As he watched his teammates battle on the E.C. Glass tennis courts Friday, a member of the Hilltoppers boys squad said if they lost, it wouldn’t be without a fight.
Blacksburg jumped out to an early lead thanks to four wins on the Nos. 1 through 4 singles courts but had to hold off a Glass rally, eventually winning the Region 4D tournament championship, 5-2.
Despite digging an early 4-0 hole for itself, E.C. Glass (15-2) climbed back in the final two singles matches of the day, Nos. 5 and 6, and forced doubles play.
“We played really well all throughout the singles to get that fourth point,” Blacksburg freshman Frank Thompson said. “… I thought we might be able to take it in the singles, but we were prepared to play in doubles, and it worked out.”
At the No. 2 doubles spot, Glass’ Owen Selden and Sam Hite surrendered the first set, 6-1, to Ruhan Prasad and Sidd Ekkad and eventually lost the second set, 6-4. But in the second set, the Glass duo made some adjustments, going to a both-back strategy, to rally back from a 3-0 deficit.
“Point here, point there and we would’ve won that match,” first-year Glass coach Mike Fuqua said, “and that’s really all you can do in a setting like this. You try to extend the match, try to make it as hard as possible for them to beat you, and that’s what they were doing. They battled hard, and they almost beat them.”
Fuqua and players, though, say their solid play in doubles — which also showcased perhaps the best match of the day on the No. 1 court — should set them up with some momentum heading into the state tournament.
Although it was suspended after Prasad and Ekkad’s victory-clinching win at No. 2, the No. 1 matchup that featured Blacksburg’s Thompson and Stephen Yang and Glass’ Wolfgang Ploch and Carter Rennyson contained all the drama expected from a postseason championship.
In the first set, Ploch and Rennyson came out on top, 7-6, after winning the tiebreaker 7-5.
The set featured three ties, at 3-3, 5-5 and 6-6.
“We could’ve been a little more solid around. Make a few more balls and that set could’ve been ours, easily,” Thompson said. “They played well in the tight moments, and we didn’t.”
The Blacksburg duo got its revenge in the second set, winning 6-0, and led in the third set before all play was ended.
Before doubles play, Selden, one of four freshman singles players for Glass, and senior Will Matteson keyed the Hilltoppers’ comeback.
Selden, at No. 6 singles, and Matteson, at No. 5, were on the courts long after their four teammates had finished up their matches.
“Those two, they’ve had more grind-it-out matches all year than anybody else,” Fuqua said. “They just grind and grind and grind all year.”
Selden beat Robert Cowan 6-3, 6-3, and Matteson took down Sidd Ekkad in straight sets, 6-2, 7-6, winning the second on a 7-5 tiebreaker.
On the No. 1 court, Thompson quickly won the first set over Ploch, 6-0. Ploch mounted a comeback by winning a couple games in the second, though, with one perfectly placed shot to the back line even eliciting a tip of the hat from Thompson.
“It was nice to be acknowledged that I was coming back,” Ploch said, “especially since I lost that first set pretty badly.”
Thompson, ranked in the top 50 boys tennis players in the nation under 16, and the son of Virginia Tech coach Jim Thompson, eventually won the second set, 6-2.
“I came out and played well, hit my strokes well, was mentally intact the whole time, played solid tennis,” Thompson said. “… Credit to Wolfgang. He played a great couple games in that second set. Really challenged me to stay focused, and he hit some great forehands. Took me a second to get my mind back on the right track. I was a little nervous there for a second when he was coming back, but then I found it.”
Despite the loss, Glass already had locked in a spot in the Class 4 state tournament.
They’re set to take on Region 4C champion Riverside in the first round.
And after their win in the Region 4D title game — in the first year Blacksburg (19-2) has faced Class 4 competition after moving up from Class 3 this season — the Bruins also will be in the eight-team state tourney field and will take on Region 4C runner-up John Handley in the first round.
The state tournament is set to begin at the end of next week. Times and venues have yet to be announced.
GIRLS TENNIS
In Blacksburg, the Bruins girls team also won the Region 4D championship by beating E.C. Glass.
Blacksburg got the job done in singles play, winning 5-0.
The teams both have qualified for the eight-team Class 4 state tournament. Glass will play Region 4C champ John Handley in the first round while Blacksburg will face Region 4C runner-up Riverside. The first round is set for the end of next week with exact times and venues still to be determined.