It is a truth universally acknowledged that a man in possession of free time on the Internet must read the Edwardsville tennis weekly recap…
Happy belated Mother’s Day to all our moms and grandmas in the program: truly, your support is a massive part of your children’s success. Also huge congratulations to all our alumni who graduated from college this past weekend! Education is a journey never completed, but this is a huge milestone.
The boys celebrated the week with three dual match victories, sweeping Francis Howell Central (MO) and Collinsville 9-0 on Wednesday and Thursday. On Saturday, the Tigers headed north to Springfield to face Springfield High School at beautiful Washington Park. All told, it was probably EHS’s best team win of the year, as they downed a good Senators team 6-3 with two players missing from the normal top six lineup (Michael Karibian due to COVID exposure and Sam Motely due to injury).
Colton Hulme won a tight super-tiebreaker at 1 singles, while Jade Dynamic added a convincing 6-1, 6-0 win at 2 singles. Lone senior Ben Blake continued a fantastic run of recent play with his own 6-1, 6-1 win at 6 singles--he’s won his last 17 singles and doubles matches-- while Alex Lane finished the scoring with a 6-2, 6-2 victory at no. 5 singles.
In doubles, Colton and Jade ran it back for a 6-2, 7-5 win at the no. 1 position, while Ben and Alex teamed for a dominant 6-0, 6-2 win at no. 3. Jace Ackerman and Adrian Norcio dropped a tight 7-6(8), 6-2 match at no. 2 doubles after falling just short in singles.
The Tigers’ record is now 13-4 on the year, with a 2-0 Southwestern Conference slate. This week will see Edwardsville’s toughest challenges to date, as they face O’Fallon at home at 3:30 on Tuesday, and travel to Belleville East at 3:30 on Wednesday. Both matches have huge SWC ramifications.
On Thursday, meanwhile, the JV travels to Alton for the JV conference tournament, and looks to hold the crown for a third consecutive year.
On Friday/Saturday, EHS heads north for the Tom Pitchford Invitational. Known as “mini-state,” this tournament brings together the top 16 teams in Illinois for a two-singles, two-doubles event. It’s always a huge honor to be selected, and we’re grateful to Hersey Head Coach Andy Walton both for putting it on, and for the invitation. It will be a fantastic, challenging weekend for all the boys.
Because of Mother’s Day, there was no JTT play this week. In individual tournament action, Dia Kannan took 1st place in the Level 6 12s Girls singles over the weekend, beating a tough opponent 6-3, 6-2 in the finals. In the same tournament, Gabi Hill took 3rd place in the Level 6 Girls 14 singles. Way to go girls, and great job on playing tournaments! Tournament play is the best way for players to improve their game and competitive experience.
(on far left and only half pictured, Adrian Norcio, because apparently Kirk doesn't know how to take photos)
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