Tennis: Small, Reeves Qualify for Districts

PERKIOMEN-When watching Phoenixville’s Karlyn Small, it’s easy to forget that he is only 15 years old, as he performs his magic on the 27 x 78-foot plot of concrete know as a singles court.

The Phantoms freshman carries himself with the poise and swagger of someone who has battled in the trenches of the Pioneer Athletic Conference for years.

On Friday, Small, along with teammates Doug Reeves and Jeff Potts, converged on the hard courts of Perkiomen Valley High School in a quest to claim the PAC-10 singles championship.

Potts started the day by defeating Owen J. Roberts’ Don Kurtz in straight sets 6-3, 6-0 to advance to the second round where he found fellow Phantom Small, who received a bye in the first round by being the second-seeded player overall, awaiting him.

"It stunk to have to play Karlyn right away like that,” said Potts. “Even though this is a singles meet, we still root for our teammates and support each other, except when you’re playing him of course. He [Small] is such a good player. I obviously know what he likes to do and where to hit the ball at him, but that doesn't really help when playing a person of his ability.”

Small was not very cordial to his mate, defeating Potts 6-1, 6-0 in straight sets to advance to the quarterfinal round.

“It’s tough playing your teammate,” said Small. “But in a tournament like this it’s almost impossible for it not to happen somewhere along the way.  I feel pretty sharp today. The wind makes it difficult sometimes, but other than that I was pretty comfortable. Getting my first serve in was huge and something that I need to keep doing.”

As the one seed, a certain level of expectation was placed on Small’s shoulders, but it was the sensational play of fellow Phantom Doug Reeves that got even Small’s attention.

“Doug is playing great,” said Small. “He has played the kid who I am playing in the quarterfinals, and will no doubt let me know how to attack, as we help each other in between matches. It’s awesome having your teammate doing so well and supporting me as well.”

Reeves, who started the day by eliminating the Wildcats’ Garrett Kaiser in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, utilized his mental toughness in a second round bout with Perkiomen Valley’s number one player Sam Donahue.

Donahue won the first set 6-4, but had to endure a late charge by Reeves to do so. Reeves used the frustration of his opponent to his advantage to start the second set as he whipped the Vikings junior 6-1 to even the match at one set apiece.

“He really lost his head a bit there in the second set,” said Reeves. “I knew I had to take advantage of it. I had to win those games and keep him getting down on himself. He started to get his focus back in the third set after he settled down. That’s when I knew I better do what I could to end it quickly.”

After taking a 4-1 lead in the set, Reeves watched as Donahue posted wins in three consecutive games, breaking serve twice, to tie the set at 4-4.

The turning point in the match occurred when Reeves was able to outlast Donahue, who was leading 30-love at the time in the pivotal ninth game, on a long volley, eventually dropping the ball just over the net out of reach of Donahue, who was playing 24 feet off the net, deep behind the baseline. 

Reeves won the next three points, breaking the serve of Donahue and taking whatever fight the Viking had left in him, as Reeves won the final game, winning four of five points to post a 6-4 set win, advancing to the quarterfinal round of eight.

“I am very proud of our guys and the way they have played today,” said Phantoms coach Leo Scoda. “It’s great knowing that Karlyn will be here for three and a half more years and Doug and Jeff did a great job today. Having two players in the final eight was more than I could ask for as a coach.”

Reeves battled Methacton’s Nish Ravichandra, who was formerly the Warriors' number one singles player, in the quarterfinal, dropping the first set 0-6, before fighting back to take a 4-3 lead in the second set. Unfortunately Ravichandra was able regain the momentum following a double fault, and won the second set 6-4, sending Reeves into the consolation round of Saturday’s action.

In the process of advancing to “elite eight” of the tournament, Reeves, along with Small, qualified for the District One tournament.

“To have two of us qualify for districts is great,” added Reeves. “I am tired. It’s a long day when you are playing three sets in a match. I had a good day, my serve was working well and it really helps keep them off balance.”

Top eight seeds as Friday’s action commenced:

#1- Tyler Triolo – SF

 2- Karlyn Small - PX

 3- Chris Chung – BOY

 4- Brett Levengood – OJR

 5- Sam Donahue – PV

 6- Keenan McAuliffe – MT

 7- Aaron Yuros - PG

 8- Nick Tonnessen – PJP2  

Saturday’s championship match ups:

M1. Tyler Triolo (SF) vs Nish Ravichandra (MT)

M2. Chris Chung (BOY) vs Karlyn Small (PX)

Winners will play for championship

Losers of M1 and M2 will play for third and fourth place 

Brian Campo (BOY), Doug Reeves (PX), Gary Williams (SF) and Keenan McAuliffe (MT) will battle for fifth medal and sixth place