Tough loss

In sports, as in life, there are often moments of great suspense -- where an outcome hangs in the balance and can go in either direction. Such was the scenario at Roxbury Latin yesterday where a dramatic afternoon of tennis unfolded. Unfortunately, Groton did not prevail. The match started promisingly with Groton capturing the doubles point in exciting fashion as Jared Gura and Ben Jones secured the win with a sparkling victory in a tie-breaker. Earlier Matt Kandel and Andrew Yang had won their doubles match, too. Groton leads 1-0. Singles then began. It was a seesaw affair. Ben Jones won decisively at #6. Groton 2-0. Andrew Yang and Gabe Scholl each lost in straight sets, playing well, but not as well as their opponents. Groton 2 - Roxbury Latin 2. Matt Kandel finished next. He won the first set, lost the second, and then had a match point in the super tie-breaker, up 10-9. Unfortunately, he did not close it out. RL won. Groton 2 - RL 3. Powers Trigg found himself in an epic battle. He won the first set. Lost the second in a tie-breaker. He then prevailed decisively in the super-tiebreaker. Groton 3 - Roxbury Latin 3. It all would come down to Third Former, Jared Gura. He had won the first set. He then lost the second narrowly in a tie-breaker. The super tiebreaker would decide the match, and probably the League Championship. As the sun set, long baseline rallies ensued, leading to cheers and groans up and down the sidelines. To say that Jared came close would be an understatement. He, too, was up 10-9, needing just one more point for the match. Unfortunately, RL won the point and later the tiebreaker, 13-11. It was Jared's third tiebreaker of the afternoon. Groton 3 - Roxbury Latin 4. Señor Conner commented: "Our twenty-nine dual match victory streak has now ended. It couldn't have been closer. I was proud of how these boys competed. I was also very encouraged to listen to comments on the van ride home and over dinner at McDonald's. The thoughts have quickly turned to future matches and the New England's. I have no doubt that there is plenty of great tennis left on these boys' racquets. I am proud of them. Losing is never easy. These kids gave their all this afternoon. Their heads are high."