4/18/19
RECAP >> A long streak that lasted a decade and a half finally came to an end on Tuesday for the Emmaus boys tennis team.
The Hornets snapped a 15-year losing streak to rival Parkland dating back to 2004 as they knocked off the Trojans in a thrilling 4-3 match held at Emmaus.
“They knew beforehand (of the streak),” said a happy Emmaus first-year head coach Brian Bleam. “We knew it was going to be a tough match-up because Parkland has a good team and they’ve been good for a long time.”
“The boys were super pumped up for the win,” he added. “It’s been 15 years since we had beaten them so it’s almost like a changing of the guard.”
Sophomores Sean Jaeger and Quinn Erk , who earlier in the day won their respective singles matches, clinched the winning point at No.1 doubles with their 10-4 victory over Parkland sophomore Ankit Lenka and senior Matt Liu.
Emmaus continued their outstanding season as they improved to 10-2 in the EPC and 13-3 overall, while Parkland dropped to 9-2 both in the league and overall.
The Hornets won two of the three singles matches with Jaeger remaining undefeated on the season (16-0) with a 2-0 win over Lenka (6-2, 6-0), while Erk improved to 10-4 after sweeping both sets from Liu 7-6 (7-3), 6-1.
In doubles, seniors Grant Haffner and Kevin Gee picked up their 11th win of the season as they had to rally for a hard-fought, three-set win over freshman Fyodor D’Souza and senior Conrad Lee 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
“That match was the most stressful one to watch,” said Bleam of Haffner and Gee who have who have teamed up to go 11-2 this season. “That one was a pretty close and that represented the whole match, really.”
Emmaus will close out its regular-season on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. as they travel to Whitehall.
Follow @Emmaussports.com on twitter, ‘like’ Emmaussports.com on facebook to keep up to date on the team throughout the season.
Emmaus 4, Parkland 3
Singles
#1 – Sean Jaeger (E) def. Ankit Lenka 6-2, 6-0
#2 – Quinn Erk (E) def. Matt Liu 7-6 (7-3), 6-1
#3 – Dan Zolatarev (P) dec. Aidan Springs 6-1, 6-3
Doubles
#1 – Jaeger/Erk (E) def. Lenka/Liu 10-4
#2 – Grant Haffner/Kevin Gee (E) def. Fyodor D’Souza/Conrad Lee 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
#3 – Andy Ringold/Ee-Ning Ooi (P) def. Nic Gilboy/David Boukengolts 6-2, 1-6
#4 – Josh Jaffe/Sanjuana Parthasarathy (P) def. Ali Ahmed/Johnson Yang 6-3, 6-0
EPC Standings:
Liberty 11-0, EMMAUS 10-2, Nazareth 10-2, Parkland 9-2, Stroudsburg 8-2, CCHS 8-3, Pleasant Valley 8-4, Freedom 6-4, Northampton 6-6, Whitehall 5-6, Becahi 4-, Easton 3-8, ES North 2-8, PM West 2-9, PM East 1-9, ES South 1-11, Allen 1-11