Wildcats Defeat Eagles, Edge Harrisonburg
Stepping up against Valley District rivals, the Rockbridge County High School boys tennis team won a pair of matches last week, earning a 7-2 road win over East Rockingham last Wednesday before overcoming Harrisonburg 5-4 last Tuesday at home.
In the road match, the Wildcats (5-1 overall, 3-1 district) overcame strong wind and the Eagles (3-2, 0-2).
RC won five of six singles matches and two of three doubles contests. The Wildcats swept the top four singles spots, with Nic Vargas, Nic Faulds, Joe Vargas and Jaxon Johnson picking up victories. At No. 6, RC junior German exchange student Theo Martini earned his first singles win as a Wildcat by defeating ER’s Tyler Siever 8-5.
With RC head coach Scott Youngdahl away for a spring break trip, assistant coach Brian Barney guided the Wildcats and was pleased some of the players lower down on the ladder got to play exhibition matches.
Against Harrisonburg (2-4, 2-2), the Wildcats won three of six singles matches and two of three doubles contests.
RC’s No. 1 doubles team of Faulds and Nic Vargas won 8-0, and the No. 3 team team of Martini and Ballstaedt eked out an 8-6 victory. At No. 2 doubles, Joe Vargas and Jaxon Johnson came up short 9-8 (8-6 tiebreak).
After doubles, Nic Vargas cruised to an 8-0 win at No. 1, Faulds won 8-2 at No. 2, and freshman Joe Vargas overcame Harrisonburg’s Tristan Nussbaum 8-6 in singles to clinch the team win for the Wildcats.
Praising the younger Vargas, Barney said Joe “stepped up big with the deciding match of the day.”
The Wildcats were scheduled to play at Turner Ashby yesterday. Today, Wednesday, they’ll play host to Staunton for a nondistrict match at 4:30 p.m. at the Lexington Country Club courts. They’ll return to district action at home against Rocktown on Friday before playing host to TA on Monday, and they’ll visit Broadway on Tuesday. All matches are scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m.
RC 7, ER 2
SINGLES – Nic Vargas (RC) d. Jackson Secrist (ER) 8-4; Nic Faulds (RC) d. Jesse Life (ER) 8-6; Joe Vargas (RC) d. Will Loomis (ER) 8-5; Jaxon Johnson (RC) d. Gavin Perrine (ER) 8-5; Parker Siever (ER) d. Sam Ballstaedt (RC) 8-2; Theo Martini (RC) d. Tyler Siever (ER) 8-5.
DOUBLES – N. Vargas and Faulds (RC) d. Secrist and Life (ER) 8-1; J. Vargas and Johnson (RC) d. Loomis and Perrine (ER) 8-5; Siever and Ryan Dean (ER) d. Ballstaedt and Martini (RC) 8-5.
RC, 5, HHS 4
SINGLES – N. Vargas (RC) d. Louis Gibson (HHS) 8-0; N. Faulds (RC) d. Drew Lankford (HHS) 8-2; J. Vargas (RC) d. Tristan Nussbaum (HHS) 8-6; Gabe Sabarre (HHS) d. Johnson (RC) 8-4; Theo Thompson (HHS) d. Ballstaedt (RC) 8-2; Alex Bingay (HHS) d. Elliott Allen (RC) 8-1.
DOUBLES – N. Vargas and N. Faulds (RC) d. Gibson and Lankford (HHS) 8-0; Nussbaum and Sabre (HHS) d. J. Vargas and Johnson (RC) 9-8 (8-6 tiebreak); Ballsteadt and Martini (RC) d. Thompson and Bingay (HHS) 8-6.
