Avon wins big at LCAAA matches

Eagles capture first singles, first doubles

Just in off the shores of Lake Erie, the high winds and freezing temperatures plagued the Lorain Country Athletic Administrators Association tennis tournament at Avon Lake, but that didn’t stop Avon from getting its first team crown in several years.

As the Eagles clinched the tournament with wins in both the boys first singles and first doubles, coach Eric Korey had a lot to be proud of as his squad played through sickness and brutal weather conditions.

First, the Eagles’ Jack Thorne got the biggest win of his career as the senior finally got over the hump and won his first LCAAA after three straight trips to the finals. Thorne still had to overcome heavy flu symptoms and used the fact that he wasn’t seeded in the tournament as fuel to take home the tournament’s top prize over Lake Ridge’s Ben Gwinell.

“It feels amazing. I’m glad that I finally got to do it in my senior year and it felt good to beat both the seeds after being unseeded,” Thorne said. “(Gwinell’s) a tough opponent. He always comes out and brings his best and it’s always hard to play him (because) you always have to change it up because he starts to learn your game also.”

Even his opponent, who he beat, 6-4, 6-3, said that despite all of the outside variables, the match was still one of the best he has ever been a part of.

“For me, I think the toughest thing was the cold and the gusts of wind were difficult, but I didn’t feel like it really affected too much how I played though. I really enjoyed that match, even though I lost. I had a lot of fun in that final,” Gwinell said. “I always enjoy hitting with (Thorne) because I know I’ll get a good match in, but it’s always stressful before because I know it’s going to be a tough matchup.”

This was how Korey had hoped the tournament would go, especially for Thorne, who has worked so hard just to be here now.

“This is ultimate redemption. He was not a seeded player. I fought for him to be a seed, didn’t get the seed, then on top of that the deck was stacked against him. He had to play the No. 1 seed in the first round and he wins that one in two sets while hacking up a lung out there,” Korey said. “He and Ben have played many times. He beat Ben in this tournament last year, then Ben beat him during the regular season. Two years ago he beat Ben in this tournament, so they’ve played each other a bunch of times.

“Jack changed his game plan a little bit today. His slice really was effective in this wind and it allowed him to get more balls back and on a day like today, there’s no points for style and I think the guy who can be the ultimate warrior and keep the ball going more is ultimately the winner and I think that’s what it was.”

While Thorne was getting the job done on his own, the Avon doubles team of Chase Fensore and AJ Sumser overcame an early deficit against Amherst’s London Voss and Audrey McConihe to seal the deal on Avon’s team championship.

“It’s a big deal. It was one of our team goals going into this season and ultimate respect from outside to Avon Lake, we know their team is playing in a different tournament today, their A team, and we wish them well,” Korey said. “We certainly respect them and know what the caliber of team they are and without them here, that changes the landscape drastically. But we can just play the matches that are in front of us and we did and our guys were rewarded for good play.”