For the Daily Journal
The Edinburgh boys tennis team still is looking for its first win after dropping its fourth consecutive match against Hauser on Monday.
Hauser swept the Lancers 5-0, but Edinburgh coach Pete Khensouri said his team competed well.
“(Hauser) is an experienced team,” Khensouri said. “They didn’t lose anybody from last year. Our only experienced player is at No. 1 (singles).”
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryJunior Coltan Henderson, who has been playing since his freshman year, is the veteran on the team, and he showed that competing against Hauser’s Sam Meek at No. 1 singles.
Henderson went to three sets against Meek for the first time all season in a match that lasted about two hours. He stole the first set from Meek, winning 7-6 after a 9-7 tiebreaker.
“I knew (winning the first set) was going to be huge,” Henderson said. “I knew it would set the tone for the rest of the match for me to have a set in the bag. I didn’t have to put it all on myself to win that second set.”
Meek had a solid start to the second set, beating Henderson 6-1 to force a third. Khensouri and Hauser coach John Pratt decided to turn the final set into a 10-point super tiebreaker for the sake of time since the overall match already had been clinched by the Jets.
Fatigue started to set in for Henderson, and Meek got off to an early 6-0 lead in the tiebreaker before winning, 10-2.
“Going 7-6 that first set just wipes you out,” Henderson said. “This sport in general, conditioning is a big part of it. That’s the big thing I need to work on from here.”
Ryan Gaston also found himself in a long match with Sean Miller of Hauser at No. 3 singles. There was a lot of back and forth, but Miller managed to win the the match 6-3, 6-1.
Hauser’s Justin Compton beat Gabe Wilson 6-0, 6-1 at No. 2 singles. Jacob Johnson and Alex Gross defeated the Edinburgh duo of Braden McManaway and Bladen Hancock 6-2, 6-0 at No. 1 doubles. Jacob Rudd and Ethan Wallace earned the Jets (4-1) a point at No. 2 doubles by beating Bryce Burton and Parker Bryant 6-1, 6-4.
“The thing that is very encouraging for our team is that we compete,” Khensouri said. “We compete the best we can.”
