Boy's Tennis: Handley 5, James Wood 0

May 12, 2012
By JERRY HOLSWORTH
Special to The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — It took Handley’s boys’ tennis team just 55 minutes to eliminate James Wood 5-0 in the semifinal round of the Northwestern District tournament.

“Handley has an awesome team, and they play to superbly,” Colonel coach Guss Morrison. “They’re a great representative for this area, and we want to wish them the best of luck throughout the rest of the tournament.”

The victory sets up a showdown with Sherando for the district tournament championship Monday at 2 p.m. at the Slaughter Tennis Pavilion.

“This was a good start, but it’s just a start,” Handley sixth-seed Richard Bock said. “We’ve been able to handle Sherando so far this year, but they’re a good team, and there’ll be a lot at stake on Monday.”

The lower-seeded Judges finished off their Colonel opponents quickly, leaving only the top two seeded matches left. When Handley’s Taylor Watts won the second-seeded match 6-3, 6-1 over Wood’s Chad Schott it gave the Judges the necessary five wins to end the match without the needing for play doubles.

“I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get to play doubles,” Watts said. “It been a while since we’ve had any good doubles competition, and we’re getting to the point now where that becomes very important.”

It also stopped the top-seeded match between Handley’s Gary George and Wood’s Devin Carter. At the time it was called George had won the opening set easily 6-1, but was in a dogfight with Carter in the second set.

“I was very disappointed when it was called off,” George said. “We’re both very competitive, and I wanted to finish him off. We had several good exchanges in the second set, and it was becoming the kind of match you just love playing.”

The Colonel senior had rallied against his Judges nemesis and they were battling fiercely, with George holding a narrow 4-3 lead.

“I’m responsible for the team,” Handley coach Jim Robertson said. “The last thing we need heading into the postseason is to lose our No. 1 seed to injury in a match that really doesn’t matter.”

It was the closest of the six matches, and despite the wise move by Robertson, the two rivals still had plenty of adrenalin pumping when the match was called off.

“The first set was a little rough,” Carter said. “He was playing really well. Going into the second set I was beginning to play a little better. There were some really good exchanges in the second set, and it was getting really exciting out there. I felt, at that point, I was really in it, and I was pushing hard to get it to a third set.”

The other four matches were dominated by the Judges. Handley’s Mark Sfeir easily defeated Wood’s Luke Davenport 6-2, 6-1 in the third-seed match up.

“I was constantly focusing on trying to stay aggressive,” Sfeir said. “I wanted to get the win in for the team as quickly and as efficiently as I could.”

Matt Drunagel’s fourth-seed match with Colonel Mason Beeler was even more convincing. The Judges’ junior won 6-1, 6-1.

“It was a good match,” Drunagel said. “They’re having something of a down year this year, but they’ve been very good in the past. They’re very young and I suspect they’ll be strong in the future. My serve was working really well today, and that helped a lot.”

Buster Wigley also won his fifth-seed match with Wood’s Travis Beeler 6-2, 6-0, and Bock defeated Wood’s Christian Whitacre 6-0, 6-1.

“I was rushing the net as often as I could,” Wigley said. “That seemed to be working the best for me. When he missed his first serve, I would rush the net after his second serve, and beat him with a volley. I wanted to work on that part of my game because I know the guy I’m going to be playing on Monday, and wanted to make sure that part of my game was working.”

The only bright spot for Wood in the final three match ups was the fact the all three of Wood’s players are just sophomores. Facing one the state’s top programs, Morrison, despite the loss, saw signs of promise in his Colonels.

“With the season now over, I would like to thank all of the players for giving their absolute best this season,” Morrison said. “It was a difficult season, but I thought the kids steadily progressed, and that was our primary thrust. I stressed throughout the season that the most important thing for them to focus on was constant improvement. I realize that for most people it’s hard to see that when you’re facing a team like Handley, but I could see the improvement in their skills, and I’m very proud of them and the effort that they made this year.”