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FRIDAY HARBOR HIGH SCHOOL BOYS TENNIS |
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Lehr and McNairy win thriller, place 3rd at state tennis championshipsStory by Matt Pranger
Coach Dick Barnes (left to right), Josh Lehr, Keller McNairy and Assistant Coach Jim McNairy relaxed after the exciting finish. posted 05/28/2007
McNairy and Lehr conquered Tonasket's David Benz and Billy Monroe 6-4, 6-7 (7-9), 7-6 (7-1) in a match that included an"epic" deuce marked by more than a dozen advantages.
"That was a sweet match to go out on," said Keller McNairy, who graduates in two weeks. "You run the gamut of emotions," Friday Harbor assistant coach Jim McNairy said."To come back from the brink of victory and to have it snatched away and to be on the verge of defeat, oh man." "There were so many places where the wheels could've come off," said head coach Barnes said."They could've lost the match but they didn't." "You can watch a whole lot of tennis matches and not see one like that today," Jim McNairy said after the 2-hour-plus contest.
With the third-place finish, Lehr and McNairy accomplished a feat few Friday Harbor players even dreamed. Seattle-area teams have dominated the state-qualifying Northwest District tournaments for many years."It's been such a long time," Barnes said of making the long trip to Yakima for state. Seattle-area players also usually rule the state tourney. The Wolverine coaches and fans could not recall when a Friday Harbor boy finished higher in the state tennis tournament."We've had no boys place since the 1980s," Barnes said. McNairy and Lehr advanced to the semifinals by beating Tonasket's Adam Rairdan and Danny Stoddard 7-6, 6-0 and rolled by Nick Tellez and Alex Morley of Lakeside (Nine-Mile Falls) 6-2, 6-2 in the quarterfinals Friday, May 25. The Wolverines played tentatively in the semifinal the next morning and Omak's Phillip Andrist and Orion Miller took advantage, winning 6-3, 6-1. The Friday Harbor duo knew they could have played better in the semifinals against Andrist and Miller, who Cashmere's Josh Sanders and Nick Ovenall dispatched 6-1, 6-2 in the title match. "Our guys said, 'We're thinking too much. We need to quit worrying, have fun and let the chips fall where they may,'" Jim McNairy said."That calmed them down a lot and they played a lot stronger, more consistently."
The coaches also helped them regroup. "Jim keeps the intensity up," Lehr said. "Dick's always keeping us focused," McNairy said. The players heeded their coaches' support and advice."They really helped a lot between the first and second matches," Keller McNairy said."We got a bounce in our step and we started playing more aggressively." The first set against Benz and Monroe was nip-and-tuck with each team breaking service early on. The Wolverines got a crucial break at 5-4, with Benz serving a double-fault, and clinched the set win 6-4. The teams traded games in the second set, each winning their own serve, until Friday Harbor led 5-4, again with Benz serving. The Wolverines were on the verge of a match victory. Then the match heated up as hot as the Yakima Tennis Club's indoor facility.
"That game must have went 14 or 15 ads," Coach McNairy said."It was epic." The Wolverines found themselves at match-point five times but the Tigers wouldn't roll over. "Staving off five match points in a row was amazing," McNairy said of Benz and Monroe . "It was a little nerve-wracking. We couldn't convert," Keller McNairy said. "The ebb and flow of that game was incredible," Jim McNairy added. "Nobody could win two points in a row." Benz and Monroe eventually won the game and the next one, breaking Friday Harbor's serve. The Wolverines rebounded and returned the favor, knotting the set at 6-all, forcing a tiebreaker. Friday Harbor went up 6-4 and again seemed poised to seal the match victory, but the Tigers won their next service point and trailed 6-5. With Lehr serving, the Tigers fought off Friday Harbor's seventh match point. After pulling 6-all, the Tigers went on to win the tiebreaker 9-7 with a sharp low volley that McNairy couldn't return.
Lehr and McNairy refused to become discouraged after dropping the second set."The kids went back to their mantra of staying relaxed," McNairy said. Early in the deciding set Friday Harbor got the advantage by breaking Tonasket's serve at 2-1 in what they hoped would be a momentum-grabber. Instead, the Tigers roared back instead and strung together four solid games to take a commanding 5-2 lead. Keller McNairy encouraged his younger partner."I told Josh, 'This is my last match of my high school career. I don't want to go out this way.'"
Lehr responded to McNairy's plea."I just decided I'd play better," Lehr said."I told Keller, 'Let's bagel these guys.'" They prevented the Tigers from reaching match point the rest of the set." That was tightening the screws," Jim McNairy said. "After we won the third set they realized we weren't going to roll over and die," Keller McNairy said. Friday Harbor tied the set and the match 5-all. Each team won their service game to knot it 6-all and to send the match to a tiebreaker. "They never really got us on the ropes," Keller McNairy said."They never got any match points and that was really big." Friday Harbor jumped to a 4-0 lead and gave up only a point in the match tiebreaker. The Tigers' final volley went wide.
The loyal Friday Harbor fans -- three schoolmates and the boys' parents -- went wild, running on the court to hug and congratulate McNairy and Lehr. "A special thanks to our trio of die-hard fans -- Lindsey Younguist, Maddy Carlson and Charlotte Guard," Lehr said of the Friday Harbor girls tennis players. "Thanks goes to them for making the trip," Keller McNairy said."They really gave us an emotional boost."
Jim McNairy (left) congratulates his son, Keller, |
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