R-T Photo/Seth Herrold
Trenton senior Nick Shields hits a forehand shot during Trenton’s 5-4 dual victory over Savannah on Monday. Shields was an 8-0 winner in singles and combined with Creed Houghton for a 9-7 doubles win.
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Nothing like putting your biggest challenge first.
In what could potentially be a sectional preview, Trenton outlasted Savannah 5-4 at the THS tennis courts, establishing a 1-0 record and making a statement early that the Bulldogs have plenty to look forward to on the tennis courts this season.
Savannah entered the dual with a 3-0 record, holding victories over LeBlond (6-3), Maryville (6-3) and Chillicothe (7-2). The Savages are the equivalent of a preseason favorite in Class 1, District 16. Trenton, the two-time defending Class 1, District 15 champions, return three state qualifiers from last season and are the front-runner to repeat this season.
That put a lot of build-up into Monday’s meeting between the Bulldogs and Savages.
“This was a big win for our program,” Trenton Coach Dave Sager said. “Savannah is definitely a very solid team this year and this dual could’ve gone either way for both teams. But, when we needed wins to pull the victory, we got them.”
Savannah got the better of Trenton in doubles play as the dual opened with the Bulldogs dropping two of the first three matches. Nick Shields and Creed Houghton, both state qualifiers a year ago, scored a close 9-7 victory in the number-one doubles match, but Gabe Swann, also a returning state qualifier, and doubles partner Jeremy Elliott fell 9-7 and Isaac Harris and Weston Otto were dealt an 8-5 defeat.
Shields and Swann righted the ship at the top of the singles lineup, however. Shields was never in doubt as he blasted Savannah’s top player 8-0. Swann won at number two in similarly easy fashion, 8-3.
After Houghton was defeated 8-6 at number three, the two schools stood tied at 3-3. The bottom half of the varsity lineups would determine the outcome of the dual. Trenton took two of the bottom three matches, getting an 8-5 win from Elliott at number four and a very close 9-8 win from Harris, who took the decisive point with a 7-5 tiebreaker victory at number five. Otto fell 8-5 at the number six spot for Trenton.
“In varsity doubles, all three of my teams had many issues in the error department and that led to a 1-2 start in the dual,” Sager said. “Singles was where the boys made their mark, taking four of the six matches. With big wins from Isaac Harris, coming back from a tie break deficit to win his match, and then Jeremy Elliott getting our team the fourth singles victory to seal the dual. It was a great victory for our team.”
Trenton 1-0 will return to action on Wednesday, traveling to the Cameron Tournament. The Bulldogs’ next dual action comes on Thursday as Trenton travels to St. Joseph to take on LeBlond. That dual begins with first serves at 4 p.m.