Tennis – Boys Varsity vs Westminster School – Away

Varsity Boys Tennis

We knew that this match would be quite close and lengthy, and it turned out to be an understatement. Two of the three doubles matches went to a tiebreaker, and four of the six singles matches went to super tiebreakers. When six of nine matches are determined by tiebreakers, it does not get much closer than that. Additionally, the match did not end until minutes before 8:00 pm. KO earned the always important doubles point with victories at #2 (Will Maclean/Neil Reddy) and #3 (Saahit Gaddipati/Logan Barash), both of which ended with a tiebreaker (7-3 and 11-9 respectively). The Westy #1 doubles played well in an 8-5 win against the combo of Blair and Concepcion. Westy turned the tide with straight sets wins at #4 and #6 over Reddy and J. Barash. Interestingly the remaining four matches all went to supertiebreakers. Pratt Blair held off a determined effort from his opponent to earn the win at #2 (6-2, 2-6, 10-8). That knotted the match at 2-2, and KO battled back from first set losses at #1,3, and 5 to force 3rd set super tiebreakers. Ciaran Concepcion played very well against a tough opponent who was battling through illness. Ultimately, Westy prevailed by a score of 7-6, 6-1, 10-6. At # 3, Will Maclean took the 2nd set but fell 10-7 in the tiebreaker. By the time Saahit Gaddipati forced a 3rd set at #5, Westy had clinched the match with the 4th point. Despite playing an excellent 2nd set, Gaddipati was unable to maintain his momentum as his opponent rolled to a 10-1 tiebreaker win. So, it is safe to say that our prediction of a close match was correct, and it was the kind of match where, unfortunately, one team loses a tough match. Westy got the win, though we certainly made them earn it. Resiliency is something that sports teaches us, and we must be resilient with tough Founders League matchups against AOF and Hotchkiss on Thursday and Saturday.

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Away
(League)
Loss
KO: 2 – Westminster School: 5
Location: Westminster School
Directions: Take Trout Brook Dr and CT-185 W to Riverside Rd in Simsbury