Senior Peter Hoyle took two tiebreakers Thursday, March 25, to help Sedona Red Rock High School take a big step toward the Division IV boys tennis state tournament, winning its fourth match over Fountain Hills High School, 5-4.
“They thought they were going to beat us,” head coach Phil Kovac said. “They figured they would win at least four singles matches. We reversed it.”
Hoyle would follow a 6-1, 7-5 singles victory over the Falcons’ No. 4 varsity player by teaming up with sophomore Max Knaus for the Scorpions’ lone doubles victory despite rallying from a 5-2 deficit for leads of 6-5 and 8-7.
“My guys were down, 5-2, giggling,” Kovac said. “I called them over and said, ‘I’m going to default you. You see them giggling? Play.
“‘They are no better than you. The only difference is, they’re focused. It’s not about winning for yourselves, If we can win this, we win a match — and they’ll be shocked.’”
Hoyle and Knaus did not allow a point in a 7-0 tiebreaker shutout.
“Was that coach [mad]. I told the kids, ‘They’re so tight, their pants are falling off.’”
Kai Zimmerman, the No. 3 Scorpions singles player and a local freshman, won his seventh straight singles match, 6-3, 6-2.
“He’s lost a couple doubles matches,” Kovac said. “He’s a fine player.”
Sophomore Leo Castanon and junior Dekiah Durst also defeated the bottom of the Falcons’ singles ladder in straight sets to seal the win for the Scorpions, No. 21 in the Arizona Interscholastic Association’s Division III power rankings.
“Depth is the key in tennis,” Kovac said. “If a team has four or five good players, they’re hard to beat.”
Although SRRHS only has three losses on the season, Kovac’s team has yet to record its first sectional victory — something it hopes to change this week and close in on a top 16 state tournament seed.
“We’ll make State,” Kovac said. “Now we’re going back into our division.”
After hosting Barry Goldwater High School — the next boys tennis team ahead of the Scorpions in the standings — on Tuesday, March 29, the Scorpions will again play a team of Bulldogs at home Thursday, March 31, at 3:30 p.m., when they complete a four-match homestand against Kingman High School.
