MOUNT VERNON — The difference between sorrow and jubilation is a fine line.
The Mount Vernon tennis team approached that line, started to cross over, but were thwarted at the last minute Tuesday by Watkins Memorial. The Warriors won the deciding third set in three matches and beat the Jackets 4-1.
“We had three courts where we had a chance to get the two wins we needed,” said Mount Vernon coach Jeff Jarosz. “If you take away the first set, it’s our best match of the year. We’ve played a lot of tough matches — that’s why I think we had a slow start on all the courts. After that, I think they realized they can compete, they can win. That’s when we started coming back.
“Three different courts all took the second set. Second singles was able to win the third set and the other two went down to the wire. They just couldn’t pull it out.”
The Jackets’ lone win was an impressive one from Graham Hughes at second singles. The senior lost his first match, 6-0, but then bounced back to beat Leon Schroeder 6-4, 6-1 to win the point.
“In the second set, I got my serve to finally work,” Hughes said. “So, I was actually able to play instead of just giving him the ball back every time.
“He was really tall so I couldn’t chip him, so I had to stop doing that. ... The wind died after the first set, so I could hit straight down the line and it would stay in the whole way.”