For the Central boys tennis team, winning district championships has become a habit.
On Thursday evening, in a rematch of last year’s district final, the Bulldogs claimed their fourth consecutive district title, downing Waynesville 7-1, at Gillenwaters Tennis Complex.
“I think the reason we’ve played so well these four years is because the guys always come together as a team really well,” said Central senior and top singles player Chris Choe. “Even though it’s kind of an individual sport, everyone’s putting together their best effort to help the team succeed.”
Central nearly had to play a man down on Thursday, when one of its varsity players didn’t arrive in time to be put into the lineup. Fortunately, JV player Jack Mostyn was in the audience and pinch-hit for his missing teammate.
Mostyn and Sam Weiler teamed up in doubles, notching an 8-3 win to give the Bulldogs a match victory they was in doubt before Mostyn made himself available to fill in.
“Jack was probably the most valuable player today,” Choe said. “He really stepped up.”
Choe and senior Jackson Mach teamed up in doubles and beat Waynesville’s No. 1 doubles pair of Robert Osborn and Steven Berrios 8-6 in a tightly contested match.
“We knew they were both really tough opponents,” said Mach, who also won his singles match on Thursday in straight sets (6-1, 6-2). “We had to play consistently and we tried to find their weaknesses. We tried to attack the net when we could and pull them away from the baseline and utilize the wind to our benefit.”
A heavy wind on Thursday played an impact, sometimes even carrying the ball away from servers after they had tossed it into the air.
“The wind can really play a huge factor, especially today,” Mach said. “It really pulled (Osborn’s) serve wide, off the court. He didn’t have to hit it hard against us. He just utilized the wind, pulling us deep off the court, pushing us back, and forcing us to hit difficult shots.”
The Bulldogs will now face Glendale on Saturday, May 21st in the Class 2 sectionals. Glendale beat Kickapoo 5-4 on Wednesday evening.
“We have a good group of guys that push each other,” Central coach Jeff Fisher said. “It makes my job pretty easy. They do most of the work on their own. I feel like we’re a pretty close-knit group. It’s always easier to come out here every day and get to work when they get along well and want to be around each other.”
Central 7, Waynesville 1
Singles
No. 1 Chris Choe (Central) DNF Robert Osborn (Waynesville) 7-6 (7-1), 2-1
No. 2 Jackson Mach (Central) def. William David Sneed (Waynesville) 6-1, 6-2
No. 3 Adecsh Paruathaneni (Central) def. Steven Berrios (Waynesville) 6-3, 6-4
No. 4 Ankit Jain (Central) def. Cameron Martell (Waynesville) 6-0, 6-3
No. 5 Sam Weiler (Central) def. Derick Anglin (Waynesville) 6-0, 6-2
No. 6 Hermano Carvalho (Waynesville) def. Jack Mostyn (Central) 6-2, 6-0
Doubles
No. 1 Choe/Mach (Central) def. Osborn/Berrios (Waynesville) 8-6
No. 2 Paruathaneni/Jain (Central) def. Sneed/Martell (Waynesville) 8-1
No. 3 Weiler/Mostyn (Central) def. Anglin/Carvalho (Waynesville) 8-3
