Story and photos by Cort Reynolds
ADA - The Ada tennis team lost a hard-fought rematch to Bath 3-1 Wednesday on a windy, overcast evening that ended a bit prematurely due to untimely drizzle late in the match.
The Bulldog net record fell to 6-7 with the defeat. Meanwhile, the visiting Wildcats improved to 7-4 with the hard-earned victory.
"It was an interesting rematch with Lima Bath from exactly two weeks ago, with the three singles players for each team matching up as before," said Ada head coach Dexter Woods.
Ada senior Miranda Wills ran her record to 8-4-1 this season at first singles after perhaps the most dramatic match of the season ended in a tie when rain forced a tense battle to be halted very late in the third set, potentially two points from completion.
The final point of the match was arguably the best one, with both players scrambling around the increasingly slippery asphalt court, countering each other with fine shots.
Bath freshman Daniel Bolon ultimately capped the epic point with a winner after a series of volleys to tave off break point.
Wills, playing with a knee brace, slipped on the point that made it deuce, 5-4 in favor of the serving Bolon. After the coaches met to discuss whether to continue the battle, each agreed to halt play and call the contentious match a draw due to the court becoming dangerously slick.
Bolon, two points from winning the match, angrily argued to finish it out but was overruled out of caution by the coaches and Wills.
The hotly-contested match started to develop some hard feelings late in the first set. Wills served for the set up 6-5, but Bolon broke with a nice lob on game point to tie it 6-6 and force a seesaw tiebreaker.
Bolon knocked off a backhand volley winner to break on top 1-0. The combatants traded errors after long rallies to a 3-3 tally. Wills took a lead at 4-3, but Bolon ran off the next three points to earn set point.
A Bolon return of service error staved off one set point for 6-5. Bolon then rifled a backhand crosscourt attempt to win the set, but a strong west wind helped it sail just barely wide of the sideline to tie the breaker at 6-6.
Angered by the call, Bolon asked for both team's coaches to call the lines for the remainder of the tiebreak. After a delay of a few minutes, Bolon faulted on his first serve.
Wills daringly crept far into the court to intimidate Bolon's weak second serve, and the strategy worked when he committed a costly double-fault to give Wills set point.
An irritated Bolon then returned a Wills serve wide to give the Bulldog an 8-6 comeback win in the breaker as she tallied the last four points of the set.
Bolon rode his big forehand groundstrokes to a 5-4 lead in set two. Wills started the 10th game with an overhead winner, yet Bolon rallied to force a decue. Then after a lengthy rally, Wills missed an overhead to get Bolon to set point.
The Bath freshman closed it out 6-4 on an Ada forehand into the net to force a third set.
The resilient Wills bounced back to seize a 3-0 lead in the final set. But Bolon came back within 4-3, and then served his way to a 4-4 tie.
Wills fought back from a 15-40 deficit to force deuce. But she eventually sprayed a forehand wide on break point to fall behind, 5-4.
Bolon began the final game with a huge service winner. Yet he erased that with a double fault for 15-all. Another big first serve winner gave him a 30-15 edge.
At the end of the next rally, Wills lofted a clutch backhand shot cross-court that sailed past Bolon and landed just inside the baseline to tie it again at 30-all.
Wills then over-hit a soft second serve, sending it long to advance Bolon to match point. Bolon smacked a forehand that went just wide, upsetting him again as he was convinced the shot was in - but he was just inches from victory.
Wills then hit a forehand long to bring up another match point. Yet Bolon served up a crucial double fault to bring up deuce once again as a light drizzle began to fall a bit harder.
Wills then hammered a short lob by Bolon for an overhead winner to achieve a break point chance. Then ensued the last point that featured several good shots by each player before Bolon won it with a volley winner for another deuce.
The slippery court conditions then stopped play, ending the contentious match in a tie.
Bulldog junior left-hander Dexter Woods III won a close two-set battle at second singles to improve to 11-2 this season. He took the pace off the ball by caressing and placing the ball well with a deft forehand, and also knocked off several fine angled "McEnroe-esque" volleys.
Down 5-6, Bath freshman Ezra Bolon won a deuce game to force a first-set tiebreaker.
But Woods won the first point on a winner. He then took advantage of two double faults and some Bolon errors to run away with the tiebreak in a shutout, 7-0.
A nice reflex volley on a short-hop pickup helped Woods grab a lead 3-2 in the second set. But Bolon rallied to grab 5-4 edge. Woods held serve to tie it 5-5 with two good game-clinching points.
He then broke serve with a fine backhand volley and a forehand error by his Bath foe to grab a 6-5 lead.
Serving for the match, Woods hit a forehand volley winner to go ahead 30-0. Bolon's forehand serve return error advanced the Bulldog to match point.
Woods then authored a fine backhand drop volley winner to finish the match at love, 7-5.
"The set scores this time were very close with Dexter prevailing in his closest match of the year," his father/coach. "He played well at key times and came back from two set points down in the first set, and from down 4-5 in the second set."
Hustling Ada junior Brendan Jameson lost a close match at third singles 7-5, 6-3 to Jacob Garver. With the score 6-5, Garver served for the first set.
He knocked off a nice winner, and a forehand error gave Garver a 30-0 lead. Jameson hustled his way to two points to tie it 30-all. But then Garver took the ensuing two points to close out the tight set, 7-5.
"Brendan showed much improvement in score and play in just two weeks, having won four games in two sets in the first match and (winning) eight games in two sets in the rematch, which could have gone either way," noted Woods.
Ada seniors Cole Anspaugh and Colton Biederman lost to Wildcats Will Austin and Mike Austin at first doubles in two sets.
"Cole and Colton had trouble with Bath's first doubles team as did Ada's first doubles in the earlier matchup," Woods noted.
At second doubles, the Ada sophomore duo of Amelia Alexander and Geddes Klingler played a close first set before losing to Harrison Abrams and Caiden Bush 6-4, 6-1.
"Amelia and Geddes played well the first set against a Bath second doubles team that was stronger than last time, but became somewhat tentative in the second set after some hard hitting by the Bath team," Woods recounted.
Bath also won the first meeting April 14 between the teams in Lima, 4-1.
Individual match results:
1st singles: Miranda Wills (Ada) tied Daniel Bolon (B) 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 4-5 (match suspended at deuce in 10th game due to wet surface)
2nd singles: Dexter Woods (Ada) def. Ezra Bolon (B) 7-6 (7-0), 7-5
3rd singles: Jacob Garver (B) def. Brendan Jameson (Ada) 7-5, 6-3
1st doubles: Will Austin/Mike Austin (B) def. Cole Anspaugh/Colton Biederman (Ada) 6-1, 6-1
2nd doubles: Harrison Abrams/Caiden Bush(B) def. Amelia Alexander/Geddes Klingler (Ada) 6-4, 6-1
Ada visits another WBL foe in Van Wert (5-5) Thursday, April 29.
The Bulldogs are 1-4 at home, 3-3 on the road and 2-0 at neutral sites (Westwood) this season.
