File photo by BRIAN LEWIS Leonardtown's Robert Renfrow finished fourth in boys singles at the state tennis tournament this spring after claiming the Region IV tournament title the week before.

Related Items

Year in Review No. 9: Chopticon boys soccer team ends the fall campaign with a record-setting regular season

When a tennis tournament director says it’s one of the best matches he’s ever seen, one may just have to believe that.

For Leonardtown then-senior tennis player Robert Renfrow, his match and team point made all the difference.

Leonardtown won the Region IV tennis championships on May 19 at Annapolis High School, one point ahead of county rival Great Mills.

Leonardtown, coached by Adam Cropper, capped off a two-week period in which it won the SMAC team championship as well as the Region IV title.

A crowd gathered to watch Renfrow’s match as he faced four separate match points in the third set against Severna Park’s Alex Caueneac.

Each time, Renfrow responded either by hitting a winner or watching Caueneac hit a shot long or into the net.

Renfrow eventually tied the third set at 5 after surviving those four match points and eventually won it 7-6, 7-5 in the tiebreaker, delivering him the boys singles region crown. Renfrow won the first set 6-2 and dropped the second set 6-7, with a 7-3 tiebreaker, before the third-set heroics.

Renfrow’s match sparked post-tournament conversation that included a quote from tournament director Grant Yinger who said, “That was quite possibly the best high school tennis match I have ever seen.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever won a match coming back from that many match points down,” Renfrow admitted after the match. “I am just so happy I won.”

Renfrow placed fourth overall in the boys singles bracket at the state tournament a week later.

“It’s been a good ride," Renfrow said after the state tournament. “I only lost one match [this year] and it’s been really fun. It was worth it to come back for my senior year, it was a good experience. … I liked the team experience a lot and just being on a tennis team.”

Renfrow, who returned to Leonardtown after not playing high school tennis since his freshman year, received All-County Athlete of the Year honors and Cropper was voted All-County Coach of the Year.

Renfrow topped off his 2012 high school career when he swore into the U.S. Coast Guard Academy on June 25. He was recognized for superior academic achievement and leadership potential.

TAMMY SHOWALTER