Patriots get ugly win

It’s possible to get a victory and still be disappointed in the way it happened.

Scott Miller and the Patriots experienced it Monday.

The Jay County High School boys tennis team overcame some sloppy play to end a losing streak in beating the visiting Union City Indians on Monday in its home opener, 4-1.

“I have a feeling most of my boys are not leaving here planning a congratulatory meal at El Camino or anything like that,” Miller, Jay County’s coach, said after his team ended a three-match losing streak to start the season. “I think they are pretty frustrated with the results tonight. It was way closer than a lot of them feel like it should have been.”

Sophomore Simon Dirksen kicked off the night for the Patriots (1-3) by beating Brayden Hoggett in their No. 2 singles match, 6-1, 7-5.

Cousin Abraham Dirksen, the Patriots’ No. 3 singles player, got his first varsity victory in his first three-set match. He easily won the opening set 6-1, but dropped the second to Cole Jefferis by a 6-4 margin. He rebounded, however, to take the decisive set 6-3.

“That’s great for him,” Miller said. “He feels really good about it. It’s always great to come off the court with a win, especially for a freshman because you’re not quite sure if you can.

“Now his confidence is going to be higher. He feels good for it. It’s a positive for him.”

Abraham Dirksen’s triumph secured the overall match win, as moments earlier sophomore Austin Dirksen and freshman Sam Myers teamed for their second No. 2 doubles victory of the season, beating Parker Keens and Corbin Richards 6-3, 6-1.

Gavin Myers and Darius Esparza started with a 6-3 win in the first set of their No. 1 doubles contest against Kyle Buckingham and Zack Fulk, but dropped set two 6-4. Battling a host of unforced errors — shots sailing long, fired into the net or attacks plunking off the side of the racket — Esparza and Myers were able to come back from the defeat to win the third set 6-4.

Perhaps the most visibly frustrating match, both for coach and player, was the No. 1 singles bout between JCHS junior Crosby Heniser and Union City’s Owen Dowler.

Heniser didn’t surrender a game in taking the opening set, but he, too, was bitten by offensive mistakes. Dowler took the next two sets 6-3, 6-3, for the Indians’ only win.

“I like it when my team is aggressive but I felt like today they were overly aggressive,” said Miller, who could be seen shrugging his shoulders and occasionally burying his head in his hands at times as Heniser struggled on the court.

Heniser was disappointed in himself after the match, one in which he seemed confident before it began.

“They were trying to go for things that weren’t really there and they were doing it at significant times that lead to pretty close matches that didn’t need to be close,” Miller continued. “It was frustrating, but we got the win.”

Loss to Argylls

Jay County lost its third consecutive match Saturday, 5-0 to the host Madison-Grant Argylls.

Heniser dropped his No. 1 singles match to Nick Evans, 6-0, 6-2, and Simon Dirksen fell 6-0, 6-0 to Jace Gilman in their No. 2 singles bout. Abraham Dirksen lost to Eli Lutterman 6-2, 6-1 at No. 3 singles.

The Patriots’ No. 1 doubles tandem of Gavin Myers and Esparza lost to Lance Wilson and Mason Richards 7-6 (7-1), 6-3, while Austin Dirksen and Sam Myers fell to Corbin Fox and Clayton Hull in their No. 2 doubles contest 6-1, 6-2.

Jay County’s junior varsity lost 7-0.