Rochester sweeps doubles, beats Manchester

Val T.

16 minutes ago

3 min read

Gottschalk earns first win at No. 3 singles

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Jesse Smith Logan Fuller

Rochester boys tennis coach Kyle Reinartz flip-flopped Luke Gottschalk and Cash Casper in his lineup, and it paid off for both players in a win over visiting Manchester at the RHS courts Tuesday.

Gottschalk, a sophomore and a newcomer to tennis, earned his first career win at No. 3 singles, and Casper teamed with Ayden Smith for a straight-sets win at No. 2 doubles as the Zebras edged the sectional rival Squires 3-2.

Logan Fuller and Jesse Smith earned the other Rochester point, winning the No. 1 doubles match 6-1, 6-2 over Graham Kreps-Miller and Charlie Van.

Fuller and Jesse Smith started the year as singles players, but Reinartz turned them into a doubles team within the first week.

“I would definitely say that was one of our better matches,” Fuller said. “We definitely did well with teamwork and communication.”

Jesse Smith and Fuller are the two most experienced players on the team.

“I don’t think we’ve ever played a match together before, but we’ve been teammates for awhile, and we’ve been friends for awhile,” Jesse Smith said. “So I think we just clicked like that, and me and Logan have basically been training for doubles basically our entire careers.”

As for Gottschalk and Casper, Reinartz said he is still trying to see which newcomers are more comfortable at which spots.

Casper and Ayden Smith won 6-3, 6-0 over Gatsby Gawthrop and Tate Harting.

“I think moving Cash to two doubles was the right move,” Reinartz said. “Because Cash would tend to beat himself up, but with another person on the court, you have someone there to pick you up, someone to pat your back, somebody to say, ‘Hey, next point,’ right? It’s not you fighting your own thoughts. You have someone there to help you.

“Off the court, they get along great. And I think chemistry is a huge factor in that. I think their confidence is only going to grow as the season goes on.”

Gottschalk controlled the match against double fault-prone Adam Kerlin and won 6-2, 6-2.

Meanwhile, Camden Zink lost 6-1, 6-3 to Caleb Struble-Hedstrom at No. 1 singles, and Griffin Newton fell 6-3, 6-1 to Brendyn Mugford at No. 2 singles.

Mugford, a senior, won the first five games before Newton fought back to win three games in a row. Mugford even asked what grade Newton is in, and when Newton replied that he was a freshman, Mugford said that Newton is much better than he was at the same age.

Reinartz later said that Newton is “doing everything right” despite his record.

“It speaks volumes,” Reinartz said of Newton’s mentality for the game. “Next point, next serve, whatever the case may be. Whatever just happened, you’ve got to forget about it. I think with our whole team, I feel like that’s the culture … I’m trying to establish. Whatever just happened, we can’t control it. We have to move on from it. Alright, boys?

“I believe everyone that has that next-point mentality, and Griff tonight was a prime example of that. Early on in the season, he got down on himself, but he’s in a tough position right now. He’s playing two singles as a freshman who has never played tennis before. You don’t see that often. To throw him in that spot, he’s handling it very well.”

RESULTS: ROCHESTER 3, MANCHESTER 2

Singles

Caleb Struble-Hedstrom (MAN) def. Camden Zink (RHS), 6-1, 6-3

Brendyn Mugford (MAN) def. Griffin Newton (RHS), 6-3, 6-1

Luke Gottschalk (RHS) def. Adam Kerlin (MAN), 6-2, 6-2

Doubles

Logan Fuller-Jesse Smith (RHS) def. Graham Kreps-Miller-Charlie Van (MAN), 6-1, 6-2

Cash Casper-Ayden Smith (RHS) def. Gatsby Gawthrop-Tate Harting (MAN), 6-3, 6-0

JV RESULTS: ROCHESTER 1, MANCHESTER 0

Singles

Waylon Thomas (RHS) won 8-0.