BEDFORD – Bedford North Lawrence tennis split matches with Bloomfield and Borden during the BNL Invitational on Friday night.
The Stars pulled out two tense super tiebreakers in singles to edge the Cardinals 3-2 in the first match, but Borden lost only eight games while blasting to a 5-0 win in the second contest.
BNL swept the singles to edge Bloomfield. Jayden Kemp clipped Will Dowden 6-3, 6-3 at No.1, while Orion Hill and Braxton Fugate survived three-set thrillers in the other two singles matches. Hill slipped past Caleb Kerr 3-6, 6-2, 10-3 at No.2, while Fugate fought off Jared Small 2-6, 6-2, 10-7 at No.3.
“Braxton and Orion were able to find just enough get the job done and seal the team win,” BNL coach Chris Kurtz said. “I’m really proud of those guys for grinding it out and finding a way. Jayden was great at 1, and really growing his singles game so far this season. He’s becoming more observant and thinking his way through points in a positive way, so I’m very happy with how he is competing.”
The Braves were dominant on all the courts in the nightcap.
“As a team we didn’t play as well in the second match, and there are some things we’ll need to clean up,” Kurtz said. “But overall this was a good day for us, and some of younger players gained some great experience in tight situations.”
The Stars (3-3) will host Columbus East on Monday.
BNL INVITATIONAL
BNL 3, Bloomfield 2
Singles
1 Jayden Kemp, BNL d. Will Dowden 6-3, 6-3
2 Orion Hill, BNL d. Caleb Kerr 3-6, 6-2, 10-3
3 Braxton Fugate, BNL d. Jared Small 2-6, 6-2, 10-7
Doubles
1 Quentin Ross and Blake Neill, Bloomfield d. Drew Stephenson and Neal Patel 6-3, 6-0
2 Boone Holtsclaw and Kellen Luse, Bloomfield d. Gavin Baker and Jackson Corey 7-6 (7-4), 6-0
Borden 5, BNL 0
Singles
1 Judd Missi d. Jayden Kemp 6-1, 6-1
2 Kasyn Nash d. Orion Hill 6-1, 6-0
3 Brady Peine d. Braxton Fugate 6-0, 6-0
Doubles
1 Will Banet and Zander Keith d. Drew Stephenson and Neal Patel 6-1, 6-1
2 Kylan Nash and John Hutt d. Gavin Baker and Jackson Corey 6-1, 6-2
