By Luke Nadkarni / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
For the Albemarle boys tennis team, the opponent hasn’t mattered this season. Be it regular season, district tournament, or regional play, the Patriots have taken down all challengers.
In their previous two AAA Northwest Regional matches, Albemarle cruised to 5-0 wins. Monday afternoon’s match against visiting Freedom-South Riding wasn’t the walk in the park the Patriots have been used to this year, but they were still able to take care of business 5-2 over the Eagles to clinch their fifth consecutive AAA state tournament berth.
The match, which was interrupted by a thunderstorm forcing a move to the indoor courts at the Boar’s Head Sports Club, started off on the wrong foot for Albemarle. No. 1 seed Doug Corbett, coming off of a grueling three-set match in Wednesday’s regional semifinals, never got his game going in a 6-0, 6-0 loss to Alex Cragg. However, the Patriots quickly evened the match as No. 3 Jake Brooks disposed of Soren Charmsaz 6-2, 6-1. These were the only two matches completed before the weather delay.
“I think [the switch] affected us in a positive way,” Albemarle coach Chip Grobmyer said. “This surface is much faster than ours at Albemarle.”
Charlie Shepherd was the next Patriot off the court, completing a 6-3, 6-1 win over Joseph Kim at No. 4. No. 6 Joey Michel and No. 5 David Grbic each scored identical 6-2, 6-4 victories over Anchit Kolla and Timothy Yao, respectively, but the Eagles forced doubles play by virtue of Brian Park’s 6-4, 6-2 win over Boris Yang at No. 2.
“The first two [matches] were losses,” Grobmyer said. “But at three through six, we knew we had to win, and we got them.”
Needing just one win to take the match, Shepherd and Grbic wasted little time at No. 3 doubles, making quick work of Yao and Kolla by a score of 6-1, 6-0. The win made Albemarle’s 5-2 lead insurmountable, giving them the regional crown.
The win improves Albemarle’s record to 21-0 on the season. The Patriots will open state tournament play on Tuesday, May 28th, hosting the runner-up from the Northern Region.
Albemarle 5, Freedom-South Riding 2
Singles
1. Cragg (F) d. Corbett 6-0, 6-0
2. Park (F) d. Yang 6-4, 6-2
3. Brooks (A) d. Charmsaz 6-2, 6-1
4. Shepherd (A) d. Kim 6-3, 6-1
5. Grbic (A) d. Yao 6-2, 6-4
6. Michel (A) d. Kolla 6-2, 6-4
Doubles
1. Cragg/Park (F) vs. Corbett/Brooks 6-2, 5-2 DNF
2. Yang/Michel (A) vs. Charmsaz/Kim 6-6 (2-2) DNF
3. Shepherd/Grbic (A) d. Yao/Kolla 6-1, 6-0
