James Wood's Lucas falls in Region 4D singles semifinals

WINCHESTER — Play, learn and play some more.

That’s been the philosophy of James Wood sophomore tennis player Josh Lucas this season.

And while his final match may not have gone the way he wanted it to on Tuesday morning, the left-hander appreciates the remarkable growth in his game over the past season.

Lucas advanced to the Region 4D semifinals before running into a buzz-saw in Salem sophomore Drew Perez. Lucas, the No. 2 seed from the North Division, fell 6-0, 6-0 against the Perez, the top seed from the South, at Slaughter Tennis Pavilion. Perez would go on to win the title and a state berth with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Charlottesville’s Sean Frank.

Though disappointed with his loss, Lucas couldn’t help but appreciate what it meant to be among the final four players left in one of the toughest regions in the state.

“I didn’t think I would make it honestly,” Lucas said. “It was a shocker. I didn’t think I would be close to making it because freshman year I was No. 4. I was nowhere near good enough. Now. I’m No. 1 [at James Wood] and in the semifinals of regionals. It’s really quite an achievement.”

“Josh has always been one of my favorite students to coach,” said first-year James Wood coach Christian Hellwig, a former player at Millbrook. “He really is one of the more impressive players I’ve seen come out of the Winchester area in a long time. … If he continues to play the way he does and to progress the way he’s progressing, he’s winning this match next year.”

Lucas said the progress has come from taking lessons and working for Jamie Morgan, the Director of Tennis at Winchester Country Club, and spending a lot of time on the court.

“It was like 1,000 hours of play time,” he said when asked how he made the huge jump in his play this spring. “I work on everything all of the time. I was playing like 12 hours a day over the summer. Even this year, I’m doing like five or six hours after school, trying to get better. … I’m always out on the courts. It’s pretty much where I live and breathe.”

Lucas turned that practice into a stellar district season. He lost just one match in Class 4 Northwestern District play as he split a pair of matches with Handley’s Jack Boye. His other three losses before Tuesday came out of district.

While the score was lopsided against Perez, Lucas was in a lot of the games. The Spartans’ top player had a knack for coming up with the big points. Trailing 2-0 in the first set, Lucas led 40-0 on serve, but Perez fought back to capture five straight points to win the game.

Throughout the match, the right-handed Perez was able to play to his strength, a rocket forehand, which had Lucas on the defensive from the baseline.

“He was just very versatile,” Lucas said of Perez. “His game was all-around well-balanced. His forehand was definitely his strong suit. After I hit the return of serve, he would run around to his forehand and just crank it.”

Lucas said his game was just a little too inconsistent. “I wasn’t playing horrible,” he said. “My forehand, my timing was off. I needed to get more stable and grind it with my forehand. I feel like if I would have did that, it would have been a much better shot.”

Hellwig said that Lucas pocketed some important knowledge from the defeat.

“The kid was ultimately better than Josh and Josh knows that,” Hellwig said. “Knowing Josh, he’s going to go back out and work his butt off to prepare himself for next season. He trains more than anybody else I know.

“The things that he’s learned from this match within itself is that his serve isn’t as strong as he thinks it is, his footwork isn’t where it needs to be and his overheads aren’t there. He needs to hit more aggressive. These are things he’s learning, but he’s definitely learned because he’s talked to me about them already.”

Lucas, who knocked off Sherando sophomore Greyson Foltz 7-5, 6-3 in the quarterfinals on Monday, said facing the region’s best players is certainly something to build upon.

“It’s a really big thing just getting the experience and the competitive feel,” he said. “I’ve been playing casual tennis for so many years. This is one of the first years where actually, ‘I have to step up my game. I’m in the hotseat.’ It’s definitely a new experience.”

On Wednesday, Handley’s Ty Dickson and Carter Bessette will be in semifinal action against a pair from Blacksburg at 10 a.m.

Freilich eliminated in girls’ singlesSherando’s Katie Freilich fell in the girls’ singles semifinals on Tuesday at E.C. Glass High School in Lynchburg.

Freilich, the top seed from the North, lost 6-1, 6-0 against Salem’s Claire Rawlins, the No. 2 seed from the South. Rawlins later lost 6-1, 6-1 to E.C. Glass’ Tovia Carothers in the title match.

Freilich is still alive in doubles action as she and partner Gabriella Koch, the top seeds from the North, will tackle Salem’s Rawlins and Lauren Baba in the semifinals on Wednesday. Handley’s Tess McAllister and Ellie Bessette, the No. 2 seeds from the North, will face the top-seeded team of Carothers and Mary Elizabeth Kennedy from E.C. Glass in the other semifinal.

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