RMH tennis shuts door on Fike

Rocky Mount High’s Tyler Brice charges forward to hit the ball across the net in his match on Friday at Rocky Mount High School.
©TELEGRAM PHOTO / SARAH LOUYA

Rocky Mount High’s George Shannon makes contact with the ball Friday at Rocky Mount High School.
©TELEGRAM PHOTO / SARAH LOUYA

The Rocky Mount High tennis team needed a comeback in the final match if it wanted to hold off visiting Wilson Fike. Tyler Brice and George Shannon delivered.

The Gryphons’ top doubles team trailed late in its match, before surging to win the final four sets for 9-7 win. That victory at No. 1 doubles sealed a 5-4 win over the Demons, and a likely conference crown for the Gryphons should they win the final two matches on the schedule.

RMH (9-0, 8-0 Big East Conference) dominated the singles matches, winning four of six, and needed to win one of three doubles to win. The last time the teams met on March 21, the situation was flipped. Fike entered doubles with a 4-2 lead, only to have the Gryphons storm back with a three-match sweep.

“You have that extra edge when you’re trailing,” Shannon said. “(Fike) had that this time. We were a little flat, and not as sharp thinking we just needed to win one of three.”

On Friday, Fike was poised to control doubles. The Demons won No. 2 and No. 3 handily, 8-2 and 8-1, respectively, and held a late lead in No. 1 before Brice and Shannon made their move. Trailing 7-5, the Gryphons’ top pair rattled off four consecutive sets to secure the win.

“We had no idea we were the deciding match,” Brice said. “George went over to get a Gatorade when we were down 6-5, and Coach (Barry Nethercutt) told us that we needed to win. We were it.”

The pair dropped another set out of the break and trailed 7-5. On the other side of the net, Fike’s Michael Anders and Thomas Hodges were one set away from a win. That’s when Brice and Shannon went on a run.

Brice and Shannon were familair with their opponents, having beaten them earlier in singles. Brice controlled Anders for a 6-1, 6-0 win, and Shannon earned a 6-4, 6-2 decision over Hodges. But the Fike pair had a strategy in doubles. They were commited to remaining stay back and defending. That style worked, and frustrated the Gryphons pair.

“They played much different,” Brice said. “They did a great job of returning everything we sent them.”

Nethercutt calls Brice the fire to Shannon’s ice. Shannon is a strong net player, and has developed more angles to his game. He knows when to make his opponent run side to side, and when to drop one behind his opponent. Brice, meanwhile, relies heavily on a power game. His big forehand make it tough for opponents to be set. The two complement each other well in doubles, and it showed when they needed a run.

“I’ve focused a lot of closing the net harder,” Shannon said. “I’ve added some angles to my serve, and started lobbing the ball more. The last time I played (Hodges), we kept hitting it to each other and I almost lost.

“This time, I tried a different strategy and it paid off.”

By PATRICK MASON
Sports Writer for Rocky Mount Telegram

Saturday, April 8, 2017