MOUNT VERNON — The Mount Vernon Yellow Jacket boys tennis team is loaded with seniors and off to a strong start in 2012, after handily defeating visiting Mansfield Madison on a windy Wednesday afternoon.
“It’s a real confidence booster for our kids because we really struggled last year,” said Mount Vernon tennis coach Jeff Jarosz. “We only won two or three matches, so it always helps to come out with a win in the first one.”
The doubles teams shined on Wednesday, shutting down the Rams in both matches. Mount Vernon’s seniors Jake Kight and Nick Robinson defeated Madison’s Tru Roberts and Nathan Sperling, 6-0, 6-0. The team of senior Will Teeter and freshman Achel Fernando made it a sweep of the varsity doubles for the Jackets, downing Madison’s Quinton McCombs and Zion Addison, 6-1, 6-0.
“It was the doubles teams that really carried us,” said Jarosz. “I have three seniors out there on the court who played last year. Will did a great job and is showing Achel the ropes. My other doubles team has been together for a while, so they know each other well.”
Mount Vernon’s No. 3 singles player, Ben Zeune, defeated Colton Rumple of Mansfield Madison in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0.
“Ben took a lot of lessons over the summer and he got a lot better,” said Jarosz. “So, him coming out here is a great thing for us.”
Zeune’s teammate, No. 2 singles player Graham Hughes, also won in straight sets, but it took some doing. Hughes downed Madison’s Eder Ayala, 6-1, in the first set. The second set, however, went to the tiebreaker, which Graham took, 7-4.
“(Ayala) was very consistent,” said Hughes. “Mostly, I was try to just keep hitting good shots and hoping he would eventually mess up. That didn’t work in the second set. He was more consistent than I was.”