Falcons net lengthy win in girls tennis

BY MIKE LONDON
SALISBURY POST

And he was on the losing end.

West Rowan surprised Berrier’s unbeaten North team 6-3 on Tuesday afternoon, evening and night. At least it was a surprise to most, because the Cavaliers arrived in Mount Ulla on a three-match roll, including a Monday skunking of Concord. Meanwhile, West had just one “W” in the books — over rebuilding South.

The one person who didn’t act at all surprised by the outcome was West coach Mary Ann Martinelli, who insisted that her team didn’t play over its head and didn’t play a whole lot different than in its previous matches.

“We’ve got a lot of good tennis players,” she said. “North is a good measuring stick. I hope our girls saw today how much potential we have to be a good team this year.”

The matchup was an alarming wake-up call for North on the eve of 2A Central Carolina Conference play. The look in Berrier’s eyes didn’t exactly reveal shock, but there was certainly disappointment.

“I told the girls after we beat a good Concord team 9-0 on Monday that we weren’t going to be able to sneak up on anybody. We weren’t going to bushwhack anybody and we weren’t going to blindside anybody. We did not play today like we’ve been playing. We weren’t sharp. West definitely deserved to win the match, because they made very few errors. On the other hand, we made a ton.”

One Cav who simply hit the ball a ton was No. 1 Pam Cleveland, who lost just one game in two sets to Lauren Duffy, then combined with Elizabeth Ingle for an easy 8-1 win at No. 2 doubles. Cleveland, a junior, played tournament tennis this summer and looks comfortable in her new role as North’s top gun. She’s unbeaten in singles and doubles.

“I’m just not as nervous as I used to be,” said Cleveland. “I’ve got a lot more confidence in myself this year.”

Cleveland said she always has a hard time playing against Duffy because they’ve become good friends through soccer, but she pounded her pal anyway.

Duffy had the last laugh, however, as she and Jennifer Kluttz won 9-7 at No. 1 doubles over Jenna Wooten and Meredith Lentz in the pivotal match of the day. That battle won the superlatives for most intense, most talkative and most watched.

The match stood 2-2 after the first four singles encounters. Besides Cleveland’s win, Lentz got a victory for the Cavs at No. 3. She used back-to-back tiebreaker wins to nip Patty Myers, one of the county’s most improved players.

“We were so even,” said Lentz. “It was definitely a challenge, but I felt confident in the second tiebreaker and took control.”

West countered with Anna Brown’s win at No. 4 and Kluttz’s surprisingly easy victory over Wooten in a Jen vs. Jen joust at No. 2.

“I moved around a lot today,” said Kluttz. “I just tried to get every ball back and let her mess up and make mistakes.”

Gradually, West’s superior depth started to show. Julie Ferguson, who missed the Davie match with illness, stopped Kelly Honeycutt at No. 5 and youngster Ellen Crowell pitched a shutout at No. 6. That made it 4-2 and put Berrier in the precarious position of having to sweep doubles to salvage the match.

“But we knew we still had a real chance,” he said.

Martinelli acknowledged that her squad was in the driver’s seat after singles, but wasn’t interested in counting her chickens prematurely.

“I still don’t hear any fat lady singing,” she said, after the Falcon lead swelled to 4-2. “North’s so good in doubles.”

The lead was chopped to 4-3 after No. 2 doubles. Then all eyes turned to the drama on the near court where all four girls involved in the furious feud at No. 1 were hitting rockets and exchanging more high-fives than Mike Gurley’s basketball boys. The North duo led 4-2 early, but Kluttz and Duffy showed why they’re one of the best tag-teams around, smacking winner after winner in a dramatic comeback victory.

“We finally were able to keep Jennifer up at the net,” said Duffy. “That was the difference for us.”

The outcome at No. 1 rendered No. 3 doubles moot, but that battle raged deep into the night. Myers and Brown finally subdued Honeycutt and Amie Dunn 8-5 for the 6-3 final.

“Maybe North wasn’t at its best today,” said Martinelli. “Maybe we were fortunate. But this is a very important win for us. When you beat a good team it helps the confidence of everyone.”

But while Martinelli exited with a smile and a wave, Berrier left with a sigh and a shake of his head. Then he wheeled the activity bus in the direction of McDonald’s for a few much-needed Happy Meals.

“This game is mental and we just weren’t good at the mental part today,” he said. “But tennis is a game where you surge ahead for awhile and then you fall back. Today, we fell back.”