Newton handles short-handed Pella Christian 9-2
|
| Newton senior Troy Scott hits a forehand during his No. 1 singles match of the Cardinals’ 9-2 victory over Pella Christian Tuesday afternoon at Aurora Heights Park. Scott was victorious over the Eagles’ Nick Dahm 6-1, 6-4. (Shane Lucas/Daily News) |
As the saying goes, a win is a win.
Despite Pella Christian only bringing five players, the Newton boys tennis team handled them with ease thanks to strong play and a number of forfeits to pick up a 9-2 victory and extend their Little Hawkeye Conference record to 2-1.
“From a coaching standpoint, you don’t like to win a match the way we did today,” Newton coach Clyde Wiley said. “But things went pretty much like I thought they would. I figured we could’ve won all the singles.”
In singles play, senior McKinley Brown took care of business quickly and was the first one off the courts by a longshot. Brown, playing No. 2 singles, dispatched Pella Christian’s Micah Zantingh by a swift 6-1, 6-2 decision and began what would be a dominant day for the Cards.
At No. 1 singles, Newton senior Troy Scott cruised 6-1 over Pella Christian’s Nick Dahm in the first set, but had to battle back from a small deficit in the second to eventually claim a 6-1, 6-4 sweep.
“I was hitting the ball pretty well in the first set, then I kind of backed off and played more conservative,” Scott said. “I wasn’t very mentally stable there and I think I just lost control of how I was hitting the ball. So, I just kind of took it easy and re-thought how I was hitting the ball and came back.”
The Cardinals then won three of the remaining four singles matches, although senior Heli Nascimento was the only one to complete an entire victory at No. 5. At No. 3, senior Aaron Thompson took the first set from Tyler Sajduk 6-1 before Sajduk withdrew due to an injury.
Sophomore Spencer Hook then received a forfeit at No. 6 singles, and the singles courts with filled by Newton teammates Jon Tudor and Sebastian Peters playing against one another for practice.
“We didn’t get to play a lot of kids tonight and I was hoping we’d be able to play more,” Wiley said.
To help get as many Newton kids on the court as possible, Wiley shook up the doubles pairs. At No. 1, Hook stepped in for Scott and played alongside Brown. The pair fought back from a deficit in the first set to tie things up a 5-5, but eventually lost the set 7-5 and the Pella Christian No.1/No. 2 singles pair of Dahm and Zantingh finished off the match with a 6-1 win in the second set.
Newton was able to end the day on a winning note as Tudor and Kyle Porter picked up a 6-3, 5-7, 10-7 victory over Marshall Fynaardt and Nick Van Beek in No. 2 doubles. Much like a lot of their teammates, Tudor and Porter fought off a deficit in the first set and closed out the victory in a tiebreaker set.
Now that they’re near the halfway point of the season, the Cards have been able to get a better idea of how they’re playing as a team. Despite lopsided losses to strong competition in the first two meets of the season, Newton appears to be getting a hold of things.
”I think we’re moving in the right direction,” Scott said. “Those two first meets were a bit harsh because those are probably the two toughest teams we’re going to play. But, I also think that should set us up for winning season.”
The Cards will return to conference action on Thursday with a road trip to Norwalk. A make-up match from last week’s rainout at Norwalk has yet to be scheduled.
Newton 9, Pella Christian 2
Singles
1s — Troy Scott (N) def. Nick Dahm (P), 6-1, 6-4
2s — McKinley Brown (N) def. Micah Zantingh (P), 6-1, 6-2
3s — Aaron Thompson (N) def. Tyler Sajdak (P), 6-1, Injury Forfeit
4s — Marshall Fynaardt (P) def. Carter McDermott (N), 6-4, 6-4
5s — Heli Nascimento (N) def. Nick Van Beek (P), 6-1, 6-4
6s — Spencer Hook (N) received a forfeit
Doubles
1d — Dahm/Zantingh (P) def. Brown/Hook (N), 7-5, 6-1
2d — Kyle Porter/Jon Tudor (N) def. Fynaardt/Van Beek (P), 6-3, 5-7, 10-7
3d-5d — Newton receives forfeits
