By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Seymour made all the noise on the court, both in terms of vocal encouragement and the scorebook.
The Owls, not ashamed to shout across the courts to keep their struggling teammates active and engaged, won two tiebreakers while clipping Bedford North Lawrence 5-0 on Thursday afternoon, ending BNL’s modest three-match winning streak.
Seymour’s Hunter Heckman fought off Steven Graham in a shortened third-set tiebreak at No.1 singles, and the Owls took advantage of fast starts on the other four courts.
“Seymour has a solid lineup top to bottom, and they are having a nice season,” BNL coach Chris Kurtz said. “They brought the energy tonight, and we just weren’t able to match it. We got off to a slow start on several courts, and just couldn’t turn it around in most cases.”
Graham took the first set before falling 4-6, 6-4, 10-7 in the battle at No.1. Andrew Levine slugged his way past Graham Turner 6-2, 6-2 at No.2, and Joe Schmidt topped Carter Kimmel 6-2, 6-1 at No.3.
“Steven was a bright spot,” Kurtz said. “He didn’t come out with the win in that third set tiebreaker, but I really liked the way he competed throughout the match. He was never tight or tentative, and it was a good one for him.”
In doubles, Eli Meyer and Jack Vondielingen edged BNL’s Cameron Gratzer and Jayden Kemp 6-1, 7-6 (7-3 in the tiebreaker) at No.1, while Seymour’s Parker Thompson and Reuben Kruse handed BNL’s Nate Pemberton and Caleb Jones their first setback as a tandem with a 6-4, 6-0 win at No.2.
“Our No.1 doubles was another spot that took a bit to get going, but the takeaway here was how they responded when down 4-1 in the second set,” Kurtz said. “They fought back to take a 5-4 lead before eventually falling in the tiebreaker. Earlier in the season I don’t think they would have been able to do that, but these guys really are growing as players and this is a great example of that.”
The Stars will host Brownstown on Sept. 9.
Seymour 5, BNL 0
Singles
1 Hunter Heckman d. Steven Graham 4-6, 6-4, 10-7
2 Andrew Levine d. Graham Turner 6-2, 6-2
3 Joe Schmidt d. Carter Kimmel 6-2, 6-1
Doubles
1 Eli Meyer and Jack Vondielingen d. Cameron Gratzer and Jayden Kemp 6-1, 7-6 (7-3)
2 Parker Thompson and Reuben Kruse d. Caleb Jones and Nathan Pemberton 6-4, 6-0
