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Gryphons tennis serves up win over rival Wilson Fike

Posted On: Tuesday, April 24, 2018
By: Student Assistant

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By PATRICK MASON
Sports Writer

Monday, March 19, 2018

The Rocky Mount High boys’ tennis team needed this one.

It’s rare when a team talks about the future with conference play just beginning, but this is a Gryphons team with big plans. And they weren’t going to let a mid-March match against rival Wilson Fike become a roadblock.

RMH was strong in singles and swept the trio of doubles matches in a 7-2 win over the visiting Demons on Monday.

The win was an important one, as the two teams figure to be in a two-team race for the Big East Conference crown, which comes with postseason implications. The conference runner-up will likely face Clayton in the first round, a matchup both teams would like to sidestep.

“This was an important win, especially to get a win against (Fike) early in the season and at home,” said Tyler Brice, the Gryphons’ top singles player. “The conference winner won’t have to face Clayton right away, which is nice because they’re really a good team.

“But against Fike, both sides know we’ll get each other’s best. It’s turned into a battle between us the past few years.”

Clayton defeated both RMH and Fike, 9-0, earlier this season, as the former 4-A school is a favorite this season in the 3-A playoffs. But don’t think that the Gryphons are shying away from the only team to beat them this season.

RMH (4-1, 2-0) is a force with a talented lineup, and it showed just that on Monday. The Gryphons won the top four singles matches to take a 4-2 lead into doubles. Needing to win just one to seal the victory, RMH went on to win all three doubles matches.

From one through four, Brice, George Shannon, Ben Osterhout and Landon Norwood each won their singles matches in straight sets. Osterhout won a first-set tiebreaker, then closed out his second set at 6-4 to earn the win.

The Gryphons’ regular No. 5 singles player, Spencer Harris, was out with an illness, so the rest of the roster slotted up one spot. Sam Phillips played at No. 5, and Charlie Lane at No. 6. Each took their opponent to a third set, but couldn’t hang on for the win.

The Demons (3-2, 2-1) battled tough in doubles, but the Gryphons managed to earn 8-4, 8-6, and 8-4 wins.

Osterhout earned his spot at No. 3 singles by beating out a teammate, and has been strong for the Gryphons this season. His emergence as a solid player gives RMH a deep lineup that will make it a tough team to compete with.

“Ben has probably taken the biggest leap,” RMH coach Wayne Holloman said. “His play at No.3 has been absolutely incredible. It’s interesting because when he first won that spot, he wasn’t sure if he was the best for it.

“We had a talk, and told him that he wouldn’t be there if we didn’t think he could handle it. He’s a smart player, plays to his strengths, and has done an outstanding job for us.”

Brice and Shannon, both seniors, are hoping to make a deep postseason run. The Gryphons top players had to improve their on-court games, as well as their mental games, as they no longer can sneak up on players.

The pair was strong during last season’s 13-1 campaign and have added pieces to their games to withstand challenges from top opponents. Shannon doesn’t expect an easy road, however.

“I’m almost more nervous now,” Shannon said with a laugh. “There’s a lot more pressure on us now as the big dogs in the conference. I’ve been working on adding more pace to my first serve. It’s not there yet, probably no difference from last year, but I’m working on it.”

After the season-opening loss to Clayton, Holloman took the team to an N.C. Wesleyan tennis match, hoping his players would be able to learn something from college-level players.

“It was very beneficial,” Holloman said. “I wanted them to see some different shots that they could hopefully work into their arsenal. We were coming off a humbling loss, and I think it helped to watch some high-level tennis.”

Brice felt the trip was helpful as well, noting that he already saw a bump in play from some of his new teammates who have been working on different aspects of their game.

“Especially for some of the younger guys it was good to see that level of tennis,” Brice said. “You can see they’re working on different things and really playing well. I can look over and see everyone competing. We have a good team, top to bottom.”

The Gryphons travel to Southern Nash on Wednesday for their next match.

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