Boys tennis: Central Ohio nets sweep in Division II
DeSales' Warren wins singles; New Albany takes doubles
Sunday, May 27, 2007 3:36 AM
By Jeremy McLaughlin
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Bryce Warren, Peter Kobelt and Skyler Engel played with their best poker faces yesterday at the boys state tennis tournament at Ohio State. They hid their emotion as best they could and stayed level-headed as the stakes got higher with each game.
When Warren, of DeSales, won the Division II singles final and Kobelt and Engel, of New Albany, won the Division II doubles title, each let out a jubilant scream that shouted central Ohio tennis is back.
Warren, a senior, was dominant in his semifinal and final. He defeated Andrew McCarthy of Cincinnati Indian Hill 6-1, 6-2 in the final.
Kobelt, a sophomore, and Engel, a junior, had a more suspenseful ride with two come-from-behind wins. They won the final 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 over Devin McCarthy and Vinod Mahalingam of Indian Hill in a rematch of the 2006 final. The Indian Hill duo beat Kobelt and Ryan Dodd last year.
It is the first time since 1990 that Franklin County schools swept both Division II titles.
Will Petrie of Columbus Academy placed third in Division II singles, the same finish he had last season.
Warren took control of his final right from the start. He broke Andrew McCarthy's serve in the first game, one of five he won. He knew exactly when to charge the net or to sit back and volley.
"I saw (McCarthy) wasn't moving that great side to side, so I kept moving him," Warren said. "I kept attacking and stuck with the game plan. It seemed to frustrate him and take him out of his game. So I put my foot on the gas and it paid off."
Both players held serve in the second set (2-2) before Warren closed by winning four straight games. He needed five match points to win and credited his focus for not letting McCarthy steal the final game.
"That was probably the best match he's played this season, maybe ever," DeSales coach Matt Rutherford said. "Since (winning the sectional), he's played his best tennis. His confidence has been high and he really felt like he should win."
Kobelt and Engel almost didn't make it to the final. They nearly lost to Stephen Havens and Ryan Shidler of Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy in a semifinal. They fought off match point in the second set and won 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 over the duo that many viewed as the favorites.
That set up the Indian Hill rematch that Kobelt played in last season with Dodd, a 2006 graduate. Kobelt and Engel lost the first set but broke serve twice in the second set to win.
They jumped to a 4-1 lead in the third set before Indian Hill came back to forge a tie. It was eerily similar to the 2006 final when New Albany had an early lead but Indian Hill rallied.
"I was thinking about (last year)," Kobelt said. "It was 4-3 and we got to the bench and I told Skyler, 'We were up 3-1. We're not going to lose this match."
They didn't, getting a service break and closing out the win.
"It was just like the semifinal match," Engel said. "We knew they would make a mini-run and we'd hang on and take over."
jmclaughlin@dispatch.com
