Villains win tennis championship
May 16—TRIAD — Bishop McGuinness confidently stepped through its final door.
The Villains won their top four singles matches, clinched with a quick doubles match and defeated Voyager Academy 5-0 in the NCHSAA 1A boys tennis dual team state championship Saturday morning at Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center.
"It was totally sticking to our game and trying to take them off their game," Bishop Coach Larry Ingram said. "We saw that at court No. 3. Their No. 3 is actually their best player, but moved because of some challenge matches and everything else.
"He's more of a power player, but our No. 3 took him totally out of his game and switched him over to his game. And he beat him. And I think our doubles team coming in off a state win and the momentum. I think they came in with the right mindset. They worked hard for it and they had heart."
With the early-morning rain necessitating a move from the outdoor Burlington courts to the indoor Greensboro courts, the Villains (17-1), seeded No. 4 in the West, were in familiar territory trying to squeeze six matches onto four courts — like their home courts, Fourth of July Park in Kernersville.
No. 1 Luca Pestana, No. 2 Josh Hanflink and No. 4 Evan Sturgill steadily took control of their matches in straight sets. Timothy Hackman, at No. 3, had a bit of a sterner test but won points in key moments during a lengthy match and took the pivotal match 6-1, 6-4.
"In the first couple games he was hitting some deep balls in that are usually pretty effective against my opponents," said Hackman, who was selected the MVP. "So I knew it was going to be a dogfight. I won that first set 6-1, but the score didn't really reflect the points.
"The second set, I think it was more reflective. Just to win that match was really good for me, because if we'd have gone to a third set they would've had the momentum and who knows the outcome. But I just had the mentality that I could win and that just propelled me."
Meanwhile, as the Nos. 5 and 6 matches began, the Villains' No. 2 doubles team of Hanflink and Sturgill — who reached the semifinals of the individual doubles championship before falling to eventual champions Pestana/Hackman — rolled through their match 8-1 and clinched the title.
"We were locked in Thursday and Friday for practice," Hackman said. "We go into every match confident, but today we just had a special feeling. In warmups, everyone was hitting it well. The captains gave a passionate speech, and that really fueled us."
Bishop, which reached the finals in 2019, captured its third dual-team title following victories in 2011 and 2014. John Hutchinson was selected for his team's sportsmanship award, while Will Baker was chosen for the award for Voyager (10-5), seeded No. 3 in the East.
"It feels fantastic," Ingram said. "The guys have worked so hard for this. They have just bonded together so well as a family. It's made my job easy — easier," he said with a laugh. "They've aged me a few years with some of the long matches, but I'm just privileged to be a part of it."
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