Stow Tennis Team Falls to Solon

When rain pelts a hard court in tennis, play is usually called immediately because what was once sure footing can seem like ice skating in a few seconds.

Interestingly enough, the boys tennis team didn’t protest the dreary situation at Solon Community Park.

Solon, one of the area’s best teams, dispatched the Bulldogs, 5-0, in three singles and two doubles matches. In two dreary days of bad weather, Stow has fallen to 0-2 and didn’t win a single match against Strongsville either. It was Solon's season opener.

No Stow singles player or doubles team was able to win more than three games a set against the Comets as Solon features a loaded team with senior leadership and all kinds of playoff experience. 

Stow Coach Selena Kim could only motivate her troops to play more often and get better, essentially telling them to put on their rain gear and snap on their wet boots as it poured both literally and figuratively on their heads. 

“This is where I encourage them to play in the off-season. If they see how these kids (Solon) compete, it’s because they play all year round,” Kim said. “You can’t just pick up your racquet in April and say, ‘hey, we’re going to play tennis.’" 

Kim said she’s experimenting with her lineup which shifted greatly between the team’s two matches this season.  Kim said her top players have mostly played doubles and are adjusting to playing in the singles format.

For Stow, Tyler Whitelaw got the call to be the No. 1 singles player for the afternoon, and it was an entirely new experience for him.

Whitelaw, until Wednesday, had never played a competitive singles match in a team format. It showed as Jason Schrode bounced him, 6-1, 6-0. Whitelaw shrugged it off and said he’s keeping his mind on his top goal.

“It was a good experience, and it made me think about what I have to work on,” the left-handed Whitelaw said. “I’m looking to get better and play in a permanent singles spot.” 

In other singles scores, Solon No. 2 David Shankman downed Eddie Hsu, 6-0, 6-0, and No. 3 Comet Brian Yang beat Luke Rocco, 6-0, 6-0. 

In doubles, Solon’s Evan Schrode and Zach Singerman beat Matt Bujorian and David Hsu, 6-0, 6-2, at No. 1, while Liam O’Brien and Andrew Branstetter paced Solon’s No. 2 team, 6-0, 6-0, over Stow’s Ricky Crawley and Sean Bascik.

Editor's note: Gregory B. Richards submitted information for this story.