(Above: Trevor Weickert, left, and Alex Thatcher, center, listen to coach Lisa Wolfe, right, between games of their doubles sectional tournament championship match Saturday morning.)
FREMONT – Things didn’t go exactly as planned for the Fremont Ross tennis team on the final day of the sectional tournament.
Already assured a place at next week’s district tournament, where the Little Giants would be seeded remained undetermined, as did a doubles championship match for the team of Alex Thatcher and Trevor Weickert.
Ross’ Alex Thatcher returns a shot in the doubles sectional tournament championship match.
Though the duo started off the morning well, winning the first four games of the first set, the match then began to slip away.
Ashland’s team of Nolan and Tommy Glazier rallied to win the next six games to win the set, and continued to roll through the second, defeating Thatcher and Weickert, 6-4, 6-0.
“I saw (Ashland) throughout all day Thursday, and even today, go hot and cold,” Ross coach Lisa Wolfe said. “So, all it takes it a couple of points in your favor to turn the tide. That’s all you need. It does happen, you can go hot-cold-hot. Ashland started off cold, we were ahead, then after they got hot they never got cold again. Our confidence dropped at that point and we never got it back.”
Thatcher and Weickert will have a 2 seed in the opening round of the district tournament, beginning Thursday at Bowling Green State University.
The Little Giants’ No. 2 doubles team, Sam Long and Lucas Cronin, also had a rough morning, as they lost to Ashland’s No. 2 doubles squad of Luke Blakely and Justin Seamour, by scores of 3-6, 1-6. Long and Cronin will be a No. 4 seed next week.
“My doubles teams both play a lot better than what they showed out there,” Wolfe said. “Maybe focus (was the problem)? Not focusing on the job they had to do today? That’s about the only thing I can reinforce to them. I told them focus in and act like, every time the ball is on the other side of the court, like it’s coming at you, what are you going to do with it?
“I didn’t see a whole lot of pep today,” she added.
Ross’ Trevor Weickert returns a shot in the doubles sectional tournament championship match.
The Little Giants’ lone remaining singles player, Nils Nolte, won his match over Norwalk’s Jack Mei, winning by a score of 6-4, 6-3, punching his ticket to districts as a No. 3 seed.
Wolfe doesn’t believe Saturday morning’s losses will linger in her players’ minds at next week’s district.
“I think it’s a whole different venue and new day,” Wolfe said. “They will be ready after three days of practice, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, they’ll be ready for competition.”
But, Wolfe acknowledged, her doubles teams won’t go far in the tournament with performances similar to those she saw Saturday morning.
“Anybody is capable of anything on any given day,” she said. “They’re going to have to fine-tune some things and keep the confidence up the entire match.”