TOLEDO – The Fremont Ross tennis team just couldn’t catch a break in its TRAC tournament this weekend.
In three of their brackets, the Little Giants went to a third set of the final match of the tournament, determining what place they’d finish, and in all three of those matches Ross drew the short end of the stick.
As a team, Ross finished fifth in the tournament, totaling 22 points, two points behind fourth-place St. Francis and three behind third-place Clay.
“We had golden opportunity to get by St. Francis but a three-setter win didn’t happen at (No. 2 doubles),” coach Lisa Wolfe said. “Not putting blame on them – they played to the best of their ability.”
Ethan Moyer
Lucas Cronin
Ross’ best individual finish came at No. 1 doubles where the team of Ethan Moyer and Lucas Cronin finished third. They began the tournament with a first-round win over Lima Senior, 6-0, 6-0, before losing in three sets to St. John’s, 6-4, 5-7, 2-6. They rebounded to close out the tournament with a win over St. Francis, 6-0, 6-7 (2), 6-0 to grab third-place.
The No. 2 doubles team of Evan Oglesbee and Frankie Scott began the tournament with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Lima before dropping their next to matches, to Findlay and St. Francis – St. Francis being a three-set loss, 6-3, 2-6, 2-6 – to finish fourth in their bracket.
Kurt Harrison got off to a good start in his No. 3 singles bracket, winning his first-round match over Central Catholic, 6-1, 6-4, but lost his next two matches in straight-sets to Clay and St. John’s to place fourth.
Drew Miller (No. 1 singles) and Isaac Minor (No. 2 singles) had similar tournaments, each losing their first match before rebounding in the second round. Miller defeated Lima Senior’s Philip Korikian 6-1, 6-0, while Minor beat Whitmer’s Eric Cook 6-4, 6-3. They then both finished sixth after a loss in the final match of the tournament.
While pleased with how her team performed, Wolfe acknowledged there are always ‘what-ifs?’
“As a coach you even look back to the duals and a 2-3 loss to St. Francis could have set up not being tied heading in to tournament,” she said. “There’s two points right there.
“All in all, good tourney. Our team represented Fremont Ross well with their good sportsmanship and great court etiquette and that’s what it’s all about,” she added.
The Little Giants host Port Clinton at 4 p.m. Monday before hosting the sectional tournament Thursday and Saturday. Miller is seeded No. 2 in the singles bracket while Moyer and Cronin hold a No. 1 seed for the doubles tournament.