Kenny Rogers (the country musician, not the baseball pitcher) once wrote “… You got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em … Know when to walk away and know when to run.” [Don’t you hate it when a song gets stuck in your head. You’re welcome.]
After a long weekend of cold and wet temperatures, the Tigers rode over to Roanoke to take on a young Raiders squad. In tennis, a player doesn’t get much coaching once the match begins. Players need to constantly evaluate the own game performance while analyzing their opponent’s performance. Sometimes your strategy is sound (and execution is difficult for whatever reason). Your plan is then to rein in the wildness that claims to be your serve or forehand. Other times, you need to toss out your initial assumptions and develop a new approach that fits the situation.
In singles play, #1 Zhang and #2 Cheng each had their hands full with the booming top-spin forehands and pinpoint serving of their North Cross rivals. It was an exhibition in solid all-court play. At #3, a recovered (strained wrist) Liu jumped to an early lead, but needed to fight off a comeback from a determined Titzman. #4 Tudela was up 7-5 as he fought against a turning tide as he tried to out-steady a determined opponent. After several protracted games with over a dozen deuce points, the score ended up a 8-8 before sliding into the Raider column. #5 Wall’s match score doesn’t reflect the large number of extended rallies as he also sought to find the key to his opponent’s game. At #6, Barqawi similarly went up by 4 games before Fishwick came back to pull even at 5-5. In turn, Barqawi made his own adjustments to end his match at 10-7. At this point, the team score of 4-2 in favor of the Raiders.
After working through the lengthy singles matches, the doubles matches were somewhat anti-climatic. Needing to win all 3 doubles matches, still looking for the right double chemistry, and getting players some much needed experience, the Tiger squad met to discuss strategy. The refocused Tigers tried to leap out of the gate to pull out a team victory. But a driven Raider squad was able to repel the attack and shut down the Tiger duos across the board.
The Tigers next take the courts at home against Carlisle on Thursday, April 26 at 4:30.
#1 Singles – Yiwen Zhang v J. Cartledge (L 0-10)
#2 Singles – Frankie Chang v M. Fleming (L 0-10)
#3 Singles – Michael Liu v J. Titzman (W 10-4)
#4 Singles – Rafi Tudela v G. Lyu (L 10-8)
#5 Singles – Turner Wall v S. Hashimi (L 5-10)
#6 Singles – Nabeel Barqawi v J. Fishwick (W 10-7)
#2 Doubles – Zheng/Liu v Fleming/Lemon (L 1-8)
#3 Doubles – Sam Hazan/Wall v Jordi/Nighant (L 3-8)
