TCIS boys tennis: Cape Henry edges Norfolk Academy for tourney championship

NEWPORT NEWS

Cape Henry cemented its standing as the top boys tennis team in the TCIS Saturday as the Dolphins nosed out Norfolk Academy to claim the conference tournament title at Huntington Park.

The Dolphins, who claimed four of the nine singles and doubles flights in the event, amassed 65 points, four more than the two-time defending champion Bulldogs.

''I had fun out there,’’ Cape Henry’s Eric Smith said after winning the No.2 singles title. ''But what I really want is to get that (championship) banner for our gym.’’

One point separated the Dolphins and Bulldogs after they split the six singles finals. Cape Henry clinched the title by advancing all three of its doubles teams into the finals. The Bulldogs had just one doubles finalist.

The victory came a little over a week after the Dolphins punctuated an undefeated conference regular season by downing the Bulldogs 7-2. And it marked just the second time in 22 years a team other than Norfolk Academy seized the tournament title.

Seth White at No. 4, Kevin Hamele at No 5 and the No. 2 doubles team of Hamele and Raj Dhillon also earned titles for Cape Henry.

The Bulldogs also crowned four champions, including at No. 1 singles where Jackson Breit earned the title of the conference’s best player by defeating Bishop Sullivan Catholic’s Robert Wagner. Breit prevailed despite a shoulder injury that forced him to serve underhanded the entire tournament.

''I had to rely completely on my groundstrokes, but it was OK,’’ Breit said. ''I like being the underdog.’’

Norfolk Academy’s other winners were Todd Talkington at No. 3, David Barrett at No. 6 and Evan O’Connor and Barron Frazier at No. 3 doubles.

Norfolk Christian’s Dean Wardell and Travis Riggs won the No. 1 doubles title.