Rams stay unbeaten, outlast Phantoms in epic match

It will be recorded as just another high school tennis match: a 4-3 victory for the Spring-Ford Rams over the cross-river rival Phoenixville Phantoms.

Those who were there will know better. The hundred or so people in attendance witnessed perhaps one of the greatest tennis matches in the 25-year history of the PAC-10, if not Pennsylvania school athletics.

“I have seen a lot in my forty-eight years of coaching,” said Phoenixville coach Leo Scoda. “But nothing like this. This was the most amazing match I have ever been a part of. Just the pressure and excitement of every match and every point, was something very special.”

With the team match knotted at three a piece, the attention was focused on the battle at center court, where the Rams duo of Pierre Baty and Frankie Reppert had engaged the Phantoms' Jake Lynch and Evan Talbert with the match on the line.

It would be another two and a half hours before Baty was able to slap the ball past the outstretched racket of Talbert, scoring an 8-6 tie breaker win, and giving Spring-Ford a 4-3 victory that the players' grandchildren will surely hear about, decades from now.

“We had no idea that the match was tied,” said Baty, an exchange student from France. “We were just playing as hard a we could to get our one point for the team. It was great to hear all of the people cheering and going crazy. This is definitely one of the best experiences I have had since being here.”  

The Phantoms drew first blood as the doubles team of Ryan Cadigan and Brendan Stone defeated the duo of Blake Emerson and Joey Graziadei in straight sets 7-5, 6-4 to give Phoenixville its first team point.

The Rams evened the match as the third double pairing of Mike Powers and Austin Galaska beat Norris Hua and Brian Groener 6-4 and 6-4, then took a 2-1 lead as the doubles team of seniors Lewis Cooper and Kyle Emerson battled from behind to emerge victorious over Chris Walsh and John McInally 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.

“This is always such a big match for us,” said McInally. “Chris and I are still working on communication, but I think we played pretty well today. It’s important to pick your teammate up when they get down on themselves. We had a great chance to win our match, but a few points really changed the outcome.”

“When we play against Phoenixville, we know every point is important,” said Rams senior Lewis Cooper.

Coming into the match, the marquee match up was between Phantoms freshman phenom Karlyn Small and Rams junior Tyler Triolo in fist singles, and they did not disappoint.

Triolo jumped out to an early lead and wound up winning the opening set by a 6-1 margin, only to see Small battle back in the second set claiming a 7-5 win in which he broke Triolo’s serve three times.

It was Triolo who had to battle in the rubber set of the match as Small fought off an early surge by Triolo, winning three games in a row to tie the set at 4 games each. Triolo then had to be attended to by the trainer as he had an issue with cramping in his forearm and fingers.

Triolo pushed through the pain, winning the last two games in the set to win the match and claim a valuable point for his team. 

“Wow, what a match,” said Small. “I was very disappointed that I could not win my match for the team. I let him get the best of me in that first set, but after that I got into a rhythm a little. They are a great team and this I what I love about the game so much. You have to play as an individual, but it is still such a team sport.” 

“He really came back at me in the second set,” said  Triolo. “It caught me by surprise a little. I wasn’t ready for the effort he was giving. In a big match like this, every point is so important. I was so glad to be able to hang on and win my match. He [Small] is a very good player.” 

Phoenixville evened the team match by claiming victory in the remaining two singles matches when Doug Reeves defeated Gary Williams 6-4, 1-6, 6-0 and Jeff Potts beat Kevin Chang 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.

“Every time we play Phoenixville, we expect a tight match,” said Rams head coach Josh Brennan. “But I have never seen anything like today. Every match going three sets, tie breakers and all of the long points. This really has been a match I won’t soon forget.”

With all of the other matches concluded, Baty and Reppert took the first set of the afternoon's fourth doubles match, 6-1.

In the second set, Lynch and Talbert came back from a 3-4 deficit, breaking the Rams serve twice en route to a 6-4 set win to even the match.

In the pivotal third set, Lynch and Talbert were up 40-love, leading two games to one, but Baty and Reppert came back and won the game to even the set at two, which would prove to be the turning point of the match.

Later in the set, Lynch and Talbert had their backs to the wall, trailing 5-3 with the outcome of the match hanging in the balance.

The Phantoms duo clawed back, breaking serve again to win three straight games, claiming a 6-5 advantage.

With the score was 30-40, Lynch made a great save to knot the game at deuce. It was another twelve serves before Reppert was finally able to rip it past Lynch on the baseline to even the match at 6-6.

“This is unbelievable,” said Scoda as he watched his guys refuse to give an inch. “I have never seen anything like this. Every service point is so important. The biggest point, I think, was when were serving, up 30-love, and they came back and won that game from us. If we could have gone up 3-1 there, the match probably would never have gotten to the tiebreaker.”

The Rams got to serve first in the tiebreaker and recorded the first point, but the Phantoms scored five of the next seven points, taking a 5-3 edge.

The Rams regrouped and Baty and Reppert won five of the next six points, culminating with Baty dropping the ball behind Talbert and Lynch for the victory.

“This was by far the most nerve-racking match I have ever been in,” said Reppert. “We always have a great match with Phoenixville, but nothing like this. We had no idea that our team match was tied at three. When I saw Tyler win, I thought we were up 4-2.” 

In a match both teams deserved to win, Scoda was left to pump up his team's deflated spirits afterwards.

“The season is not over because we have one loss now,” said Scoda to his squad. “We are just starting our PAC-10 schedule. They will have to play the same teams as we do and on any given day, a team can rise in this league.” 

“That was exhausting,” said Lynch, who compared the match to a district basketball playoff game. “This is such a team sport, even though we are out there playing as individuals. We wanted to win to get our team one point. We had no idea the match was tied. No one told us.”

“This was huge,” added Brennan. “They are always a tough match for us and have a great program. I have been very happy with the way we have come together as a team. We have good senior leadership on our team, and it was great to see all of our kids up and cheering for that entire match.”

Scoring

1st singles- Tyler Triolo (SF) defeated Karlyn Small (PX) 6-1, 5-7, 6-4

2^nd singles- Doug Reeves (PX) defeated Gary Williams (SF) 6-4, 1-6, 6-0

3^rd singles- Jeff Potts (PX) defeated Kevin Chang (SF)  3-6, 6-3, 6-1

1^st doubles- Lewis Cooper and Kyle Emerson (SF)

                                    defeated

                   John McInally and Chris Walsh (PX)  5-7, 6-3, 6-4

2^nd doubles- Ryan Cadigan and Brendan Stone (PX)

                                    defeated

                        Blake Emerson and Joey Graziadei (SF)   7-5, 6-4

3^rd doubles- Mike Powers and Austin Galaska (SF)

                                    defeated

                        Norris Hua and Brian Groener (PX)    6-4, 6-4

4^th doubles- Pierre Baty and Frankie Reppert (SF)

                                    defeated

                        Jake Lynch and Evan Talbert  6-1, 4-6, 6-6,  8-6 tiebreaker 

                        Spring-Ford wins 4-3       Time of match 3:58