It was a busy week for Panther men’s tennis.
On the week of March 27, Franklin had three matches on the schedule, including a nonconference clash with Rabun Gap and home Mountain Seven meetings with East Henderson and Tuscola. While a loss to Rabun Gap began the week on a sour note, convincing wins over the Eagles and Mountaineers improved their conference record to 6-1.
On Monday, March 27, Sammy Gunter’s team traveled to Rabun Gap for a rematch of their 3-2 loss to the talented Eagles in the first match of the season. In singles, Rabun Gap took five of six matches, with Franklin’s lone bright spot coming from sophomore Mica Jacobs in the No. 2 match.
“Even though the score looks lopsided, this match took four hours to complete,” said Gunter. “Rabun Gap’s lineup features mostly foreign players from Germany and South/Central America, so we knew this would be an uphill battle. Mica got off to a slow start but started hitting better at the tail end of the first, which carried into the second set as he traded blows with the heavy-topspin Rabun Gap player. In a close tiebreak, the momentum shifted back and forth until [the score reached] 8-8. Mica refused to budge and won the last two points. At No. 3, Gavin lost a long first set but came back to force a tie break for the second set, which the Rabun Gap player sailed through.”
In winning five of nine total matches for the day, the Eagles’ singles players secured a victory for their team. In doubles, Rabun Gap earned a similar result, but not without a strong effort from the Panthers.
“In doubles we looked much better than we had against West and had a chance to pull off a win at No. 3, which was tied at 7-7, but didn’t seal the deal,” said Gunter, referring to Franklin’s 7-2 loss to West Henderson March 21. “Overall our guys played well, as there were long rallies and several deuces, ad ins or ad outs in our favor, which we didn’t take advantage of. Today the Rabun Gap players moved us around the court better and were a bit more consistent than we were. Hopefully we can learn from this match going forward.”
After falling short in Rabun County, on Wednesday, March 29, the team returned to Franklin for a Mountain Seven match with East. With just four Eagle players in attendance, the teams agreed to play a shortened contest featuring four singles and two doubles matches.
“East Henderson, after losing four senior starters off last year’s team, was struggling to even field a team, as they brought only four of their six players to the match,” said Gunter. “I decided to give my top players a break to give our lower seeds the chance to decide the outcome. Boy, did they ever respond to that challenge. Orrin [Mynes], Brennan [Cabe], playing his first official singles match, and Jack Hyatt all outplayed their opponents for easy wins. Conner [Baldwin] won the first set easily but the momentum shifted in the second, as they were neck and neck ‘til five-all, when Conner made some great first serves and played with more consistency to seal the win.”
With strong performances from the team’s lower-ranked players versus a conference foe, Wednesday’s match helped display the quality depth on Franklin’s roster. In doubles, the quartet also showed a strong rapport on the court.
“In doubles No. 1, Will/Jack H. played extremely well at the net and from the baseline to win what I thought could have been a tough match,” said Gunter. “[At No. 2], Conner/Brennan also played with great chemistry to win theirs’ easily. I enjoyed watching their achievements on the court, as this lets me know we are in good shape if one of our starters goes down.”
After shutting out East 6-0, the next day the Panthers returned to the Macon County Rec Park for their second match of the season with Tuscola. In a rematch of their 8-1 victory in Waynesville March 8, Franklin took care of business for the season sweep.
“Solid play from all the guys in singles and doubles,” said Gunter. “Most of the Tuscola players hit the ball extremely flat, which made our players deal with a lot of low bounces, which can be tough to adjust to. However, it didn’t seem to affect us much, as you just bend your knees a bit lower to counter. Overall, it was a good performance from the guys, but we are still not hitting solid volleys and overheads at the net as cleanly as needed. It was a good team win.”
With their second 8-1 win over the Mounties in hand, Franklin improved their Mountain Seven record to 6-1, half a match behind 6-0 West Henderson for the conference lead. The Panthers will resume their season at East Henderson Tuesday, April 11, after the Spring Break holiday.