By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Bloomfield conquered Bedford North Lawrence 3-2 in the first round of the BNL Invitational on Friday afternoon, but the Stars bounced back in the nightcap for a 3-0 victory over shorthanded Madison.
In the opening round, BNL’s top doubles team of Konley Woodward and Cameron Gratzer forged a miraculous comeback for a three-set victory, but the Cardinals won three other three-set battles to claim the team win.
Woodward and Gratzer trailed 5-1 in the final set and faced a triple-match point at 40-0 before fighting all the way back with a 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 victory. BNL’s other win came at No.3 singles as Graham Turner outlasted Ethan Dean 7-6 (7-5 in the tiebreaker), 7-5 at No.3 singles.
The Cardinals went the distance to take the other matches. Baylin Graf stopped Adam Tlustek 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 at No.1 singles and Ryan Schulte edged Steven Graham 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 at No.2.
At No.2 doubles, Bloomfield’s Christopher Royal and Austin Hall rallied for a 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 win over the new BNL duo of Nate Pemberton and Jayden Kemp.
Madison had only enough for singles competition in the final round, and the Stars posted a sweep. Tlustek topped Bryce Miller 6-3, 6-4 at No.1, Gratzer made the switch to singles and took care of Matthew Burkhart 6-1, 6-0 at No.2, and Turner tackled Alex Wang 6-0, 6-2 at No.3
The Stars (2-3) will visit Columbus East on Monday.
Bloomfield 3, BNL 2
Singles
1 Baylin Graf, Bloomfield d. Adam Tlustek 6-1, 3-6, 6-1
2 Ryan Schulte, Bloomfield d. Steven Graham 4-6, 6-0, 6-3
3 Graham Turner, BNL d. Ethan Dean 7-6 (7-5), 7-5
Doubles
1 Konley Woodward and Cameron Gratzer, BNL d. Reese Schulte and Wilson Keene 4-6, 6-2, 7-5
2 Christopher Royal and Austin Hall, Bloomfield d. Nate Pemberton and Jayden Kemp 1-6, 6-1, 6-1
BNL 3, Madison 0
Singles
1 Adam Tlustek d. Bryce Miller 6-3, 6-4
2 Cameron Gratzer d. Matthew Burkhart 6-1, 6-0
3 Graham Turner d. Alex Wang 6-0, 6-2
