EW defeats No. Nash tennis
By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on April 21, 2012 11:20 PM
Perfection.
No. 4-ranked Eastern Wayne polished off its first-ever, unbeaten regular-season campaign in men's tennis with a 5-4 triumph over Northern Nash on Friday afternoon. The Warriors (17-0 overall) claimed their second straight one-point win in a three-day period.
"This was a great rematch," EW head coach Craig Hassell said. "Our team has shown much tenacity as the season progressed. We have a veteran team of juniors and seniors whose experience has shown all year, and hope it continues into postseason play."
The teams battled to a 3-3 draw after singles.
Top-seeded Chaz Fitzpatrick gutted out a 6-0, 7-5 decision despite battling cramps. Second-seeded Russell Turner, who won the state 1-A singles championship a year ago, easily dispatched Julian Marrero 6-0, 6-2.
Sixth-seeded Cole Newsome remained unbeaten in singles play with a testy 7-5, 6-3 conquest of Eric Joyner.
Northern Nash, ranked No. 8, captured three singles matches. Third-seeded Tremel Davis and fifth-seeded Matt Outlaw each prevailed in straight-set fashion. Fourth-seeded Josiah Marshall stopped Mitchell Kaspar 6-1, 3-6, 10-6.
"Mitchell and Sawyer Thompson (No. 5 seed) fought hard despite losing in singles and doubles," Hassell said. "They have improved as the season has progressed and given us big wins this year."
Fitzpatrick-Turner emerged victorious, 8-5, at No. 1 singles. The third-seeded duo of Steven Taylor-Newsome upended the Knights' Davis/Nathan Norris, 8-2.
Eastern Wayne returns to action in the season-ending Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference tournament, which begins play Wednesday morning at Herman Park. The Warriors, for the first time since 2007, have clinched the league's No. 1 seed for the N.C. High School Athletic Association dual-team playoffs.