We didn’t think the Methacton tennis team would be particularly good this year—they lost a lot of talented seniors after last year, and Pete’s the only senior with appreciable varsity experience returning from last year. But things have gone OK, and the Warriors are in position to win the Pac-10 Conference for the fourth straight year. But to do so, they need to beat Phoenixville today. If there was a Vegas betting line, it would favor Phoenixville. And Pete’s opponent (he plays first doubles) is the best doubles team in the conference.
So when Pete and his partner Chris lost the first set, 6-0, we were … nervous. The second set, though, was much better. Peter and Chris raced to a 5-1 lead, they looked great, and then they went flat. Eventually P’ville tied it at 5-5, both held serve to get to 6-6, and we had a tiebreaker, as a persistent drizzle settled in. It was feeling like a bad way to end your year.
Instead, Pete and Chris won the tiebreaker, 7-3, and never started the decisive third set due to the weather. They return to the court Thursday for a one-set, winner-wins contest. I was really proud to see him pick up Chris, keep his composure, and close out the second set.
The other matches were split enough that it’s uncertain who will be conference champs. It would be a nice conclusion to Pete’s year to win another conference title (his hoops team won the conference title this winter in a very dramatic championship game).
(UPDATE: Pete and his partner Chris Lawly won the third set and the match, but alas, the fourth doubles team lost a tiebreaker in the third set to give Phoenixville a 4-3 win and the conference title.)
I was hoping to see Kelly and his partner Ryan play in the JV portion of the match, but the drizzles washed that away. Hopefully they get to play Thursday.
Friday, Pete is going to play in the conference singles tournament, even though he’s only played in one singles match all year. Apparently their third singles player didn’t want to play. Don’t bet against him, even though he doesn’t have a) a serve and b) a forehand.
kevdonahue.com 