Plymouth doubles takes NLC title
PLYMOUTH — Plymouth hosted the Final Round (10 Frontdraw matches) of the NLC
Conference Tournament Saturday at the Mary Beth Hunter Tennis Complex.
The only
Pilgrim tennis players to take the court on Saturday were the one doubles team of Trey Delp and
Trenton Van Duyne, who took on Warsaw in the championship match. Coming into the tournament, the top Pilgrim doubles duo was the #2 seed, with their only loss to Warsaw, while the top Warsaw duo was the #1 seed and undefeated in conference play.
Plymouth came out strong in the first set, using strong serving, returning, and net play to earn leads of 3-0, 4-1, and 5-2 before breaking serve to take the first set 6-2.
It was much the same in the second set, as Plymouth started out well again with a quick 3-0 lead.
A key game came with Plymouth up 3-1 and battled back from a 15-40 deficit to
hold serve and extend the lead to 4-1. With Plymouth up 5-1 and serving for the match, Warsaw would rally and win three straight games to make it 5-4 and get back on serve. But Plymouth would use quality returns and quick hands to break serve the next game and finish off a straight-set win 6-4.
”What a win for our 1D team today,” said Plymouth coach Brad Haeck. “Trey and Trenton have had a great season, but this is the highlight for sure. Beating a strong Warsaw team in straight sets, the same team that they lost to in straight sets a couple of weeks ago, is a great ‘Redemption’ win. It was huge that we were able to dig in and hold serve at 3-1, 15-40 in the second set. There is a big difference between 3-2 and 4-1 and the mental toughness we showed there made a difference. If we lose that game, the whole complexion of the match changes.”
“At Plymouth, we have a great tradition of NLC Doubles Champions over the years and now Trey and Trenton can put themselves on that list.”
Regarding the overall NLC Tourney results, Plymouth finished the tourney in 6th Place with 25 points. When combined with the NLC Round Robin results, Plymouth finishes the conference season tied for 6th in the NLC.
