Snyder wins Flight 1 singles title
Exeter's Teddy Snyder downs Reading High's Zach Schrader, the defending champ, in a match that lasts nearly three hours
Exeter junior Teddy Snyder won the Flight 1 singles title at the BCIAA boys tennis flight tournament by defeating defending champ Zach Schrader of Reading High 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) on Monday at Muhlenberg.
“He (Schrader) is a tough player and I knew either of us could win.”
Snyder said. “We played against each other a lot over the summer in the USTA so I knew it was going to be a three-set match; I’d say I got lucky in this one.”
The championship match lasted almost three hours and Snyder said after the win that close matches against tough opponents require mental fortitude in addition to physical skill
“I’d say it’s definitely more of a mental game; way more mental,” Snyder said. “I just play one point at a time. When I’m in a match that’s not close I pretty much know I’m going to win but with these matches you don’t know, so it’s a lot more mental. He (Schrader) is good at keeping his composure; I get a little hyper.”
Similar to Snyder, Exeter coach Mike Herman expressed that when his players are put in high-pressure scenarios with large crowds like Monday that he encourages them to stay focused and take it one step at a time.
“Most cases we just tell them to focus on the game,” Herman said. “Focus on what they have to do. Don’t worry about the crowd. Don’t worry about the coach. Don’t worry about anything else; just worry about playing that point. He’s such a competitive guy that can do that and he did today.”
Snyder lost to Schrader, a sophomore, during the teams’ regular match. Schrader won 6-7 (4), 6-4, 10-7. Both players earned AllBerks
honors last year. Schrader went into the fight tournament as the top Class 3A seed in Flight 1. Snyder was seeded second in Class 3A.
Exeter’s Jake Tryanski beat Wyomissing’s Nathaniel Reneger 6-3, 6-2 in the Flight 3 final.
“We worked hard on the court and that’s all I asked of them,” Herman said. “They’re great players, they’re getting better and we’re hoping to have more and more great seasons.”
Evan Miller of Daniel Boone defeated Carson Kane of Twin Valley 6-4, 6-1 in the Flight 2 final. Austin Koehler of Wilson beat Jiovany Garcia of Conrad Weiser 6-2, 2-6, (17-15) in the Flight 4 final. Reed Kopcik of Conrad Weiser edged Owen Blume of Daniel Boone 6-2, 6-3 in the Flight 5 final.