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[Sonny Dearth]

BY SONNY DEARTH
sdearth@dailypress.com 247-4640

JAMES CITY -- The title of a classic 1952 Gary Cooper movie could be appropriate for a high school tennis match Saturday.

As Bay Rivers District champion Jamestown shut out Grafton 5-0 Friday morning while unbeaten Courtland ousted Tabb 5-3 in the Region I boys semifinals, it became apparent that Saturday could bring a memorable championship duel at 12 o'clock on the Jamestown courts.

"I think my boys are ready for Courtland," Jamestown coach Bob Artis said. "The sun's gonna be blazing and the rackets are gonna be blazing. What a fitting time for that match -- "High Noon." ... We're all ready for it."

The Eagles, playing on their home courts, beat the Clippers in about an hour with a handful of straight-sets victories. No. 1 Jacob Braig and No. 4 Josh Hunt gained Jamestown's first two wins, followed by No. 2 Elliot Mee and No. 5 Jeremy Palmer.

At No. 3, Grafton's Paul Bodensick pounded an overhead winner to win the second set 6-4 against Wills FauntLeRoy, who had beaten him 6-1 in the first. But just after a new can of balls was opened for their third set, Eagles No. 6 Seth Berl made the point moot by finishing a 6-1, 6-2 clinching victory over Seong Jeong.
Artis was impressed with Grafton, which earned the Bay Rivers' third and final spot in the regional.

"You can teel they've improved through the season. They didn't lay down at all," he said.

Meanwhile, a few miles away at Kiwanis Park, the senior-laden Courtland Cougars showed Tabb they haven't lost much, if any, from last year's regional championship team. They beat the Tigers, Jamestown and Grafton a season ago en route to the state Group AA tournament, and they put Tabb in a virtually insurmountable hole by dominating Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 Friday.

Of the 57 games played in those matches, the Cougars won 48 to the Tigers' nine.

BRD singles champion Adi Shetty (6-0, 6-1) and No. 6 Jacob Barclay (6-3, 7-5) gave Bay Rivers runner-up Tabb a glimmer of hope by winning, and Shetty and senior classmate Matt Murch blew out their No. 1 doubles foes 6-0, 6-1.
But at Nos. 2 and 3 doubles, Courtland never gave Tabb any legitimate hope. No. 1 singles player Brandon Coleman, teaming with John Surine off the bench at No. 3 doubles, rolled 6-1, 6-0 over Barclay and Dan Byers to clinch the match. The Cougars' tandem celebrated -- not so much for advancing, but for clinching before the second pair of Kyle Livesay and Dennis Hundley could do so. They led by a set and 5-2, but Jackson Rhew and Jordan Robeson saved match point to keep going.

Only today's champions advance to the state tournament.

Boys semifinals
JAMESTOWN 5, GRAFTON 0
SINGLES -- Ja. Braig d. Zhu 6-0, 6-1; Mee d. Stough 6-0, 6-2; FauntLeRoy (J) was tied with Bodensick 6-1, 4-6, did not finish; Hunt d. Kim 6-1, 6-0; Palmer d. Imbery 6-0, 6-3; Berl d. Jeong 6-1, 6-2.

COURTLAND 5, TABB 3
SINGLES -- Shetty (T) d. Coleman 6-0, 6-1; M. Mercer (C) d. Murch 6-2, 6-0; B. Mercer (C) d. Rhew 6-1, 6-3; Livesay (C) d. Robeson 6-2, 6-0; Hundley (C) d. Harris 6-1, 6-0; Barclay (T) d. Bradley 6-3, 7-5. DOUBLES -- Shetty-Murch d. Mercer-Mercer 6-1, 6-0; Hundley-Livesay led Rhew-Robeson by one set and 5-2, DNF; Coleman-Surine d. Barclay-Byers 6-0, 6-1.