Martlets Fall to Choate

As is sometimes the case in tennis, the match score of 0-7 doesn’t really reflect the skill and heart with which everyone played.  It also masks some close individual match scores, and some very close games within each set.  Some of the best tennis of the day came from #1 doubles team Sonny Darnowski ‘28 and Sam Herdeg ‘27.  Though they had not played together before, they settled into some excellent communication, and they were clearly thinking as a team.  Strong efforts were also made at #2 and #3 doubles, though the Choate players proved a bit too strong, taking advantage of some weaker balls, and inspiring our players to focus in upcoming practices on improving their serving consistency.  In singles, we had several very well-played matches.  As mentioned below, Sam Herdeg had a close loss at #5, and Will Jones ‘28 played a see-saw of a match against a very steady opponent, fighting back in the first set from 2-5 to lose 4-6, and dropping a nail-biter second set 5-7.  Jeffrey Niu also played some strong singles at #1, despite losing 2-6, 2-6.  Other players at all levels demonstrated great attitude and focus, and all came away with some ideas of skills to focus on as we move forward.  Everyone supported one another, and despite the loss, spirits remained positive.  We are looking forward to slowing things down with a few days of practice, before our first home match next Wednesday.

GRIT & Grace Award:  Sam Herdeg ‘27, for battling for every point.  After Sam showed great heart particularly in his doubles net play, he hopped right back on the court to play singles.  Although he lost that match 4-6, 5-7, he didn’t stop fighting until the final point was over.