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Calverton dominates again
Tennis cruises to fifth straight MISAL tournament title
Friday, May 22, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photos by MICHAEL REID
Calverton's Brian Bowling won the No. 1 MISAL singles title with a 10-2 victory.
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WHEATON — The Calverton tennis team has been a dominant force in the Maryland Independent Schools Athletic League the last several years and the team continued that trend at the league tournament held last Thursday at the Wheaton Tennis Bubble.
Calverton crowned a champion in each of the five divisions and went on to the lopsided win. Each of the Cougars' five teams –– three singles and two doubles –– was the top seed.
"It helps a lot [to have the top seed] because they get byes into the semifinals and only have to win two matches to get their championship," Calverton head coach Dan Coffin said. "But it's not given to them, they worked very hard throughout the season to earn those seeds."
The Cougars, who have won the last six regular season championships and not lost a league match since 2004, claimed their fifth tournament crown.
"It's always very exciting to win, especially the tournament," Coffin said. "[The key was the] hard work the kids put in during the season. Their hardest competition was against themselves in practice.
"We didn't have many matches, but they competed hard against each other in practice and that made each of them better."
And it would have been tough for the Cougars to have played better in the tournament.
At No. 1 singles, Brian Bowling won Calverton's first title when he defeated Reed Joyner of Washington Christian Academy 10-2 in the final.
"Dominating," Coffin said of Bowling. "The kid he played is talented and has a bright future, but Brian just out worked him and took his game to a new level."
John Seymour was also crowned champion after a 10-4 victory over Barrie School's Sam Paynter.
"It feels great, also because the entire team won," said Seymour, clutching his championship trophy. "A lot of times instead of having nerves I just played my game. I just tried to hit the ball back one more time than [my opponents] do."
"John's a grinder who gives it his all every match," Coffin said. "He struggled a little bit in his semifinal win [over Riverdale Baptist's Steven Gray], but he was on his game from the beginning in the final."
Without a doubt the most exciting championship match was an 11-10 (7-2) victory by Ian Weiner at No. 3 singles.
"I was very nervous," Coffin said. "But I don't get nervous for myself, I get nervous for the kids. I know what a championship would mean to them and I know how much time Ian's put into his game, so yes, I was very nervous for him."
Weiner trailed Washington Christian's Zach Joyner 4-1 early on but rallied to win the next four points and ultimately force the tiebreaker.
"Wow," Coffin said when asked for his thoughts on the nail-biter. "Ian came out very nervous and it showed [but] he fought back and it was a dogfight from then on. A wonderful win and a win that will make him better in the future."
In doubles action, Calverton's Austin Dice and Mike Hicks lost only six games in three matches on their way to winning a 10-1 win over a duo from Washington Christian.
"We work well together and [Hicks] approaches the net while I stay in the back and sometimes it works either way," Dice said. "We stayed focused and we didn't get mad or angry. That's usually what breaks us apart. We just stayed focused, we had good shots and we found our opponents' weaknesses."
"This was a sweet victory for this team," Coffin said. "We had tried different combinations and Mike and Austin kept telling us that they were the best for this spot. Well, they proved themselves right."
The Cougars completed the sweep at No. 2 doubles when J.J. Tipton and Stephen Lyddane teamed up for a 10-2 win in the final.
"We worked hard throughout the year," Lyddane said. "I guess we were really in tune and that's pretty much it."
"Totally dominating," Coffin said. "These two seemed like they have played together for years. They are two good players whose personalities mesh well together."
