Warriors stay unbeaten

By Liz Keller

Published: April 29, 2008

There is no doubt that the Western Albemarle boys tennis team is peaking at the right time. And it was never more apparent than yesterday, as the Warriors downed Covenant in a showdown of two of the area’s top tennis teams.
The teams headed into doubles competition tied, but Western was dominant, sweeping the Eagles in two-man play to earn a 6-3 victory and remain unbeaten this season.
The win marked the second over Covenant this season for the Warriors, the defending Group AA champions.
“This win was huge for us. We’re 11-0 and these guys have been our toughest opponent,” Western coach Charles Ix said. “The way these guys played and responded today is where I want them to be going into the districts.
“We needed a big win like this — Covenant’s a great team. We practice on three courts and with 15 guys, we mainly play doubles. So if I’m 3-3 or up 4-2 going into doubles, I’m pretty confident they’ll win at least two.”
Western got a major boost from sophomore Joey Manilla in No. 1 singles, who recorded a hard-earned 10-7 win over Steve Cho. Senior Gabe Kosowitz defeated Brad Tulenko 10-3, and junior Nico de la Pointe got past Stephen Owen 10-7. Covenant’s Chris Kochard, Lloyd Luck and John Inouye all captured wins in singles as well.
In No. 1 doubles, Manilla and Ben Fitts set the winning tone for the Warriors in the final three matches as they cruised to an 8-2 win over Cho and Tulenko.
Kosowitz and Jamie Thomas defeated Kochard and Luck, while sophomore Alex Preve and freshman Teddy Nelson edged Owen and Inouye.
“Now we’ve got bragging rights in Charlottesville. [Covenant] was the first match we lost last year, so beating them twice this year is really big for us,” Manilla said. “Our team chemistry is at its max right now. We’re screaming, we’re getting pumped up out there.”
For Covenant (10-3), the match was a chance to perfect its play before the VIC conference tournament begins on May 10. The Eagles are 5-0 in the conference’s North Division. The state tournament is slated to begin May 13.
“They won the state last year, we came in second in our division, so playing a team of this caliber definitely helps us prepare for our main competitors [Carlisle, Liberty Christian and Virginia Episcopal],” said Covenant coach Dave Dahnert. “This level of competition is similar to what we saw in states last year. This will keep our guys hungry.”
At the same time, Western Albemarle is hungry for another state title. The Warriors are in the midst of a difficult stretch, playing seven games in nine days. Their Jefferson District matchup against Monticello on Monday was postponed to Friday because of bad weather.
“The best way to get ready for good matches is to play a lot of matches,” Manilla said. “So this is definitely good for us.”
Nothing would be a sweeter reward than another state crown for the Warriors, who return all of their top six players from last year’s team.
“You can’t have higher expectations, but obviously that’s our goal again,” said Kosowitz, a senior captain. “We know and recognize it’s going to be twice as hard this year. The other teams are going to be out to get us, but [winning the state tournament] is our goal and we’re working to get there. But we’re going to take it one step at a time, working through districts and the region.”
The first two steps for Western come against county rival Albemarle today and Fluvanna County on Thursday.