LINTON – Linton swept the singles, including a three-set marathon to decide the outcome, while posting a 3-2 victory over Bedford North Lawrence during high school tennis action on Thursday.
Linton’s Banx Mathis edged BNL freshman Asher Thompson 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 at No.3 singles for the deciding team point.
“I was super happy with the way he played,” BNL coach Ian Dillman said. “He didn’t do the best in the first set, but after I walked away and let him do his own little thing, he started coming back in that second set. I let him go from there.”
Linton’s Jake Rose conquered Jackson Corey 6-3, 6-3 at No.1 singles, while Conner Daily topped Braxton Fugate 6-4, 6-2 at No.2.
“Our singles still need some work,” Dillman said. “There were a lot of ‘what ifs’ that happened tonight and we just cannot think about ‘what ifs’ anymore. We have to stop playing down and we have to start playing our own match. There were a lot of calls that affected us, and we can’t let those happen anymore. We have to be strong mentally, and physically, if we want to win these matches in singles.
“We can’t just go onto the court expecting to win, or we should be expecting a loss handed to us on a silver platter. We have to go out there and fight for that win.”
The Stars dominated doubles as Orion Hill and Neal Patel popped Owen Smith and Silas Nagy 6-0, 6-2 at No.1. Micah Carter and Laedon Jones decked Ian Mauder and Kingston Crane 6-2, 6-3 at No.2.
“Overall, this was the most competitive match we’ve had so far,” Dillman said. “I’m really happy with the way we played. We just have to get over that hump and get some wins on our singles courts, so that way we can build our confidence up.”
BNL (0-3) will host the Rob Spencer Invitational on Friday, facing Madison in the first round. Borden will meet Bloomfield in the opposite bracket.
Linton 3, BNL 2
Singles
1 Jake Rose, L d. Jackson Corey 6-3, 6-3
2 Conner Daily, L d. Braxton Fugate 6-4, 6-2
3 Banx Mathis, L d. Asher Thompson 6-4, 6-7, 6-3
Doubles
1 Orion Hill and Neal Patel, BNL d. Owen Smith and Silas Nagy 6-0, 6-2
2 Micah Carter and Laedon Jones, BNL d. Ian Mauder and Kingston Crane 6-2, 6-3
