Pottieger finishes with singles title
He also teams with Jay Schreck to win the flight one doubles title
James Pottieger was happy for the chance to compete after losing his final high school tennis season.
He made the most of it. Pottieger, a recent graduate of Wyomissing, won the flight one singles title at the Berks County Boys Tennis Championships Sunday at Exeter Community Park with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Will Hill.
He then teamed with Jay Schreck to take home the flight one doubles crown with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Teddy Snyder and Alex Chen.
“It was nice to have some closure,” Pottieger said. “I was wondering how everything would play out. What would have happened. It was nice that everyone got the chance to have a go at it.”
As a junior, Pottieger had won the BCIAA flight one singles title and paired with Schreck’s older brother, Will, to win the BCIAA flight one, District 3 and PIAA Class 2A doubles championships. He had high expectations for his senior season before the coronavirus pandemic hit.
He was able to display his talent over the weekend in an event hosted by the Berks County Tennis Association that brought together boys who would have played varsity tennis this spring.
“I think I played pretty well and I stepped up when it mattered,” Pottieger said. “There was a lot of good competition out there. Kids played hard. Everyone was in good shape for the tournament, so there was a lot of good play.”
The top-seeded Pottieger advanced to the final with a 6-3, 6-3 win over recent Berks Catholic grad Henry Pilliod. Hill, a rising sophomore at Conrad Weiser, defeated second-seeded Teddy Snyder, a rising sophomore at Exeter, 6-3, 7-5 in the other semifinal.
“I feel like I played well in the final,” Pottieger said. “I was struggling a little bit really to hold serve, but then once I was able to do that and I broke his, things went a little smoother. Will Hill played a really good match. He came out really strong, he fought. He’s going to be super good in the coming years.”
In doubles, Pottieger and Schreck, a rising senior, were the top-seeded team. Snyder and Chen were seeded second.
“It was fun to be able to be out with Jay,” Pottieger said. “Jay played an incredible match, It made it pretty easy. He was playing so well. We fed off each other well. We were feeling confident. It was a good match. Teddy and Alex also played well. They had a lot of good points.”
In the flight two singles final, Jayden Lewis defeated Alex Waltz 6-3, 6-0. Both players attend Conrad Weiser.
In the flight two doubles final, Waltz and Lewis defeated Michael Schuetz and Andy Chen 6-0, 6-0. Schuetz and Chen are from Berks Catholic.
For Pottieger the weekend was a chance to finish strong and take some good tennis memories away from what has been a strange summer.
“I don’t get too excited,” he said. “It was kind of a relief, to be honest. I felt it was a lot of pressure and it was nice to get that off my shoulders.”