Class 7A boys state tennis tournament

Rockets collect three-peats

BENTONVILLE -- Parker Stearns' third consecutive Class 7A state boys tennis championship was no easy task, and he had a freshman to thank for the challenge.

The Little Rock Catholic senior outlasted Fayetteville's Jake Sweeney in a match that went almost 2½ hours before Stearns scored the last three points to cap a 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 victory Tuesday afternoon at Memorial Park.

Class 7A state boys tennis tournament

at Memorial Park, Bentonville

Team scores

1.Little Rock Catholic 19;

2.(tie) Fayetteville and Little Rock Central 6;

4.(tie) Rogers High and Fort Smith Southside 2;

6.Bentonville West 1.

Tuesday’s results

Singles

Semifinals

Jake Sweeney, Fayetteville def. Anik Chakka, LR Central 5-7, 6-1, 6-3; Parker Stearns, LR Catholic, def. Ethan Eddelman, FS Southside 6-1, 6-4.

Championship

Stearns def. Sweeney 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.

Doubles

Semifinals

Henry Nolan/Steven Weeks, LR Catholic, def. Jackson Runnels/Jack Mason, Fayetteville 6-2, 6-0; Jackson Davis/Harrison Cook, LR Catholic def. Phillip Abston/Zandy Djurick, LR Central 6-7, 6-1, 6-4.

Championship

Nolan/Weeks def. Davis/Cook 6-7, 7-5, 6-1.

"Sweeney may be a freshman, but he knows how to fight like a college player," Stearns said. "He's going to be an unreal player one day. He's going to be the future of Fayetteville tennis."

Stearns was the more rested player entering the championship match, having earned a straight set semifinal victory over Fort Smith Southside's Ethan Eddelman. Sweeney needed more than two hours to rally past Little Rock Central's Anil Chakka 5-7, 6-1, 6-3.

Stearns took control early in the first set, only to have Sweeney bounce back and force a third and final set.

The players traded games in the final set until Stearns scored the last three points of the match and broke Sweeney's serve after trailing love-30.

"He completely changed his game in the second set, and I wasn't ready for it," Stearns said of Sweeney. "I didn't know what to do, and I couldn't find a weakness in what he was doing. I lost aggressiveness and let him dictate a lot more.

"In the third set, I knew I had to roll with my first serve. At 4-all I didn't make one first serve, and I was scared of my backhand because of the wind. I'm pretty sure he got up 30-love every time he served."

Stearns was just a portion of the Rockets' dominance as the Rockets scored 19 points en route to their third consecutive state title, and they had it clinched before the championship matches took place. Fayetteville and Little Rock Central tied for second place with six points apiece.

The championships did make things a little interesting for Catholic Coach Tim Glancy. While Stearns was playing for the singles title, the Rockets had both doubles team playing each other in the championship match. Glancy was bouncing from match to match.

"It was rather tough," he said. "But it was fun watching them, and fun being up here. As far as the doubles match, all I did was ask them if they needed water, then give them a high-five and tell them to keep playing.

"I was worried a little bit about that three-peat. The kids have competed well the last three years and played well against really good competition. Parker told me when we didn't win it in his freshman year that we would come back and win the next three. He stayed true to his word."

Henry Nolan and Steven Weeks also completed a run of three consecutive state doubles championships, but they were pushed by their teammates. They were taken to three sets against Jackson Davis and Harrison Cook before Nolan and Weeks claimed a 6-7, 7-5, 6-1 victory.

Sports on 10/18/2017

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