Gray Evans didn’t get much of an answer when he asked Western Albemarle assistant coach Charles Ix how the Warriors were doing during his third set in singles play. But it was enough to reassure the Warriors’ No. 6 player Friday morning at Virginia Tech during the Group AA boys tennis semifinals.
“I asked my coach how we were doing and he said ‘fine’,” Evans said. “That took some of the pressure off.”
In fact, the Warriors were in terrific position having swept the first four singles matches to finish, and when Evans settled down, he won the decisive third set of his singles match, Western clinched a 5-0 victory over E.C. Glass and a fifth-straight berth in the state final.
Cam Scot and Teddy Nelson came up big with a pair of wins at No. 1 and No. 2 respectively that gave Western a huge advantage. Scot won 6-1, 6-4 over John James of Glass, rolling 6-1, 6-4. Nelson clipped Scottie Taylor 6-3, 6-1.
“We felt good about one and two coming in,” Hobson said. “We played them in a scrimmage and won at one, two and five. But obviously those guys (Scot and Nelson) at one and two set the stage and took some of the pressure off. They obviously played well and gave the other guys confidence.”
Tom Lewis made it 3-0 with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Mitchell Swann at No. 5. Lewis stepped up his assertiveness throughout the match as the reliable No. 5 continues to play a key role for the Warriors.
“He really played to win in the end there,” Hobson said. “Early on in the match he missed a few at net but in the last game or tow he was really aggressive and played to win.”
Evans closed the match with a hard fought third set win, fending off Calvin Chueh, who stumbled out of the gate with a 6-1 opening set drop to Evans but bounced back with a 6-4 win in the second set.
“I don’t think he was playing his best (in the first set) so I don’t think that was a reflection of the whole match,” Evans said. “He started playing really well in the second set and I lost a little bit, but in the third set I just refocused.”
Evans won the final set 6-3 to clinch the victory. Will Diamond, Western’s No. 4, was leading 4-2 in the third set before his match was halted.
The Warriors played the match indoors at Tech while the other semifinal, Salem’s 5-1 drubbing of an reworked Jamestown squad that won the title in 2010, went on outside. The indoor placement was a confidence boost for the Warriors, including Scot and Nelson’s who’s games are tailored for the indoor surface.
“A lot of our guys like to smack around from the baseline—sometimes a little too much for our comfort,” Hobson said. “But the ball really pops up for them here and they’re used to being indoors at the Boar’s Head so we prefer it.”
Western’s draw in the final won’t go nearly as easily. The Warriors face Patrick O’Keefe and a title-hungry Salem squad in the final at 9 a.m. Saturday morning. One of the few accomplishments missing from O’Keefe’s decorated prep career is a Salem team championship and this is significantly the four-time individual state champion and two-time doubles champion’s best chance. He’s now got his freshman brother Harrison O’Keefe and another pair of brothers, Michael and Will Drougas that give Salem a formidable top four.
Salem last played in the team final in 2008 during Patrick O’Keefe’s freshman season and fell to Western 5-2. It was the second of three-straight Western titles.
