By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — It was a big day for high school sports at Watauga High School on April 18 and one of the bright spots was men’s tennis, where the Pioneers ran away with a resounding 6-3 team win over Northwestern Conference rival, Freedom.
Pioneer senior Steele Nealy continued his run at No. 1 singles with a 6-0, 6-1 win over the Patriots’ sophomore No. 1, Henry Beal. The Pioneers’ No. 2, Bryant Carroll, similarly dispatched his Freedom counterpart, Teague Ballew, 6-0, 6-1, before the Patriots’ No. 3, Chase Whitaker, battled past Watauga freshman Jaxson Marsh, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, in one of the two closest matches of the day.
The other tussle was also won by Freedom at No. 4 singles when Noah Hawkins got past Watauga Sullivan Trexler, 1-6, 7-5, 1-0 (11-9), the two sophomores battling back and forth before Hawkins won the third set tiebreaker.
Watauga freshman Harrison Gantt was awarded “Player of the Match” honors for his tough, two-set sweep (6-4, 7-5) over Freedom sophomore Bryan Gonzalez. Watauga’s No. 6 singles player, freshman Oliver Powell, finished off the Pioneers’ singles dominance with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Patriots senior, Alex Walker.
At No. 1 Doubles, Watauga’s Carroll/Marsh defeated Ballew/Whitaker, 8-2, while the Pioneers also picked up a win at No. 2 Doubles when Trexler/Gantt got past Freedom’s Beal/Hawkins, 8-3. The No. 3 Doubles match went to the Patriots, with Gonzalez/Walker outscoring a pair of Watauga freshmen, Logan Bartok and Devon Benedetti, 8-5.
