Well, the whole season came down to today. Get a win, go to the state tournament; lose and the team portion of the season is finished.
We went with the same lineup that we used against South yesterday. Singles: Ryan, myself, Manny, Clay. Doubles: Brandon/Rust, Andy Novak/Zach, Kenny/Andy Harris.
Ryan was done first today, he won much quicker than the last match against Wayzata, when he won in a third set. Clay was done next, his match went to the Trojans. Shortly after Clay's loss, Manny quickly finished off his opponent with a 6-0 second set. Hopkins 2, Wayzata 1.
Wayzata's doubles teams have always been strong and deep. Today was no exception. As I lost my first set 7-5, our #1 and #2 doubles teams lost. Hopkins 2, Wayzata 3. With all of the cheering going on, I was fully aware of the team's situation as I entered my second set.
I went down an early break, but got it back, and ended up taking a 4-3 lead in the second set. Just as my opponent, Scott Vezzosi, held to even my second set at four games all, #3 doubles lost their second set 7-5, meaning the team match had been decided: Hopkins 2, Wayzata 4.
Admittedly, it was hard to focus after this point, since I knew the team's match had already been lost. But I can't take any credit away from Scott, I've played him many times, and he stepped his game up big time today when it was needed, and he fully deserved the victory; he took the second set 6-4.
Final score: Hopkins 2, Wayzata 5.
As Coach Novak told us after the match, it's never fun to lose. But, we still have to take the positives: we made it to the section final and we gave it a good shot, we just fell a little short.
We've still got the individual tournaments that will be held at the University of Minnesota's Baseline Tennis Center next Tuesday and Wednesday. Again, Ryan and Andy will be playing singles, Manny and I will be playing doubles together, as well as Brandon and Andrew Rust. I'll be back on Tuesday to give the results of the individuals.
Until then,
Michael
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