With the temperature nearing 90 degrees on the courts at Memorial Field, the Blue Devils fought hard to keep up with Summit; however, the No. 10 team in the state ultimately prevailed, beating Westfield 4-1.
The only win of the day was in the first singles, junior Chris Winters, who had a tough battle against a player whom he had lost twice to last season. This game meant a lot for Winters as his hard work was able to pay off and be reflected onto the court and in the final score.
Winters said, “I’ve played the same kid, and I made a lot of unforced errors, and that kind of cost me a lot of points in games. My game plan today was to just be a little more consistent and try to outlast.”
His match was the last to finish, reflecting the long, hard play the boys had to endure. Winters won both sets 6-1, 6-4, ultimately beating his opponent 2-0 to secure his individual victory.
Despite the losses from the other courts, each game was a competitive and close match.
Senior tri-captain Evan Khan, who plays third singles, had tough competition against his Summit opponent. Going into his match, he knew the skill that awaited him on the other side of the net.
Khan said, “My plan was to keep the ball in play, and wait for him to make errors, and try to tire him out.” His plan worked for the beginning of the match, but eventually fell short, overall losing his game 0-2.
A noticeable strategy from Westfield was to be vocal and try to outsmart their opponent. By going into this match with a strategy, they were able to keep up with Summit and keep a competitive match. Head coach Matt Varhely said, “Our primary goal going into today’s match was to evaluate the progress our doubles teams are making so far this season.”
Senior tri-captain Leo Goldman and sophomore Jake Anderson at first doubles, and senior tri-captain Arden Rappaport and freshman Cooper Stanek at second doubles, also just fell short to their opponents. With first doubles losing 6-7, 5-7 and second doubles 3-6, 5-7.
With this loss, Westfield looks to improve for their future matches. Varhely said, “We are going to continue to work hard during practice and improve a little bit each day.”
Westfield will look to battle again on April 21 against Scotch Plains-Fanwood at 4:00 p.m. away.
