Tennis Falls to Covenant in Season Opener

Benjamin J Veshi

The Hargrave Varsity Tennis team opened their 2020 season against perennial powerhouse Covenant School (Charlottesville, VA).  Hargrave’s experienced players were veteran Sebastian Richardson ’20 (Charlotte, NC) at #2 singles (starting his fifth year on the squad) and JT Coley  ’22 (Raleigh, NC) making his Tiger Tennis debut at #1 singles. Deeper in the line-up, three less-experienced Tigers have emerged to take positions on the ladder: John Ratchford ’22 (Charlotte, NC) at #3 singles, Mason Rucker ’22 (Charlotte, NC) at #1 doubles, and Connor Henretta ’23 (Roanoke, VA) at #3 doubles.  The remainder of the squad is new to Hargrave and generally new to competitive team tennis.

With a minimum of early-season jitters, the Tigers took to the courts of Landon Tennis Center on the northwest corner of campus.  When play ended, the scoreboard story showed the Tigers down, but the overall scores didn’t reflect the good tennis play or the little character victories.

At #1 Singles, Coley led the charge against the Eagles’ Senior Alex Vangelopoulos.  Vangelopoulous’ speedy first serve was a bucket of cold water on Coley’s game, but after a few games, Coley recovered and his all-court attack was underway.  With the level of play expected at #1 singles, the effort was balanced between defending against attacks and applying pressure in return. In the end, Coley’s initial deficit proved to be too much as he fell 4-8.

At #2 singles, the experience of veteran Sebastian Richardson showed as his and his opponent, senior Glulio Degiorgis ground out their heavy topspin baseline games for almost 2 hours.  Richardson broke serve early to take a lead, but each game was clearly contested. He was serving for the match, 7-6. Degiorgis refused to quit and the game once again found itself tied 40-40 (deuce).  Six deuce points later with both players showing signs of mental fatigue, Degiorgis tied the match 7-7. With neither player conceding, the last two games ground on for 15 minutes before Richardson finally fell, 7-9.

Ratchford, Korchmar ’24 (Boston, MA), Teluk ’23 (Manilus, NY), and Will Nolan ’23 (Chatham, VA) found themselves starting cold and were inconsistent against confident opponents.  Korchmar and Nolan were able to get traction to take some games. 

On the doubles side, the #3 doubles team of Teluk and Henretta were able to get in a complete set against Allen and Allen, working through some challenges to take some games.  Coley teamed up with Rucker but had their match stopped at 1-4 due to rain making the court surface slippery. Richardson and Ratchford also had to stop and were disappointed as they were looking to capitalize on a 2-1 score as they sought redemption from their singles losses.

The Man of the Match was an easy decision: Sebastian Ricardson.  He epitomized perseverance, grit, and a high tennis IQ in his marathon match against an equally determined opponent.  

Our match previously scheduled for Friday, March 13 against Carlisle School has been rescheduled for Monday, April 6.  The Tigers take to the road next week to take on another powerhouse, North Cross School (Roanoke) on Tuesday and newcomers Westover Christian Academy in Danville on Thursday.  

Individual Match Scores:

Singles

#1 – JT Coley v Alex Vangelopoulos L 4-8

#2 – Sebastian Richardson v Glulio Degiorgis L 0-8

#3 – John Ratchford v Cooper Weiss L 0-8

#4 – Jacob Korchmar v Jack Meaney L 2-8

#5 – Ethan Teluk v Seamus Allen L 0-8

#6 – Will Nolan v Cormac Allen L 3-8

Doubles

#1 – Coley and Mason Rucker v Vangelopoulos and Weiss 1-4 (stopped)

#2 – Richardson and Ratchford v Degiorgis and Meaney 2-1 (stopped)

#3 – Teluk and Henretta v Allen and Allen L 3-8

Images: https://hargrave.smugmug.com/2019-20-Hargrave-School-Year/Tennis-v-Covenant-School

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