The Varsity Tennis team welcomed Carlisle School (Martinsville, VA) in their 2017 home opener down at the Landon Tennis Center. The clear sky and calm conditions made for a picture perfect beginning of team play before the temperature started its descent into the 40’s during the last games of the doubles matches. Despite the chill, the Tigers remained focused in the face of a confident Chief squad.
At #1 Singles, Tiger Tyler Morris (New Bern, NC) led the charge against the Chiefs’ senior Shawn Ikegami. Play was fast and furious, ranging from baseline exchanges to all court scrambles behind solid services. Morris was able to keep Ikegami off-balance with a mixture of flat, spin, and kick serves, but was not able to pull away decisively until making a strategy change at 6-5. With a change in pace and mindset, Morris was able to finish out the match at 10-7. At #2, Tiger senior Tyler Aichinger (Berlin, MD) suffered the reverse fate at a solid and implacable Krutik Nigam who rolled to a 0-10 result. Despite all six Singles matches beginning simultaneously, the top two matches finished first and word soon spread around the tennis center that the team score was tied at 1-1.
At #5 and #6, Duc Nguyen (Hai Phong, Vietnam) and Sebastian Richardson (Charlotte, NC) were each playing up a rung on the competition ladder due to the illness of regular #4, Youssef Abouzied. Richardson overcame some initial trepidation in making an unexpected varsity debut. Both upheld Hargrave tradition in working methodically to post 10-1 victories. Despite the lopsided scores, their respective Chief opponents were not willing to concede the matches until the last points were played out. They finished a good 20 minutes after Morris and Aichinger and the team score inched upwards to 3-1.
The singles matches at the #3 and #4 positions showcased the extremes of excitement and frustration that can happen at high school level. The team match was in the balance despite the results on the ladder that appeared to favor Hargrave. The men at #3 and #4 were in trouble despite each jumping to an initial 4-1 lead. At #3, freshman David Kiesnowski (Appleton, WI) was moving forward behind a big serve and forehand. He had appeared to unleash two weapons, but this early in the season using those weapons can be abit like riding the wind. A patient opponent unfazed by the thunder and lightning show can wait for the wind to die down. As Kiesnowski’s serve turned into an unruly and unpredictable spring storm, the pressure on all aspects of his game mounted as the turmoil continued to 7-7 including several protracted deuce points. Reaching deep at that point, Kiesnowski settled his game down to punch out a 10-8 victory.
While the drama was unfolding on the north battery, senior Armel Ngabo (Kigali, Rwanda) was at #4 working on Carlisle’s own determined freshman Cody Smith at the south battery. Behind his aggressive Western forehand, Ngabo’s game epitomized a “go for broke” approach. Heavy topspin baseline bombs were interspersed with mishits that the patient Smith collected and put away. Ngabo refused to quit and battled through several deuce points to eventually find himself at 8-7. While the crowd of onlookers wondered how much longer the battle would rage, he put together some solid points to bring the match to a 10-8 conclusion. Finishing within minutes of Kiesnowski, the Tigers suddenly found themselves up 5-1 with the harbinger of a 3-3 score and subsequent doubles battle fading away.
With only a few minutes of rest, Kiesnowski jumped back onto the court with Morris at #1 doubles while the #2 duo of Aichinger and Ngabo similarly took up their racquets. For the last Tiger duo at #3, Nguyen paired up with 8th grader Walter Thompson (Chatham, VA) making his varsity debut of 2017. All the doubles teams turned in solid work, making investments in experience and court time towards future play.
