By Adam Knoll
Sometimes, good tennis isn’t enough to beat a good squad, and that is exactly what the Whippets had to deal with last week as a good day of matches resulted in only a single win.
Brodie Runez, a Whitewater High School sophomore, was able to beat Neal Stilin, a Big Foot senior in straight sets 6-0, 6-1 to give the Whippets their lone victory on the day.
Gabe Heller, a junior, lost in a very good match against Michael Heidenreich, a sophomore, 5-7, 4-6. In the same vein, Josh Nast and John Bresser lost in matches that they could have taken.
During doubles, Whitewater dropped its three contests, though Forrest Spear and Chamath Gunawardena pushed their match to three sets, succumbing 6-4, 2-6 and 3-6. The other two matches were not as close.
“Although we lost, I thought our guys played some good tennis,” head coach Anthony Paul said after. “Big Foot is a skilled group, playing them made us better. Bottom line, I like the way we battled and made adjustments. I could say the same about the JV level, lots of good matches.”
Speaking of the JV squad, they had a bit of a better day, winning three of the 11 matches they competed in.
Roberto Soto and Viet Vo won their doubles match 8-1. Jeremy Chinn and Dineth Gunawardena also won their doubles match 8-2.
In singles for the JV team, Jameson Hutchins defeated Evan Karabas in a riveting match that ended 8-8 (7-2) and Aidan Borre nearly defeated Nelson Tovar, but fell 7-7 (7-9).
McFarland tough to beat
In the Whippets second competition of last week, the team faced off against McFarland, and had trouble winning any of their matches.
Brodie Runez came the closest on the varsity squad, falling to Rob Cook 4-6, 1-6. Griffin Nathan and Jan Maroske dropped their doubles match 3-6, 0-6 as the WHS varsity team went winless in seven matches on the day.
For the JV squad, Michael Fernandez nearly won his singles match, losing 7-7 (5-7). The rest of the day was pretty rough for the JV team as well, falling in all 11 matches played.
“It was a tough day from a wins and losses perspective,” Paul said. “McFarland is very good team with a lot of depth. We will learn from this match.”
