Improving netters top UC (08/24/04)

PORTLAND — Jay County coach Barry Weaver is seeing some good things. His No. 1s are still on fire, his No. 2 doubles pair has a winning streak going and two varsity newcomers are starting to figure things out.

And one more good thing: The Patriot boys tennis team picked up a victory Monday, topping the Union City Indians 3-2 to improve to 2-1 on the season.

Travis Smith and Adam Arnold locked up the victory, holding off the charge from Josh Thornburg and Aaron Hickey in the second set.

Smith and Arnold took the first by a 6-3 margin, and the teams traded games in the second set until the Jay County duo had a 5-4 lead. The Union City pair rallied back to tie the set at 5-5, but Smith and Arnold again stepped ahead by winning the next game for a 6-5 advantage.

With the prospect of a second-set tiebreaker looming, Arnold put the match away on his serve. Thornburg and Hickey couldn’t handle either of his first two offerings, and Arnold and Smith locked up the 6-3, 7-5 victory on their second match-point try when a Thornburg shot flew long.

“No. 2 doubles wasn’t playing great, but they were playing well enough to get the job done,” said Weaver.

Smith and Arnold have come together since dropping a heartbreaker to Norwell last week. They had a 5-2 lead in the first set of that match, but ended up falling in a pair of tiebreakers.

They lost their first match at the DeKalb Invitational Saturday, but rallied back for two victories. The win over Union City extended their positive streak to three in a row and lifted them to 4-2 on the season.

Weaver said DeKalb could have been a turning point for the team.

“They felt bad after they lost the first match Saturday,” he said. “They felt like they were at least as good as the other team, but just didn’t get the win.

“Tonight I think they drew on that a little bit.”

No. 1 singles player Kurtis Hess was near-perfect against Jon Moore as he kept his unbeaten record in tact. The junior breezed through the first set before giving up one game in the second for a 6-0, 6-1 victory.

Hess is now 6-0 on the year, running his career record to 39-8.

Juniors Tyler Rigby and Randy Evans did put up perfect scores as they trounced Nathan Moore and Matt Peden 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 doubles in about a half hour. Rigby snapped off an excellent return winner in the final game, and the match ended on a Union City double fault.

Rigby and Evans are 5-1 on the season and a perfect 3-0 in dual meets. Their lone loss came at DeKalb Saturday.

“We were pretty solid (at the No. 1 spots),” said Weaver. “They got in and got it over with. I felt good about that.”

Joshua Ludy made a valiant effort at No. 3 singles, but fell short of his first career victory by a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 score.

The freshman won the first game of his match against Cody Wicker, but dropped the next six to lose the first set. He rallied back, taking a 4-3 lead in the second set before winning the final two games to force a third.

He stayed close, trailing 4-3 and 5-4 in the third and final set. He fought off a match point in the next game, but dropped the match on an ace by Wicker.

Senior Jeff Sims also showed some good signs at No. 2 doubles, but lost a 6-4, 6-2 decision to Josh Lea.

“Just neither (Sims or Ludy) is experienced at the varsity level,” said Weaver. “They are getting better. Both of them are doing things where you’re starting to see the wheels turning.”

The Patriots will play at home again Thursday against Northeastern at 4:30 p.m.

Junior varsity

Jay County cruised in every junior varsity match against Union City Monday for a 3-0 victory.

Todd McCowan and Thomas McCowan played at No. 1 and No. 2 singles respectively, handing Blaine Manning and Jamison Lipps losses by matching 8-1 scores. Jason Crouch and Thomas Shrack dumped Manning and Lipps 8-2 at No. 1 doubles.[[In-content Ad]]