Fresh off Spring Break, the Varsity Tennis Tigers were able to hold off a determined Caisson squad under some occasionally brisk conditions at Landon Tennis Center. The win moves the Hargrave team match record to 1-2 and drops Fishburne Military School (Waynesboro, VA) to 0-1.
Under the clear afternoon sky, Reid Dantonio opened his season at #1 singles. In an even match that saw several lead changes and minor injury (rolled ankle), Dantonio finally succombed 8-10. On the next court, Dan Kim in the #2 singles match fought through sun and some discouraging rallies to put up the first HMA win of the day, 10-0. #3 singles Frankie Chang was held even to 5-5 before making adjustments to finish 10-6. Turner Wall continued to show good form and poise through several deuce points to log in a 10-4 victory in the #4 singles slot. Zach Bunner moved up the ladder in the week before Spring Break to take the #5 singles position and today endured the longest match of the day to emerge with a 10-8 win. WeiAn Chen topped off an airplane ride that crossed 10 time zones with two and a half hours of tennis that saw him down 3-6 before toppling his opponent 10-8 in the #6 singles match-up. Chen then continued onto #3 doubles with new partner Tanner Rose (also making his season debut in regular play), finishing the day with an 8-3 effort. Rose was able to work through some match jitters to turn in some solid play at the net. At #1 doubles, Dantonio and Kim gave their Caisson counterparts a solid match despite the lopsided final score, 8-2. Wall and Bunner teamed together to take the #2 doubles match-up. The evenly matched duos went to 6-6 before Wall held serve and then they broke their opponents serve to win 8-6 and bring the team contest to a close as twilight fell.
Due to absences, injuries and illness, planned exhibition matches were canceled.
Individual Match Scores:
Singles
#1 – Reid Dantonio v John Hutchinson : 8-10
#2 – Dan Kim v Phillip Dwyer : 10-0
#3 – Frankie Chang v Hunter Couchot : 10-6
#4 – Turner Wall v Devin Soulsby : 10-4
#5 – Zach Bunner v Logan Amico : 10-8
#6 – WeiAn Chen v Minho Cho : 10-8
Doubles
#1 – Dantonio and Kim v Hutchinson and Alex Gray : 8-2
#2 – Wall and Bunner v Soulsby and Cho : 8-6
#3 – Chen and Tanner Rose v Amico and Landers : 3-8
Varsity Tennis will next host North Cross (Roanoke, VA) on Friday, April 5, at 4:30.
