PA’s Tran bounces back in Overall tennis tourney

NORTH LITTLE ROCK — A year after coming up short in the second round, Anthony Tran made amends by taking down the Class 3A champion.

The Pulaski Academy senior withstood charges from Episcopal Collegiate’s Keeton Dassinger throughout to pick up a 6-3, 6-2 victory on the first day of the state Overall tennis tournament on an overcast Monday at Burns Park in North Little Rock.

“I felt pretty good out there,” said a sweat-drenched Tran, who fell to Shiloh Christian’s Bradley Neil in last week’s Class

4A singles final at the same facility. “When it started drizzling a little, it started getting to my head a little bit, especially during that one changeover. But I just shook it off and kept on going.”

Tran didn’t stop until he’d secured a spot in the semifinals. He’ll face Class 6A champion Collin Matthews at 9 a.m. today. The Rogers sophomore eased past Graham Hardin of Haas Hall Bentonville 6-0, 6-1 in one of four second-round singles matches.

Neil, who outlasted Hot Springs Lakeside’s Ben Hollis, will take on Little Rock Central’s Jake Maxson in the other semifinal.

In doubles play, Hayden and Carter Swope of Springdale HarBer moved one step closer to adding to their title collection after beating Harding Academy’s Ryan McGaha and Andrew Ross 6-0,

6-0. The Swope brothers, who grabbed the Class 6A title a week ago after Bentonville’s Vikram Balaskaran and Nikky Simpson withdrew because of an illness, will play Class 5A champions Ethan Richardson and Carson Fowler of Jonesboro in the semifinal round. Balaskaran and Simpson will battle Pulaski Academy’s Noah Becker and Jack Lewis.

“This feels really good because we’ve been working really hard to get here,” said Hayden Swope, a senior. “I know my brother really well and he knows me really well … we go off of each other. We help each other out out there.

“But I think we were focused and dialed in (Monday) to where we were not really worried about whatever was going to happen with the weather. Whatever happens, happens. We were just going to do our job no matter what.”

The Swope brothers certainly handled their business against Ross and McGaha, using an array of shots to thwart everything thrown their way. The duo also kept their counterparts on their heels by winning the majority of their first-serve points, which helped them stay undefeated on the year.

“I’m lucky to have a brother as good as him and as encouraging as him to play with,” Carter Swope, a freshman, said of his brother. “It feels good to get this first win.”

Tran, too, was happy to get his initial victory under his belt. He noted that he’d played Dassinger in the past but came out on the wrong end of things in their last meeting.

He turned things around in their latest clash.

“We went to a third set the last time, and he got the better of me,” he said. “I started cramping some in that one, but I think I’ve improved a lot since then. I was just trying to make more balls than he did and go for my shots whenever I could.”

Girls

Cassie Cervantes made the most of her opportunity to outlast a game opponent Monday.

The sophomore from Bentonville West fired winners during key moments in the second set to hold off Little Rock Parkview freshman Emmory Simmons 6-1, 6-4 in the second round of the state Overall tennis tournament at Burns Park in North Little Rock.

Cervantes, who finished third in singles action during the Class 6A state tournament, controlled the first set, but Simmons pushed her in the second.

The two went back and forth until Cervantes got the break point she needed to help her advance into today’s semifinal against Valley View’s Cydney Rogers, a three-time Class 4A state singles champion.

“It was a really good match,” Cervantes said. “It feels good to win any time you play. This was a great environment despite the weather being kind of damp. As long as the court wasn’t slippery, I knew I’d be fine.

“But (Simmons) is a really good player. It was definitely a challenge.”

Simmons opened eyes at the Class 5A state tournament last week in Hot Springs when she surrendered just three games in her first three matches. She eventually lost in the final to Jonesboro’s Jenna Payne, but she said the experience she’s getting this early in her career is beneficial.

“I feel just blessed to be out here playing,” she said. “With all these great players, it just feels good to be among them. I’m learning as I go because every match I play, I learn something new.

“And that’s a big thing for me. I felt like I did pretty good (Monday), could’ve done better. But overall, it was a good experience that can only help me get better.”

Payne, the reigning three-time Class 5A singles champion, shook off a few unforced errors in the second set to beat Lexa Farmer of Haas Hall Bentonville 6-2, 6-0 and advance to the semifinals for the third year in a row. She will take on Kate Files of Fort Smith Northside, a 6-1, 6-0 winner over Pulaski Academy’s Joiner Love.

Haas Hall Fayetteville’s twosome of Leena Cashman and Naya Kessman wasted little time earning a spot in the doubles semifinals. The tandem was nearly flawless in beating Samantha Holt and Taylor Brossett of West Memphis 6-0, 6-0.

“There were some nerves, though,” Kessman said. “There’s always nerves. But I thought we settled down and started playing our game. This is big for us, especially me because I’m a freshman, and this is my first year.”

Holt and Brossett slipped past Parkers Chapel’s Dure Thomas and Macie Wood in three sets earlier in the day. But unforced errors kept them from mounting a charge against Cashman and Kessman, who had not lost a match this season.

“We didn’t know anything about (Holt and Brossett),” said Cashman, a sophomore. “We really didn’t have any expectations going in, other than how we were going to play. But I thought we did well.

“Hopefully, we’ll do even better (today). We’ve got to have good attitudes, stay focused and stick to our main strategy.”