The Albemarle boys tennis team defeated Stonewall Jackson in the Northwest region semifinals, 5-1, Tuesday to clinch a spot in the Northwest final. The only loss came at the hands of Jimmy Davis who is one of the top high school players in the state. Jon Pyo played pretty well against Davis and has some spectacular shots of his but it was not enough against the ultra-talented Davis.
At all the other ladder positions, the Albemarle boys cruised through their singles matches and held a comfortable 3-1 lead when the momentum seemed to shift to Stonewall Jackson. Ben Anderson was in a dogfight with Devon Norton but hung on for a straight set victory, 6-3, 6-4. Brian Chen was stretched to three sets before winning his match.
“I could see the momentum shift and I was getting that feeling we were going to let the match slip away,” said Albemarle coach Chip Grobmyer. “When Anderson fought off the late surge by Norton to get us to four wins, that was a tremendous lift because I was pretty sure we could get one doubles win and take the overall match.”
As it turned out, Albemarle didn’t have to go to doubles as Brian Chen got the fifth and deciding point, winning a very long match that featured a lot of moon balls and some slick counterpunching by Stonewall’s Houston Ward. Chen ended the match with a blistering forehand passing shot.
Albemarle will host the winner of the Loudoun Valley-Riverbend match in the Northwest region final on Friday at 3 p.m.
Albemarle 5, Stonewall Jackson 1
Singles:
1. Davis (SJ) d. Pyo, 6-0, 6-2
2. Chen (A) d. Ward, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5
3. Anderson (A) d. Norton, 6-3, 6-4
4. Wilson (A) d. Bond, 6-1, 6-1
5. Barton (A) d. Collins, 6-0, 6-2
6. Shaw (A) d. Magillio, 6-1, 6-1
