Tennis: Standings seeing a shake-up

For years in high school tennis around these parts, a roll call of the winners triggered a collective roll of the eyes and a resigned, “It figures.”

That’s the thing about this sport. Because the area’s tennis players seemed to be clumped in certain areas, fans pretty much knew what was going to happen before the first ball was struck.

Take the Beach District. The Cox boys came into this season bristling with talent – again – and unbeaten against district foes since 2002. So naturally a glance at the standings reveals the likely champion to be ...

Princess Anne?

“Some kind of season, huh? Cavaliers coach Hutch Hammond said.

In his 27 years at Princess Anne, Hammond’s Cavaliers had never finished first. But only a win over Green Run today separates Princess Anne from completing a 10-0 regular season and claiming a surprise district crown.

The Cavaliers finished tied for second last year. Three seniors graduated from that squad, however, while defending champion Cox returned arguably the top two singles players in the Eastern Region in Ian Fraser and Cameron Brawley.

But Hammond had an inkling this season might be special on the first day of practice when talented freshmen Sam Stearney and Kevin Garcia began trading strokes.

“That day, I told one of my players if I was thinking of retiring – which I’m not – I’d have to rethink it because I want to be here until these guys graduate,” Hammond said.

Stearney or Garcia would play No. 1 on most teams – in a challenge round-robin, Stearney came within a game of claiming Princess Anne’s top spot in the preseason. But with incumbents Grant Cutchins and Connor Hoerr on hand, the two newcomers have settled in at Nos. 3 and 4.

Add in junior Eric Solis, who has lost two singles matches in three years, and the Cavaliers have the kind of quality depth usually reserved only for Cox.

The Falcons still didn’t go away quietly. Playing without a suspended Fraser, the Falcons battled the Cavaliers evenly before rain fell in their regular-season match. Fraser returned when play resumed a week later, but the

Cavaliers hung on for a 5-4 win and CiCi’s pizza for everyone.

“I promised ’em that if we beat Cox,” Hammond said.

And the Cavaliers may not be the biggest surprise. Granby and Maury typically duke it out for Eastern District girls title honors. But with the Comets graduating six of their top eight players, it was the defending champion Commodores’ title to lose, right?

Well, the Commodores lost. Granby moved up No. 6 Angelique Marshall to No. 1 and Chandani Desei from No. 8 to No. 3. They welcomed Brazilian foreign exchange student Anna Oiticica. And like Princess Anne, they thrived behind two impact freshmen, Emily Butler and Kelley Davis.

Two weeks ago, the thought-to-be rebuilding Comets stunned Maury 5-4. And with a win over Norcom today, another surprise champion will be crowned.

“I guess we were kind of under the radar,” Comets coach William Lloyd said.

The tennis landscape does seem to be getting more fluid of late. Two years ago, no one had heard of a Grassfield Grizzly, and Cape Henry was still Norfolk Academy’s little brother in the TCIS. Now 2-year-old Grassfield is the undefeated Southeastern District boys champion, and Cape Henry is the defending TCIS champ and the area’s top-ranked team heading into today’s showdown with the Bulldogs.

That’s the thing about this sport. You pretty much don’t know what’s going to happen until the last ball is struck.

When does tennis postseason begin?

Today: Southeastern District

Monday: Eastern District and Beach District

May 1: Tidewater Conference boys

Southeastern District preview

Today: Preliminaries at Howard Mast Tennis Center in Suffolk at 2:30 p.m. (girls singles), 4:30 p.m. (boys singles) and 6:30 p.m. (doubles).

Coming up: First-round singles and doubles are Saturday at Western Branch (girls) and Grassfield (boys). Quarterfinals (Monday) and semifinals (Tuesday) are at Howard Mast. The finals are Thursday at 4:30 p.m. (singles) and 6:30 p.m. (doubles) at Howard Mast.

Outlook: Grassfield stars Dylan Quinn and Hunter Barnes, both of whom reached the district singles semifinals a year ago, are the top returners in the boys tournament. Defending champion Hannah Hill of Western Branch looks to repeat for the girls. Last year’s runner-up, Margaret Moore of Western Branch, is also back.

Paul White, (757) 418-1447, paul.white@pilotonline.com