Sonny Dearth
06-01-2007, 12:00 PM
Shetty, Ford are region champs
BY SONNY DEARTH
sdearth@dailypress.com (sdearth@dailypress.com) | 247-4640
JAMES CITY -- Tabb's Adi Shetty is calm. Lafayette's Tori Ford is learning to be calm.
Friday, both had plenty of reason to be excited. They won their first Region I tennis singles championships with victories on Jamestown High's courts, earning berths in the state Group AA tournament.
Shetty defeated fellow senior Jacob Braig of Jamestown 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 for the boys title. A couple of minutes later on a warm morning, Ford completed her triumph, overcoming her frustrations and Tabb freshman Alex Jenssen 6-4, 7-5 for the girls championship.
In doubles, Braig and Elliot Mee teamed to take the title, overcoming Shetty and Matt Murch 7-5, 6-1. Courtland's Jen Marcil and Jenna Livesay surprisingly won the girls doubles crown, winning 7-5, 6-1 over Jamestown's Kelly Little and Laura Curtis. The Eagles, who placed third in the Bay Rivers tournament, seemed to be feeling fatigue after edging Ford and Annie Goode 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4) in a semifinal.
All of the champions will advance to next week's state Group AA tournament.
Both singles duels were rematches of the Bay Rivers District finals May 21. Shetty beat Braig 6-1, 6-2 and looked like he might be on the way to a repeat against his longtime friendly rival, winning the first four games. But in the second set, Braig capitalized on his reach and power, plus a few unforced errors by Shetty, to go ahead 4-0 and pull even.
Their match was entertaining, with plenty of good gets, topspin forehands and net approaches.
After a 10-minute break before the third set, Shetty regained the momentum. At 1-all, Shetty saved a break point as Braig whaled a topspin forehand wide. A Braig double fault put him behind 3-1. The last three games were competitive, but Shetty won them all.
"In the second set, I just got too far ahead of myself," Shetty said. "After that, I played like I did in the first set. He played much better than he did in the district tournament match."
Eagles coach Bob Artis said Shetty had "superior speed, superior depth. Jacob was constantly on the defensive, working his butt off."
Shetty's days of school tennis will end soon, since he is enrolling in VIrginia Commonwealth University's pre-med program in the fall but won't play for the nationally ranked Rams.
"Hopefully the biggest match will be in the state final," he said.
Two courts down, the girls match was testier. The usually fiery Lafayette junior's impatience cost her in a 6-4, 6-2 Bay Rivers defeat to Jenssen, but this time Ford had a better idea.
"I just told myself to relax," she said."I feel like I had to work to beat her, which is a good thing. I knew it wasn't gonna be easy."
Beating Jenssen never is, because she has excellent passing shots and lobs and can run for days. Ford took command by clobbering balls so hard and putting them so far away from Jenssen that she couldn't handle them.
Ford went ahead 4-1, saving a break point when Jenssen changed a call of a Ford ace to "good" after being questioned about it. Jenssen broke back for 5-4, but Ford won the set on a crosscourt forehand volley winner.
Jenssen rallied from 3-1 behind in the second set to go ahead 5-4, but Ford won the last three games to finish her mission. She survived a break point to hold for 6-5, then took the big prize on her fifth match point. She whipped a backhand crosscourt to set up a winning forehand volley crosscourt, ending the 1-hour, 50-minute showdown.
Pat Thompson, who will be taking a player to state for the first time in her decade as Lafayette girls coach, said, "She's got to settle herself down and control her anger, and she's been working on it. She made a big breakthrough. We all know she had the game.
"I believe this is setting her up to get even better. We're gonna see her win more matches against tough opponents."
Boys doubles semis: Braig-Elliot Mee (Jamestown) d. Daniel Hart-Matthew Dowd (Powhatan) 6-1, 6-0; Shetty-Matt Murch (Tabb) d. Michael Mercer-Brian Mercer (Courtland) 7-6 (7-1), 2-6, 6-2. Final: Braig-Mee d. Shetty-Murch 7-5, 6-1.
Boys state semifinal matchups: Singles: Shetty vs. Randall Carter (Abingdon), 9 a.m. Thursday at Radford University. Team: Jamestown vs. Blacksburg, 9 a.m. Friday at Virginia Tech. Doubles: Braig-Mee vs. Alex Funkhouser-John Roberts (Handley), 1 p.m. Friday at Virginia Tech.
Girls doubles semis: Kelly Little-Laura Curtis (Jamestown) d. Ford-Annie Goode (Lafayette) 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4); Jen Marcil-Jenna Livesay (Courtland) d. Emily Demeo-Helen Mittmann (Bruton) 7-5, 6-1. Final: Marcil-Livesay d. Little-Curtis 7-5, 6-1.
Girls state semifinal matchups: Singles: Ford vs. Caitlyn Doss (Virginia High of Bristol), 9 a.m. Thursday at Radford University.Team: Tabb vs. Region III champion, 9 a.m. Friday at Radford U. Doubles: Marcil-Livesay vs. Kristin Gordon-Elizabeth Gardiner (Handley), 3 p.m. Friday at Radford U.
BY SONNY DEARTH
sdearth@dailypress.com (sdearth@dailypress.com) | 247-4640
JAMES CITY -- Tabb's Adi Shetty is calm. Lafayette's Tori Ford is learning to be calm.
Friday, both had plenty of reason to be excited. They won their first Region I tennis singles championships with victories on Jamestown High's courts, earning berths in the state Group AA tournament.
Shetty defeated fellow senior Jacob Braig of Jamestown 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 for the boys title. A couple of minutes later on a warm morning, Ford completed her triumph, overcoming her frustrations and Tabb freshman Alex Jenssen 6-4, 7-5 for the girls championship.
In doubles, Braig and Elliot Mee teamed to take the title, overcoming Shetty and Matt Murch 7-5, 6-1. Courtland's Jen Marcil and Jenna Livesay surprisingly won the girls doubles crown, winning 7-5, 6-1 over Jamestown's Kelly Little and Laura Curtis. The Eagles, who placed third in the Bay Rivers tournament, seemed to be feeling fatigue after edging Ford and Annie Goode 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4) in a semifinal.
All of the champions will advance to next week's state Group AA tournament.
Both singles duels were rematches of the Bay Rivers District finals May 21. Shetty beat Braig 6-1, 6-2 and looked like he might be on the way to a repeat against his longtime friendly rival, winning the first four games. But in the second set, Braig capitalized on his reach and power, plus a few unforced errors by Shetty, to go ahead 4-0 and pull even.
Their match was entertaining, with plenty of good gets, topspin forehands and net approaches.
After a 10-minute break before the third set, Shetty regained the momentum. At 1-all, Shetty saved a break point as Braig whaled a topspin forehand wide. A Braig double fault put him behind 3-1. The last three games were competitive, but Shetty won them all.
"In the second set, I just got too far ahead of myself," Shetty said. "After that, I played like I did in the first set. He played much better than he did in the district tournament match."
Eagles coach Bob Artis said Shetty had "superior speed, superior depth. Jacob was constantly on the defensive, working his butt off."
Shetty's days of school tennis will end soon, since he is enrolling in VIrginia Commonwealth University's pre-med program in the fall but won't play for the nationally ranked Rams.
"Hopefully the biggest match will be in the state final," he said.
Two courts down, the girls match was testier. The usually fiery Lafayette junior's impatience cost her in a 6-4, 6-2 Bay Rivers defeat to Jenssen, but this time Ford had a better idea.
"I just told myself to relax," she said."I feel like I had to work to beat her, which is a good thing. I knew it wasn't gonna be easy."
Beating Jenssen never is, because she has excellent passing shots and lobs and can run for days. Ford took command by clobbering balls so hard and putting them so far away from Jenssen that she couldn't handle them.
Ford went ahead 4-1, saving a break point when Jenssen changed a call of a Ford ace to "good" after being questioned about it. Jenssen broke back for 5-4, but Ford won the set on a crosscourt forehand volley winner.
Jenssen rallied from 3-1 behind in the second set to go ahead 5-4, but Ford won the last three games to finish her mission. She survived a break point to hold for 6-5, then took the big prize on her fifth match point. She whipped a backhand crosscourt to set up a winning forehand volley crosscourt, ending the 1-hour, 50-minute showdown.
Pat Thompson, who will be taking a player to state for the first time in her decade as Lafayette girls coach, said, "She's got to settle herself down and control her anger, and she's been working on it. She made a big breakthrough. We all know she had the game.
"I believe this is setting her up to get even better. We're gonna see her win more matches against tough opponents."
Boys doubles semis: Braig-Elliot Mee (Jamestown) d. Daniel Hart-Matthew Dowd (Powhatan) 6-1, 6-0; Shetty-Matt Murch (Tabb) d. Michael Mercer-Brian Mercer (Courtland) 7-6 (7-1), 2-6, 6-2. Final: Braig-Mee d. Shetty-Murch 7-5, 6-1.
Boys state semifinal matchups: Singles: Shetty vs. Randall Carter (Abingdon), 9 a.m. Thursday at Radford University. Team: Jamestown vs. Blacksburg, 9 a.m. Friday at Virginia Tech. Doubles: Braig-Mee vs. Alex Funkhouser-John Roberts (Handley), 1 p.m. Friday at Virginia Tech.
Girls doubles semis: Kelly Little-Laura Curtis (Jamestown) d. Ford-Annie Goode (Lafayette) 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4); Jen Marcil-Jenna Livesay (Courtland) d. Emily Demeo-Helen Mittmann (Bruton) 7-5, 6-1. Final: Marcil-Livesay d. Little-Curtis 7-5, 6-1.
Girls state semifinal matchups: Singles: Ford vs. Caitlyn Doss (Virginia High of Bristol), 9 a.m. Thursday at Radford University.Team: Tabb vs. Region III champion, 9 a.m. Friday at Radford U. Doubles: Marcil-Livesay vs. Kristin Gordon-Elizabeth Gardiner (Handley), 3 p.m. Friday at Radford U.