A Thriller
Today's match was every bit as close as expected, with comparable opponents competing hard and well at every position.
The first round on court consisted of three terrific battles. Will Vrattos and his opponent took turns winning the first four games before the opponent developed a lead in the fifth and held on to pull it out, 11-8. Kevin Cai controlled his share of the play but his fit opponent's counter-punches still brought Cai to a 1-2 deficit. Fortunately, Cai's focus and ball control kept him on track. allowing him to take the fourth game and then pull out a thrilling 13-11 win in the fifth. Meanwhile, Charlie Weisberg was still in the process of staging a dramatic come-back. After dropping the first two games, Weisberg found his rhythm and refused to let a ball bounce twice. He took the next two games, 12-10, 12-10, before coming up just barely short in the fifth, 9-11.
Down 1-2, the Groton team was every bit as focused and determined in the second round of matches. Tyler Santana's opponent was just plain sharp but Evan Khym was locked in and executed his points extremely well to bring the team score to 2-3. Then Carter Lightburn, down 1-2, found his balance, began controlling the pace, and ultimately came back to win, 12-10 in the fifth, bringing the team score to 3-3. With the match on the line, both teams and an enthusiastic home crowd cheered their players on as the #1 match went to a fifth game. Ronin Kaplan put in a truly impressive effort to come back from 0-2 and force a fifth game but, compromised by a tender foot, his court coverage and consistency were not quite up to his usual standard and his opponent stayed sharp to close out the fifth.
The first round on court consisted of three terrific battles. Will Vrattos and his opponent took turns winning the first four games before the opponent developed a lead in the fifth and held on to pull it out, 11-8. Kevin Cai controlled his share of the play but his fit opponent's counter-punches still brought Cai to a 1-2 deficit. Fortunately, Cai's focus and ball control kept him on track. allowing him to take the fourth game and then pull out a thrilling 13-11 win in the fifth. Meanwhile, Charlie Weisberg was still in the process of staging a dramatic come-back. After dropping the first two games, Weisberg found his rhythm and refused to let a ball bounce twice. He took the next two games, 12-10, 12-10, before coming up just barely short in the fifth, 9-11.
Down 1-2, the Groton team was every bit as focused and determined in the second round of matches. Tyler Santana's opponent was just plain sharp but Evan Khym was locked in and executed his points extremely well to bring the team score to 2-3. Then Carter Lightburn, down 1-2, found his balance, began controlling the pace, and ultimately came back to win, 12-10 in the fifth, bringing the team score to 3-3. With the match on the line, both teams and an enthusiastic home crowd cheered their players on as the #1 match went to a fifth game. Ronin Kaplan put in a truly impressive effort to come back from 0-2 and force a fifth game but, compromised by a tender foot, his court coverage and consistency were not quite up to his usual standard and his opponent stayed sharp to close out the fifth.
When the dust had settled, Belmont Hill won one more game and a total of three more points than Groton. It couldn’t have been much closer. These are the matches we train for and look forward to. Today’s good sportsmanship, intense competition, and narrow margin of victory made for a thrilling afternoon. This close loss will surely provide good incentive for the Groton team’s continued training and improvement.
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