PREP TENNIS: Chargers take Eagles to the wire in 1-A dual-team final

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on May 20, 2018 8:34 PM

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By RUDY COGGINS

rcoggins@newsargus.com

GREENVILLE -- An underdog with no seniors on its roster, Wayne Country Day nearly pulled off the impossible Saturday afternoon.

Oakwood clawed its way back.

The Eagles earned the final three singles points and repeated as the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A dual-team boys' tennis champs with a 5-4 victory over the Chargers on Saturday afternoon.

"Personally, I couldn't be more proud of our guys," WCDS coach Joe Cook said. "Every one of them battled hard today and while we're pleased with a runner-up finish, it came so close to breaking our way.

"A couple of points going differently here and there, and we would've been champions in an incredible upset."

Eighth-graders Alec Fritzinger and Max Young prevented an Oakwood sweep in doubles. The youngsters called upon every ounce of skill and grit in their miniature frames which resulted in an 8-3 decision.

Despite dealing with an elbow strain, junior Sam Dively eased past Jeevan Tewari 6-1, 6-1. Fritzinger handed Brandon Sears a 6-1, 6-4 loss.

Dively received all-state accolades for the fifth time in his career, while Fritzinger garnered an all-state nod for the second straight season.

Junior Charlie Dees and the Eagles' Harrison Martin engaged in a marathon at No. 3 singles. Dees trailed 5-1 and battled back to a tie before Martin won 7-5.

Dees continued to grind against Martin, who dealt with cramps in the second set. He found his rhythm in the tiebreaker and gave WCDS a 4-2 advantage with a 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (10-6) win.

Oakwood knotted the overall score at 4-4 with straight-set efforts at Nos. 4 and 5 singles.

All eyes turned toward the No. 6 court where eighth-grader Michael Geer squared off against senior Edward Braz Hardy. Geer led 4-3 in a see-saw opening set, but fell 6-4.

Braz Hardy sailed 6-1 in the second set and gave the top-seeded Eagles (14-2 overall) their third dual-team state crown in program history.

"A couple of disputed calls in the second set seemed to take Michael out of his rhythm, while Edward continued to play solidly to emerge with the match and the title for his team," Cook said.

WCDS (11-4) had been eliminated in the semifinals each of the past four seasons.

"Nobody involved in today's match should feel anything but pride," Cook said. "That is what state championship tennis should look like. And next year, building off of our very strong finish in 2018, I expect we'll be right in the hunt for a title again."

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GREENVILLE -- Results from the 2018 NCISAA state 1-A dual-team championship match played at the ECU Indoor Tennis Courts on Saturday afternoon:

Singles: Sam Dively (WCDS) d. Jeevan Tewari 6-1, 6-1; Alec Fritzinger (WCDS) d. Brandon Sears 6-1, 6-4; Charlie Dees (WCDS) d. Harrison Martin 5-7, 6-1, 1-0 (10-6); Alex Adler (O) d. Peter Ye 6-4, 6-1; Muhammad Ali (O) d. Will Rose 6-1, 6-1; Edward Braz Hardy (O) d. Michael Geer 6-4, 6-1.

Doubles: Tewari-Sears (O) d. Dively-Dees 8-1; Fritzinger-Young (WCDS) d. Martin-Ali 8-3; Adler-Hardy (O) d. Rose-Geer 8-0.