 before going on a tear to bring his match to 5-4. From there to the end, he and his opponent contested every game until a Tiger victory went up. At #5, Cadet David Kiesnowski had a slow start, falling to 2-5 before shaking himself awake and holding throughout the rest of the match and preventing the deficit from growing. A similar awakening occurred at #4 — Cadet Armel Ngabo struggled, but was able to stop his slide at 0-6 to finish out by taking two games before his match drew to a close. Cadets Tyler Aichinger (#1) and Laurence Leinbach (#3) were both plagued by shot selection and placement challenges that allowed them to force deuce points yet did not allow for a positive entry in the games won column. All the players remained positive, upbeat, and reflective as they closed the singles ladder (team score 2-4) and moved onto the doubles competition.
Aichinger and Anthony Leinbach paired up to take on a tough match that saw them up 4-2 before slipping to 4-5. Undeterred, they broke and held to climb to 7-5 with VES serving to stay in the match. VES stayed cool under the pressure, holding to make it 7-6. Leinbach then took over the service with the match on the line. Several deuce points later, VES triumphed to tie up the match at 7-7. The Hargrave duo broke serve to make it 8-7 with Aichinger serving to take the game, match, and avoid a tie-breaker. A determined VES duo fought back to deuce before Aichinger was finally able to bring in the victory.
Hargrave fell to VES, 3-6.
The next currently scheduled JV match-up will be the rubber game against VES at home in Chatham, VA on Monday, April 5. Some more match-ups will be announced as details are available.
Individual Match Scores:
Singles
#1 – Tyler Aichinger v J. Yu : 0-8
#2 – Anthony Leinbach v J Yang : 8-2
#3 – Laurence Leinbach v D. Yuen : 1-8
#4 – Armel Ngabo v R. Liu : 2-8
#5 – David Kiesnowski v J. Saemann : 5-8
#6 – Yang Zhao v P. Deng : 8-6
Doubles
#1 – Aichinger and LeinbachA v D. Hogan and Deng : 9-7
#2 – LeinbachL and Zhao v Yu and Yang : 0-8
#3 – Ngabo and Kiesnowski v Yuen and Liu : 4-8
