For The Tribune
Brown County’s boys tennis team had too much depth for Trinity Lutheran, as it blanked the Cougars 5-0 on Wednesday afternoon on the Richard (Dick) Snyder Courts.
Cougars coach Danny Frastaci said he throught the match was more competitive than what the final score might indicate.
“I was happy with how we played today,” he said. “We played pretty well at a couple positions, especially Jonathan (Keith) played real well in the first set at No. 2 singles. He lost in a close tiebreak.”
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Keith got off to a strong start with a 6-0 win in the first set against Cole Smith. Smith won the second set 6-1 to set up a super tiebreaker, and Smith won that 10-8.
Matt Stuckwisch and Hunter Morgan of Trinity lost 6-4 to Austin Roush and Abe Oliver in the first set at No. 1 doubles before taking the second 6-1.
Jace Crockett and Caleb Gruenwald lost the second set at No. 2 doubles 6-3 to Elijah Roush and Aaron McCann after the Eagles won the first set 6-0.
Trinity’s Bailey Baker, at No. 1 singles, and Pierce McCammon at No. 3 singles ran into the strong opponents, and both lost 6-0, 6-0.
“We need to work on our serves definitely,” Frastaci said. “We need to work on finishing out the point when we get up, putting the ball away.
“Footwork can always be better. We need to keep those feet moving. Ground strokes, its tough when you’re playing in windy conditions. They hit really well into the wind. We can always play better, but keeping those feet moving is the key.”
This was the Cougars’ season-opener, as they had a match at Oldenburg Academy and a tournament at Waldron rained out last week.
Today the Cougars will host Southwestern (Hanover).
“Overall, I think we played hard, we competed really well, stuck with it at some tough positions,” Frastaci said. “We definitely need to work on serving, and putting those balls away at the net. When you get up there to finish the point, we need to work on moving that ball out of the center of the court and work the angles, and stuff like that to better position themselves.”