Red Devil boys tennis team easily defeats Rams
by Mary Rice
cContributing Writer
Apr 25, 2013 | 1098 views | 0 0 comments | 10 10 recommendations | email to a friend | print


The Grand County High School boys tennis team took home a solid victory last week, beating the Parowan Rams 4-1 on the road.

The underclassmen on Grand’s young team proved their worth at the competition, producing nearly all of the Red Devils’ victories for the day.

Sophomore Elijah Stock continued to impress in the No. 2 singles division, easily beating his opponent.

Head coach Ed DeFrancia remarked that he was highly impressed with Stock’s play, saying, “He was serving like I’ve never seen him serve before. I think he must have had at least a dozen aces. He absolutely dominated that match. It was very fun to watch.”

In No. 3 singles, freshman Tommy Dewitt earned his first region varsity win of the season. DeFrancia praised Dewitt’s “consistent, steady play,” noting that “there are still some places we can improve here and there but overall he had a really good match.”

Senior Macrae Olsen and sophomore Alec Tatton had what was certainly the most exciting match of the day, pulling off a nail-biter win in the No. 1 doubles division. The duo lost the first set, took an easy win in the second, but lost the first serve of the tiebreaker set. They went on to play a very tense final set – winning the next two points then conceding the four after that to Parowan – before winning the next five to reach the seven points needed for the win.

“I was kind of nervous about that match,” said DeFrancia. “Both sides were on streaks, but after a while our guys relaxed and just played like they should – one point at a time.”

Freshmen Derek Johnson and Mack Sheryl rounded out the Red Devils’ wins for the day, easily beating their No. 2 doubles opponents.

“I thought they played well,” said DeFrancia. “They’re really starting to focus on their own style of play and not worrying too much about their opponents’.”

Senior Kris Kemp took the day’s only loss in the No. 1 singles division.

“He started out really well,” DeFrancia said, “but after a while he just started making too many mistakes. I think he puts too much pressure on himself. He’ll do better once he just relaxes and plays.”

DeFrancia was pleased with the overall performance of his team.

“I think we’re doing extremely well – this was a good win,” he said. “It was really nice to get a win that was almost across-the-board.”

The Red Devils were scheduled to play at home against South Sevier and Richfield on Tuesday, April 23. On Thursday, April 25, they will play San Juan at home before heading into the region competition later this month.

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