March 13, 2025 – JV Tennis traveled to Smith Mountain Lake Christian Academy (SMLCA) to open their 2025 season on the road. There was a real buzz in the air with several parents from both teams attending to watch their players progress and compete in a game that they will enjoy throughout their lives. Cheers, groans, and congratulations were heard both on the courts and in the crowd as the players honored themselves, their team, and the sport with their efforts. Our squad’s mantra may be “progress over perfection,” (and much progress observed by all the players on both teams), but keeping score is still part of the game. After 3 hours, the HMA JV Tigers posted a 7-2 victory.
The team was particularly grateful for the additional snacks and an after-match meal provided by the Oakes family.
After a well-earned Spring Break, JV Tiger Tennis will play their home BRAC opener against traditional powerhouse Covenant School (Charlottesville) on March 26 at the Landon Tennis Center here on campus at 4:30 pm.
Team tennis matches are arranged by “ladders” with the players ranked by strength. The individual matches are structured as 8-game pro-sets with ad scoring (a player must win by 2 points). At this level, scores seldom tell the story of a close match, since there isn’t an easy way to show the number of deuce points (ties) that were played (and played) as players fought to put together a run of points to notch a game win. An individual match is reported as the number of games won. The individual match is over when a player reaches 8 games as long as his opponent is 2 games or more behind. A tie-breaker is played at 8-8. With two evenly matched players, game scoring should be close (presumably alternating wins and losses) and for reference a 2 or 3 game difference certainly reflects a close match.
Each singles or doubles match is worth 1 point towards the team score. We play 6 singles and 3 doubles matches, so the total possible number of points in a team match is 9.
Starting our team match with doubles, the end of phase saw the Tigers emerge on top 2-1 with victories at 1st Doubles / Noah Oakes (7th grade, Dry Fork, VA) and Brandon Hyon (8th grade, Devon, PA) and 2nd Doubles / Tristan Schwartz (Freshman, Andrews, NC) and Zachary Zvarych (8th grade, Brooklyn, NY). Oakes and Hyon started slow and steady with them trading games with their Osprey opponents until they got all the cylinders firing and finished with an 8-5 score. Mack Mortimer (Junior, Sammamish, WA) and Cyrus Lawrence (Junior, Silver Spring, MD) struggled with consistency and error control (a challenge in tennis up through the pro level) but were still able to put together a competitive match.
With 4 courts available at Bernard’s Landing, the singles phase of the match was broken down into 2 parts. During part 1, the top 3 on the singles ladder played and an exhibition match was played on the fourth court to allow players to get maximum exposure and playing time. Both Oakes and Schwartz elected to play exhibition matches against SMLCA Varsity singles players. This both provided them with important match experience under unfamiliar conditions and allowed two additional team mates to get competitive singles experience.
Brandon Hyon was comfortable in the 1st Singles rung, but things got interesting after he logged in a score of 6-3. Osprey Arnold made adjustments to get back to trading games so that the score ended 8-5. A #2 Singles, Mack Mortimer started slow, falling behind 2-5 before he made a mental adjustment to tie at 5-5. The battle then see-sawed up to 7-7. Although the possibility of a tie-break loomed, Osprey Xander Gray fought through to a final of 7-9. Daniel Mitchell (7th grade, San Antonio, FL), Andy Li (Freshman, Lynch Station, VA), and Sawyer Haugen (Freshman, Groton, MA) each finished out the second part of the singles ladders with great performances.
Doubles Matches
- Oakes & Hyon vs. Arnold & Gray W 8-5
- Schwartz & Zvarych vs. Workman & Pierce W 8-0
- Mortimer & Cyrus Lawrence vs. Mayo & Wright L 4-8
Singles Matches
- Brandon Hyon vs. Peyton Arnold W 8-6
- Mack Mortimer vs. Xander Gray L 7-9
- Zach Zvarych vs.Keatyn Workman W 8-0
- Daniel Mitchell vs. Kylie Pierce W 8-1
- Andy Li vs. Carrington Mayo W 8-3
- Sawyer Haugen vs. Colton Wright W 8-4
Additional Exhibition Singles Match
- Noah Oakes vs Ben Agee
- Tristan Schwartz vs Harrison Mayo
- Noah Oakes vs David Plylar
Men of the Match
Tristan Schwartz and Noah Oakes were the “Men of the Match” for their positive attitude, willingness to accept a higher challenge, and providing an opportunity for their teammates to gain experience.
