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Rocky Mount High coach Barry Nethercutt challenged his top player to get out of her comfort zone Monday afternoon.
Brenna Bryant is far more comfortable on the baseline, trading groundstrokes with her opponents, overpowering most of them this season. But Sarah Cochran consistently returned Bryant’s shots back to her.
Struggling in a back-and-forth match that remained on serve through eight games, Bryant needed a new plan to fend off Cochran.
During a changeover, Nethercutt asked Bryant to consider hitting drop shots and forcing Cochran off the baseline. After numerous urges from Nethercutt to trust him, Bryant employed the gameplan – and it worked.
The court opened up, the sophomore found the space to pound her forehand, and Rocky Mount High defeated Rockingham County, 6-0, in the second round of the NCHSAA 3-A state playoffs.
“She was one of the most consistent girls I’ve played all season,” Bryant said. “I had to change up how I was playing – which is normally very aggressive – and starting hitting drop shots and lobs to try and change the pace a little bit.”
“Once she got through the first set, she was able to take a deep breath and then elevate her game a bit more in the second set,” Nethercutt added.
Bryant’s match began to turn in the eighth game when she was serving at deuce. Nethercutt suggested a wide serve that would set up a drop shot. The sophomore reared back and unleashed an ace out wide. She took the next point to win the game, and then proceeded to win the next eight games, breaking Cochran four times in the process.
That play combined with the critical break that followed gave Bryant all the confidence to finish off the match.
“My confidence level definitely went up after the first set,” Bryant said. “I started to hit more freely and not be so tight.”
While Bryant was battling Cochran, senior Chandler Brice seemed to be fighting herself most of the day. The Gryphons’ No. 2 singles player won her match, 6-0, 6-2, but was vocally displeased herself after some of her shots Monday.
Nethercutt said he knew something was off with his No. 2 player from the moment the team began to warmup for the match. He added he was fearful those feelings would impede her abilities in the match, but was happy to see her play some great tennis against a quality opponent.
“I was worried that she was going to let that take her out of the match because the girl was hitting a lot of big forehands and made Chandler have to play good points,” Nethercutt said. “She kept her emotions in tack enough to get through it.
“That was an impressive score against someone who I think was a real quality player.”
Rockingham County struggled mightily on the other four courts against the Gryphons. The Cougars were blanked in four sets and won a combined five games in the other four sets.
Nethercutt said he was very pleased with his team’s performance overall, and was happy to see his lineup play well as a group.
“I thought we played very well,” Nethercutt said. “We looked really good everywhere.”
The Gryphons’ victory sends them to the third round of the NCHSAA state playoffs for the seventh time in the past 10 seasons. The final eight has been a round of horrors for Rocky Mount High in the past – it has gone 1-5 in its previous six trips.
Standing in the Gryphons’ way is either Cameron Union Pines or Topsail. Both will pose challenges to the Gryphons, but whoever the opponent is will have to travel to Rocky Mount High next Monday.
“(We need) to play up to our potential at the spots we have a chance to win at,” Nethercutt said. “Overall, we can hang with them. It’s going to be those matches that we’re even with them in that we’re going to have to find a way to win.”
Before worrying about the third round of the team tournament, Bryant and Brice will team up as one of two Rocky Mount High duos in the state tournament in Burlington this weekend. Seniors Eliza Fike and Mary Blair Thompson are the other pairing.
By Josh walfish
Sports Writer/Rocky Mount Telegram
Monday, October 26, 2015
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