More than a year after cancelling the 2020 boys tennis season, Mount Airy finally returned the courts Monday to host Mount Tabor.
Mount Airy returns with a new coach, Mr. Luke Graham, and a slew of new players in the top six to replace the three seniors from the class of 2020.
Although, not all the seniors have been replaced. Graduate Kaleb Morrison, who had a bright future as the Bears’ No. 1 seed before COVID-19 ended his senior season, now serves as an assistant coach for Mount Airy.
The Bears opened the 2020-21 season with a tough 8-1 loss to an impressive Spartan squad.
Freshman John Juno won the No. 5 singles match for Mount Airy. After trailing 3-4 in the first set, Juno won three-straight to take the set. Juno also trailed 1-2 in the second set before winning five of the next six games.
Two of the other singles matches required extra games to be decided, though both ultimately went the way of the Spartans.
No. 3 Luke Kirkman dropped his first set 3-6, but led 5-4 in the second set. Mount Tabor’s Matthew Kok won the next three games to win the match.
No. 2 Peyton Harmon won his first set 7-5, but lost the second 5-7. Harmon and James Markwalter went to a third-set tiebreaker where the Spartan earned the win, 10-4.
The No. 4 and No. 6 singles matches were also closely contested. Mount Airy’s Carson Hill fell to Matthew Maynard 6-4, 6-3 in the No. 4 spot, and Granite Bear junior Martin Cooke lost 4-6, 4-6 to Whitt Rabold in the No. 6 match.
Mount Airy’s No. 1 seed, sophomore Georgie Kriek, had a tough time with Mount Tabor’s Adam Cartwright in singles. Cartwright won the match 6-1, 6-0.
Kriek and Carson Hill nearly got revenge in No. 1 doubles, but the pair of sophomores lost 8-6 to Cartwright and Jackson Miller.
Both the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles matches were decided by scores of 4-8. Harmon and Kirkman teamed up in the No. 2 spot, and Cooke with Jared Pinto in the No. 3 spot.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com