Blue Devils movin’ on
Model defeats Benedictine to advance to the Final Four
Model’s tennis team wins its Elite Eight match to advance in the playoffs.
The hopes of the Model boys’ tennis team advancing in the state playoffs came down to one singles match on Wednesday afternoon.
Model coach Josh Goss knew that was a lot of pressure to put on a freshman, especially with it going to a seven-point tiebreaker to decide the match. But he also knew Parker Stone was one to take the pressure and run with it.
The Model player stayed on top of his opponent and won the tiebreaker and the match to give the Blue Devils a 3-2 decision over visiting Benedictine in the Class AA quarterfinals at Etowah Park. The victory places the team in the Final Four for the first time ever.
“We’ve got a lot of young guys who just overcome adversity when things got tied up,” Goss said. “These guys have worked hard and just battled all year long. Hopefully
we can keep battling.”
The Blue Devils put themselves in position to take the win after the No. 1 doubles team of John Weaver and Stephen Boylan came roaring
back in the third set of their match with Benedictine’s Matt Hogan and Will Goodwin to win 6-4, 1-6, 6-1.
Model’s David Mountain and Sam Bryant made a strong statement with a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 2 doubles to post the first Blue Devil win of the day.
Goss said both doubles teams have been getting better each time out since the region tournament, and Wednesday was the best he had seen Mountain and Bryant perform. That put the spotlight on the No. 2 singles match with Stone and Benedictine’s Andrew Cooley pushing the second set to a 6-6 tie.
Stone, who had taken the first set 6-2, fought back to take a 5-4 lead before Cooley forced the tiebreaker. Stone had a 6-1 lead before Cooley picked up four straight points, but the next point went to the Blue Devil.
“It’s amazing as a freshman,” Stone said of going on to the state semifinals. “This is probably the best chance that I’ll get to make the state finals in high school, because this is the best team that I’ve ever played on in my whole tennis career. It just means so much to me.”
Goss said Stone’s demeanor on the court, which includes the occasional vocal outburst following a lost point, is just part of his method that has proven successful this season.
“I compare him to a bulldog,”
Goss said. “He’s got a little fight in him, and I think when it got tied up and they pulled in close in the tie-break, that competitive nature he has is what helped him fight through it.”
Model will face either Harlem or Early County.