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Led by depth in doubles, Beacon repeats as champ
By Zachary Braziller May 16, 2009
Beacon's first doubles team of Christian Waldron (left) and Jeremyah Schur celebrate their victory.
Coming off last year’s run to the PSAL Class A boys’ tennis city championship, Beacon turned what coach Bayard Faithfull expected to be a rebuilding season into an undefeated one.
Talented sophomore Quinton Vega, one of the nation’s best players in his class, was a rock at No. 1 singles. Hannah Berner, the Wisconsin-bound senior, emerged as the only girl in the city to play boys’ singles, and excelled at it, too.
Yet, when Friday afternoon’s city championship was decided, it had nothing to do with a singles match.
Beacon lost two of the three singles to Cardozo. It was the first doubles team of Christian Waldron and Jeremyah Schur that brought the Blue Devils’ second consecutive crown home, fighting off the dogged comeback of Hugh Mo/Petros Georgiou to prevail, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.
They didn’t know it at the time, but the first doubles’ victory was the deciding match in Beacon’s 3-2 victory at the Billie Jean King USTA National Tennis Center.
“If we didn’t win, we would be sad all week,” said Schur, who ended the match with an overhead smash. “We were feeling pressure. But it was good. I knew we needed to win. I was prepared for it.”
Beacon (14-0) certainly knew how to blow off steam. After being awarded their medals and the championship trophy – which Faithfull handed off to No. 2 singles Jonathan Franzel, his senior captain – the Blue Devils sprayed each other with sparking cider, as they did last year. “I’m a little sticky,” Franzel said. They hugged one another before changing clothes.
Said Franzel: “It’s unbelievable. Everything I could want.”
“We knew they were gunning for us,” Berner said of Cardozo. “To beat them is rewarding. I’m really proud of our dominance. … We have just a belief in ourselves. We really take it seriously.”
It wasn’t necessarily so simple. Beacon entered the favorite with all seven starters tournament level players, yet it was nip and tuck at one point. Cardozo (14-1) took first and second singles. Jonathan Raude knocked off Vega, 7-5, 0-6, 6-1, and Wei Cheng Lin was victories in second singles, beating Franzel, 6-4, 7-5.
Nevertheless, Beacon was in control considering the match would come down to doubles, the Judges’ weakness. In second doubles, Khari Linton/Jacob Aronson beat Kevin Lee/Christian Georges, 6-0, 6-0. Yet, in first doubles, after the two sides split the first two sets, Schur/Waldron led 5-2 in the third set, but the deficit got cut to 5-4, on serve. Beacon, however, broke Mo, the freshman, clinching the title.
“They were just deeper,” Cardozo coach Howie Arons said. “They had more players.”
“I’m real proud,” Faithfull said. “We’ve worked really hard to make our doubles a lot stronger. It’s nice for our doubles to clinch this, especially two young players.”
With two city titles and a fairly young team, besides Franzel and Berner, Beacon’s reign may be just beginning. Faithfull declined to characterize his program surpassing Cardozo, which has 18 city titles, although just one since 2006.
“They’re a great opponent and we were just a little better today,” he said.
zbraziller@fiveborosports.com
Talented sophomore Quinton Vega, one of the nation’s best players in his class, was a rock at No. 1 singles. Hannah Berner, the Wisconsin-bound senior, emerged as the only girl in the city to play boys’ singles, and excelled at it, too.
Yet, when Friday afternoon’s city championship was decided, it had nothing to do with a singles match.
Beacon lost two of the three singles to Cardozo. It was the first doubles team of Christian Waldron and Jeremyah Schur that brought the Blue Devils’ second consecutive crown home, fighting off the dogged comeback of Hugh Mo/Petros Georgiou to prevail, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.
They didn’t know it at the time, but the first doubles’ victory was the deciding match in Beacon’s 3-2 victory at the Billie Jean King USTA National Tennis Center.
“If we didn’t win, we would be sad all week,” said Schur, who ended the match with an overhead smash. “We were feeling pressure. But it was good. I knew we needed to win. I was prepared for it.”
Beacon (14-0) certainly knew how to blow off steam. After being awarded their medals and the championship trophy – which Faithfull handed off to No. 2 singles Jonathan Franzel, his senior captain – the Blue Devils sprayed each other with sparking cider, as they did last year. “I’m a little sticky,” Franzel said. They hugged one another before changing clothes.
Said Franzel: “It’s unbelievable. Everything I could want.”
“We knew they were gunning for us,” Berner said of Cardozo. “To beat them is rewarding. I’m really proud of our dominance. … We have just a belief in ourselves. We really take it seriously.”
It wasn’t necessarily so simple. Beacon entered the favorite with all seven starters tournament level players, yet it was nip and tuck at one point. Cardozo (14-1) took first and second singles. Jonathan Raude knocked off Vega, 7-5, 0-6, 6-1, and Wei Cheng Lin was victories in second singles, beating Franzel, 6-4, 7-5.
Nevertheless, Beacon was in control considering the match would come down to doubles, the Judges’ weakness. In second doubles, Khari Linton/Jacob Aronson beat Kevin Lee/Christian Georges, 6-0, 6-0. Yet, in first doubles, after the two sides split the first two sets, Schur/Waldron led 5-2 in the third set, but the deficit got cut to 5-4, on serve. Beacon, however, broke Mo, the freshman, clinching the title.
“They were just deeper,” Cardozo coach Howie Arons said. “They had more players.”
“I’m real proud,” Faithfull said. “We’ve worked really hard to make our doubles a lot stronger. It’s nice for our doubles to clinch this, especially two young players.”
With two city titles and a fairly young team, besides Franzel and Berner, Beacon’s reign may be just beginning. Faithfull declined to characterize his program surpassing Cardozo, which has 18 city titles, although just one since 2006.
“They’re a great opponent and we were just a little better today,” he said.
zbraziller@fiveborosports.com