Panther men’s tennis has entered the endgame.
Upon returning from Spring Break the week of April 7, Franklin faced a busy slate of contests, including two with North Henderson and one with Smoky Mountain. With two Mountain Seven wins they improved their record to 8-5 with just one match remaining this regular season.
On April 7, the Panthers traveled to North Henderson for a doubleheader, where both teams agreed to a shortened first-to-10-games format. Each of Franklin’s top six players won their singles matches, including #1 Gavin Rinker (10-5), #2 Eli Adams (10-3), #3 Orrin Mynes (10-1), #4 Brennan Cabe (10-0), #5 Jack Hyatt (10-6) and #6 Drew Hodges (10-6).
“Being a doubleheader, we decided that as soon as one team won five matches then the first round would be over,” said head coach Sammy Gunter. “We looked rusty coming off Spring Break, but played well enough to finish it quickly.”
With the first dual team contest decided, both squads agreed to forgo its doubles portion and begin the second contest. There Franklin cruised to another easy win.
“In this match we changed the format and went to No-Ad [no-advantage] scoring, which also speeds things up,” said Gunter. “Normally you have to win by two points, but in No-Ad, when you get to 40-40 the next point wins, which is almost like flipping a coin. Again the guys played well and took care of business for the most part. We still need to work on moving our opponents around the court more to open up the angles for easy points.”
At Nos. 1, 3 and 4, Rinker, Mynes and Cabe once again earned blowout wins, while Josiah Holt and Wyatt Parlier joined the fray with wins at 5 and 6. In doubles, Rinker/Adams (#1), Mynes/Cabe (#2) and Hyatt/Hodges (#3) swept their opponents for an 8-1 dual team win.
Two days later they returned to the Macon County Rec Park for a tough Mountain Seven match with Smoky Mountain. In a rematch of their 8-1 loss in Sylva March 10, Franklin improved on their prior result.
“We knew this was going to be a tough, close match against Smoky Mountain, and it was a long 3.5-hour battle before it was settled,” said Gunter. “At #3, Orrin had the match of the day featuring long baseline rallies before finally winning the first set. It was nip and tuck all the way in the second and at 6-5 he had a chance to close it out, but a couple of errors tied the score at 6-6, which the Smoky Mountain player won 7-2 in the tiebreaker. This forced the third set tiebreak which again was close, but Orrin kept his nose in it the whole way and at 9-7 hit a great shot for the victory.”
“[At] #4, Brennan just keeps winning handily with his mixture of different speeds and spins on his ground strokes, lobs, approach shots and angled volleys at the net. Add in his speed around the court and quick hands, and he is a nightmare for his opponents.
Despite strong efforts from Rinker, Adams, Hyatt and Hodges, Mynes and Cabe earned Franklin’s only singles wins. Entering the doubles portion, Franklin needed all three wins to escape with the dual team victory.
“Trailing 2-4 we had to sweep doubles, but Smoky Mountain’s coach countered by putting his #1 and #2 player together to make it tougher on us,” said Gunter. “Our #1 guys [Rinker/Adams] played well, but couldn’t match their accuracy and fire power. At #2 Orrin/Brennan continued their winning ways by combining Orrin’s deep groundstrokes with Brennan’s quick hands and strong overheads at the net to win handily. Jack/Drew played well at #3, but we made too many errors at the wrong times. Overall, it was disappointing for the guys as we were so close to changing the outcome, but also encouraging as we know that we are right there with the top teams in ability in the Mountain Seven Conference.”
Despite an 8-2 win from Mynes and Cabe at #2, Franklin ultimately lost the dual team contest 6-3. The result dropped the Panthers to 8-3 in the conference, where they ended the week in third place behind West Henderson (9-0) and Smoky (9-2). Franklin ended their regular season April 14 at Smoky Mountain, ahead of the conference tournament April 23. They are currently the 22nd-ranked team in the 3A West.