RM boys tennis goes to 2-0 in NEW 6

March 24, 2009

By Charles Alston of Rocky Mount High School

Rocky Mount's boys tennis team moved to 2-0 in NEW 6 play Thursday after beating rival Northern Nash 7-2. RMHS swept all but one singles matches - led by No. 1 seed Alex Durham's 6-2, 6-1 win over Michael Brackett.

RMHS played two-time defending conference champ Southern Nash at Sunset Park Tuesday.

"Ross (Bradley) and Kashyap (Kaul) were keys to the win today along with Carson (Gardner) picking up the win at No. 6," Rocky Mount coach Barry Nethercutt said. "Ross and Kashyap kept so many balls in play that it really frustrated the Northern kids.  We talk a lot about being two points better than the other guy in third-set tie-breakers and that's what Carson was today by winning his tie-breaker 10-8.
 
"Those two points made a huge difference for our team," he said. "Gavin (Stone) also won his third-set tie-breaker and I was very happy with how he played it. Northern was 7-0 coming into the match so I think the guys were happy with this win."

ROCKY MOUNT 7, NORTHERN NASH 2

Singles

1. Alex Durham (RM) def. Michael Brackett 6-2, 6-1
2. Gavin Stone (RM) def. Adam Ward 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(10-4)
3. Ross Bradley (RM) def. Chris Sawyer 6-0, 6-0
4. Kashyap Kaul (RM) def. Dylan Crumpton 6-3, 6-0
5. Bryson Williams (N) def. John Hader 6-3, 6-2
6. Carson Gardner (RM) def. Jonah Richardson 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (10-8)

Doubles

1. Durham/Stone (RM) def. Bracket/Sawyer 9-7
2. Bradley/Kaul (RM) def. Crumpton/Richardson 8-2
3. Ward/Williams (NN) def. Hader/Gardner 8-3

Records: 4-3 overall 2-0 Conference