Remarkably, these teams weren't originally scheduled to play this season. Credit Norfolk Collegiate coach James Moskowitz and Maury's Janita Burgess Hess for having the good sense to pair up these traditional Norfolk rivals and have at it. Can't imagine why this match isn't on the schedule every year.
Don;t let the team score mislead you as the Commodores, easily a Top-5 public school team in this area, were competitive in virtually all the matches. But Norfolk Collegiate has been playing tough competition all season and were ready for this kind of challenge. The Commodores, meanwhile, barely needed to take off their warmups in winning their first six matches and were coming off spring break. In other words, the Oaks had a huge edge in match toughness, and it showed as they had the right answers everywhere except at No. 3 singles, where Maury's Ethan Willingham outdueled Trafton Addison 7-5, 6-3.
We;re used to seeing a string of dazzling shots fly off the racket of Oaks No. 1 Alex Loope. But on Tuesday, the No. 2 court showcased some sizzling firepower, too, as a dialed-in Duan unleashed winners with Loope-like regularity during his 6-4, 6-2 takedown of talented Oliver Siegfried.
"He hit his targets," Oaks coach James Moskowitz said of Duan. "He kept pulling the trigger, and the shots landed."
Added Duan: "Yes, it was a lot better than normal."
"The whole point of this was to jack-slap them out of spring break. They needed this." - Hess
Hess is hoping Tuesday's eye-opening encounter with the Oaks has her Commodores (6-1) ready for Wednesday's huge Atlantic Conference showdown with Princess Anne. And on Thursday, Norfolk Collegiate (6-2) takes its four-match winning streak to Landstown, which fields arguably the top public school team in South Hampton Roads. The matchup at No. 1 between Loope and Landstown's Ryan Charles by itself is worth checking out.
For a match-by-match rundown of the Maury-Norfolk Collegiate showdown and other scores, visit our Facebook page.
Norfolk Collegiate 8, Maury 1
Don;t let the team score mislead you as the Commodores, easily a Top-5 public school team in this area, were competitive in virtually all the matches. But Norfolk Collegiate has been playing tough competition all season and were ready for this kind of challenge. The Commodores, meanwhile, barely needed to take off their warmups in winning their first six matches and were coming off spring break. In other words, the Oaks had a huge edge in match toughness, and it showed as they had the right answers everywhere except at No. 3 singles, where Maury's Ethan Willingham outdueled Trafton Addison 7-5, 6-3.
Man of the match - Dan Duan, Norfolk Collegiate
We;re used to seeing a string of dazzling shots fly off the racket of Oaks No. 1 Alex Loope. But on Tuesday, the No. 2 court showcased some sizzling firepower, too, as a dialed-in Duan unleashed winners with Loope-like regularity during his 6-4, 6-2 takedown of talented Oliver Siegfried.
"He hit his targets," Oaks coach James Moskowitz said of Duan. "He kept pulling the trigger, and the shots landed."
Added Duan: "Yes, it was a lot better than normal."
Maury's take
"The whole point of this was to jack-slap them out of spring break. They needed this." - Hess
Get your popcorn ready
Hess is hoping Tuesday's eye-opening encounter with the Oaks has her Commodores (6-1) ready for Wednesday's huge Atlantic Conference showdown with Princess Anne. And on Thursday, Norfolk Collegiate (6-2) takes its four-match winning streak to Landstown, which fields arguably the top public school team in South Hampton Roads. The matchup at No. 1 between Loope and Landstown's Ryan Charles by itself is worth checking out.
For a match-by-match rundown of the Maury-Norfolk Collegiate showdown and other scores, visit our Facebook page.
Comments
Post a Comment