By RYAN WALKER
The Norwell boys’ tennis team defeated Bluffton 4-1 Tuesday afternoon during the opening round of the sectional hosted by Norwell. The Knights’ season continues with a date with Bellmont at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept 28.
For Bluffton, the season will come to a close, having won its first conference title in 14 years. The 19th-year head coach of the Tigers, Robert Vanderkolk, knows this one will sting but has high praise for his opponent.
“There’s a reason why they’ve competed in the Northeast 8 these last couple of years,” he said. “They’ve got a group of talented tennis players. They know what they’re doing, and hats off to them. Obviously, it’s never fun losing in the sectional, and it’s not fun losing to Norwell.”
Even with the loss, the lone victory for Bluffton’s No. 1 doubles team of Preston Daughtery and Drew Pressler will advance them to the next round as an individual pair. They will find out next Monday about the next steps in the tournament.
Within the first few games, Bluffton seemed to have Norwell on watch as they were ahead in three of the five matches. However, those leads would eventually fade towards the end of the first set.
Norwell’s No. 1 singles Ethan Ottinger came back in his match after dropping the first game to Keegan Schwartz, winning 6-3, 6-1, and No. 3 singles Bodie Zimmer finished his match after losing the first three games and recovering for a victory 6-3, 6-2.
“Bodie, our No. 3, did a really good job of just coming back because he started the first set down 0-3, and then I think he won the next six games in a row to win 6-3 in the first set,” head coach Noah Tobias said. “The fight that he had in him in the day was really cool to watch.”
In No. 2 doubles, Norwell’s Jaden Payne and Jake Hoover won in its match over Logan Reifsteck and Max Worth.
At No. 2 singles, Norwell’s Grant Mishler won against Anthony Hartman 6-1, 6-0 in his first completed match in about two weeks due to a back injury. The coaching staff has been cautious with Mishler, even pulling him against Leo last Thursday to prepare for sectionals.
Tobias has said all season that his No. 2 singles player might be one of the best in the area and was relieved to have him back in the lineup.
“It means so much to have him back in the lineup,” he said. “He’s a great kid, and he’s a great competitor. He brings just a huge weapon to our lineup, and whenever he doesn’t play, it’s tough, and we’ve really got to fight for that third point however we can.”
Bluffton will lose six seniors this season that accomplished an ACAC championship for the first time since 2008. But beyond the wins and losses, what makes the group special goes beyond victories for coach Vanderkolk.
“I feel bad for my six seniors,” he said. “It’s always bittersweet when they lose their last match because I know I’ll never be able to coach them again. They know they’ve got a heck of a fan in me. It just stinks that I won’t be with them two hours a day on the tennis courts because they all love being there.”
Each season must end at some point down the road. Some players will finish their athletic careers, and some will have a chance at another sport. For Bluffton, the majority of them will continue athletically throughout the rest of the season, ranging in sports from baseball, swimming, golf, and potentially, basketball and track.
More impressively, the Tigers tennis team was just shy of earning academic all-state with a 3.59 GPA; 3.6 would have made it. Logan Reifsteck did get academic all-state as an individual.
For the Knights, they advance to the sectional semi-final against Bellmont, and the winner will battle for a championship against the winner between South Adams and Huntington North.
Bellmont, which has struggled this season, only has six players on its roster, according to Tobias, but he isn’t taking any chances in the playoffs.
“The thing that our guys need to continue to think about is this is sectionals, and this is the post-season,” he said firmly. “It doesn’t matter what level you’re playing at—anything can happen in the post-season, and if you do not come to play, then you will lose. Somebody’s going to come out of nowhere and take it from you.”
“Our guys just have to come and be ready to play,” he continued. “And as long as we do that, we’re going to be completely fine tomorrow.”
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