Saturday, May 12, 2001
Sectional tennis highlights
Zimmerman tops McCarthy in Div. II final
By Mark Schmetzer
Enquirer contributor
Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy's Jason Zimmerman and Indian Hill's Ryan McCarthy are friends — until they step on the tennis court.
For the second consecutive year, the two practice partners squared off in the Division II sectional singles championship match at Sawyer Point Friday.In a match tinged by controversy, Zimmerman successfully defended his title, 6-7 (8-6), 6-1, 6-2.
McCarthy grew so frustrated with some of Zimmerman's line calls that he asked for a line judge midway through the third set. Seven Hills coach Tim Drew accepted the assignment.
“We get pretty intense,” said Zimmerman, who qualified for state last season. “We're friends, but you've got to put it aside. You've got to play tennis.”
Elder senior Rob Altenau earned the Division I singles championship while improving his record to 28-0 with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Oak Hills' Jimmy Brannon. The top-seeded Walnut Hills doubles team of sophomore Eric Thomas and senior Jonathan Khoury eased past St. Xavier's Andy Bartish and Scott Gerdes, 6-1, 6-1, to capture the Division I doubles championship. The top-seeded team of Indian Hill's Compton brothers, junior Mike and freshman Brian, outlasted Summit Country Day'sCyrus Krefting and Mike Fessler, 4-6, 6-2, 6-0, to earn the Division II doubles championship.
The top four finishers in each category qualified for next week's district tournament, which will be played Thursday and Saturday. The Division I tournament will be at Thomas Cloud Park in Dayton. The Division II tournament will be at Princeton.
The Thomas-Khoury team was voted the top seed even though it wasn't formed until just before the tournament draw April 30. Thomas, who finished fourth in the state last season, was looking for a break from singles.
“I was struggling,” said Thomas, who won the Coaches Classic singles title. “It was just my mindset. I'd developed a bad attitude. I was getting mad at myself between points. I needed something to boost my confidence and help my chances of winning. I have a different confidence level in doubles.”
“I just wanted to take the pressure off of him,” Walnut Hills coach Chris Hemingway said.
The St. Xavier doubles team needed two tie-breakers to beat Walnut Hills'Greg Pipkins and Daniel Smith in the semifinals. The Bombers also had to deal with Gerdes's dehydration and Bartish's nagging shoulder injury after losing their top singles entry, sophomore Neal Seghal, to a fractured growth plate in his right wrist. He suffered the injury in April, he said.
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Sectional tennis highlights