Published Tuesday, May 06, 2008 3:04 PM
Updated Tuesday, May 06, 2008 3:04 PM

 

Wave tennis flows into Lowerstate semis

The Green Wave earned two consecutive 6-0 victories last week to advance to the semi-final round of the Lowerstate boys’ tennis playoffs.

Stratford (9-6) had a little momentum built when it made the short trip to Summerville High School May 1, but the Wave (15-3) met the Knights head-on in the second round.

“It was close,” Summerville Coach Bryant McKee said. “None of the matches were blowouts, though we did have the upper hand at No. 5 and No. 1. Our team has played well in tight situations lately. That was our problem earlier so I’m excited about that and the opportunity to play in the next round. The last two matches, Brian Mayeax has played his best tennis of the season so I’m real proud of him.”

Summerville, which defeated Ridge View two days before, advanced to host the winner of the Wando/Spring Valley match in the Lowerstate semi-finals Tuesday after press time. Stratford, a 5-1 winner over Sumter in the first round, was eliminated from the playoffs with the loss. While the Knights didn’t reach their goal for this year, Stratford coach Sam Ross is optimistic about next season.

“I thought we would play them a little closer than we did,” Ross said. “We haven’t been able to jump that barrier and make it to the third round and that was our goal. The good news is I’m only losing one senior. This group of players has a lot of ability so the challenge next year will be to get them to play at the level I know they can. We only hit that point once or twice this season.”

Stratford v. Summerville results

Singles: Joey Holoubek d. Jeremy Sullivan 7-5, 6-2; Brian Mayeax d. Justin Cook 6-4, 6-1; Joel Roberts d. Nakul Thakore 7-5, 7-6, 7-3; Luke Westbury d. Karan Patel 6-2, 7-5; Mason Taylor d. Steven Rays 6-3, 6-3. Doubles: Holoubek/Gabe Meckley d. Brandon Knudson/Jeremy Sullivan.

Contact Roger Lee @ 873-9424 ext. 213 or rlee@journalscene.com.