MOUNT VERNON — Though conditions were certainly not ideal, with winds gusting throughout the match, the Mount Vernon High School boys tennis team was able to kick off its season with a 3-2 victory over Mansfield Christian on Tuesday afternoon. The weather did force the teams to score based on the Super Pro Set, but that did not stop the Yellow Jackets.
Mount Vernon (1-0) got the squads’ first victory in second singles as Chris Jaymes defeated Jed Maston, 10-3. Jaymes will be one of the singles players looking to lead the team this season.
“I thought Chris played really well today,” said Mount Vernon head coach Jeff Jarosz. “He did a really good job at playing up at the net.”
Also picking up a victory in singles was Russel Ramser. He knocked off Chris Emish 10-2.
“Russel is the kind of player that can out-stroke his opponents,” said Jarosz. “That was what he did against his opponent today.”
The first doubles squad also picked up a win for Mount Vernon as the tandem of John Fleming and Aaron Lynn defeated Steve Maples and Cameron Hill, 10-3.
“I was really proud of the way John and Aaron played today,” said Jarosz. “When you look at the way the scores came out, these guys clinched the match for us.
“I thought Aaron showed a lot of poise, and that is not something you often see out of a younger player like him. John struggled a bit early on, but he really started to find his groove as the match went on.”
Though they did not pick up the victory, the doubles team of Max Whitney and Corey Street managed to keep it a close match before eventually falling 10-7 to Dick Belt and Collin Hall.
The most contested match of the game came in first singles between Mount Vernon’s Austin Kasserman and Mansfield Christian’s Wes Nitzsche. With the game knotted at nine, it headed for a tie-breaker. Kasserman took a 4-0 lead in the race to seven, but Nitzsche fought back. He came all the way back to tie things at 6, and then got the next two points for the win.
“I thought Austin played a strong match,” said Jarosz. “Nitzsche was last year’s sectional champion, so he is certainly a tough opponent.
“Overall, I thought we did pretty well. We did a good job with our singles today, and I really thought the doubles stepped up as well. It was certainly tough to play with the weather as it was.”
The Yellow Jackets will have their next test today, though the wind should not be as big of a factor. They will host Westerville Central at 4:30 p.m.