With thunderstorms looming in the distance, the JV Tennis squad took to the courts in their season opener against the VES Bishops (Lynchburg). For many members of the squad, this was their first time in an “official” team match and their excitement was palatable. Due to the threatening weather, it was agreed to change the match format to 6-game pro-sets.
Stepping in at the last moment due to a scheduling conflict, Sebastian Richardson played at the #1 Singles position. In a tough battle of extended points and close games, Richardson posted a 6-1 win. At #2, Duc Nguyen also got an unexpected chance to play in the singles ladder. After Nguyen jumped out to a 2-0 lead, VES’ Smith Winborne settled down to rally back to make the score 2-4. With the loss threatening, Nguyen came back to close out with a 6-4 victory. Hosny Makhlouf (Cairo, Egypt), Jayce Alvelo (Chatham, VA), and Elisha Shelton (Danville, VA) rounded out the ladder, each making their respective debut in competitive tennis.
At either end of the doubles ladder, two new Tigers were added to the mix. At #1 Doubles, 7th grader Evan Troast (Lighthouse Point, FL) paired up with Nguyen for a close match that finally saw an end when Bishops Peter Qin and Tim Li were able to break serve and hold. At #3, Youssef Labib (Sherouk City, Egypt) paired up with Makhlouf. With the final doubles match finished, the thunderstorms were cued to roll in and brought a good afternoon to a finish. The Tigers played with passion and intensity, walking away with some lessons learned about both tennis and themselves.
Individual Match Scores:
Singles
#1 – Sebastian Richardson v Matt Wisniewski 6-1
#2 – Duc Nguyen v Smith Winborne 6-4
#3 – Walter Thompson v Logan Anderson 0-6
#4 – Hosny Makhlouf v Peter Qin 0-6
#5 – Jayce Alvelo v Tim Li 0-6
#6 – Elisha Shelton v Alex Showalter 0-6
Doubles
#1 – Evan Troast and Nguyen v Qin and Li 4-6
#2 – Thompson and Alvelo v Showalter and Jason Yu 0-6
#3 – Makhlouf and Youssef Labib v Michael Briggs and Will Sutton 1-6
