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PAWTUCKET What would the Barrington boys tennis court be?
Eric Zhang finally gave the answer against James Bogdanovic on Sunday afternoons for the Interscholastic League final in Slater Park.
This match of the older eagles went to Zhang in straight series. His superior service eventually won a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Bogdanovic, giving Barrington a second championship since 1998.
The finale of the four-game was the coronation for Moses Brown’s best friends. Arthur Coia and Sebastian Dobron ended their careers with an impressive 6-0, 6-1 sweep of La Salles Trevor Kesslerand Nolan OBrien.
Last weekend’s rain forced me to wait eight days and added tension between Zhang and Bogdanovic. They played the ladder early in the match and Zhang secured their place as the Eagles ’number one. Bogdanovic, who was second in the state of Classicals MaxSchmidhauser in 2019, was an excellent second and eventually earned another general seed in the state tournament draw.
It was difficult, Zhang said. James is a very good player. When you’re in a match, you have to focus, and it was hard.
Bogdanovic handed out three match points in the second set, forcing Zhang’s palm to 5-3 after a long extended rally and holding the service to score 5-4. The two players swapped positions on the odd game, and Zhang took a moment to assemble himself during the exchange. The match and title were still within his reach.
I was just trying to focus again, Zhang said. It was still my service. I could still serve it. I was just trying to make my first doses and dictate the score.
Zhang earned two more match points with 40-15 and only needed one chance. He tore from the middle of the serving and Bogdanovic could only connect to the frame of his racket. Zhang celebrated a little dampened respect for his teammates and came online to hug.
It was very intense, Zhang said. Especially with the crowd, I was very nervous there. We were both, I’m sure.
Zhang was chosen to receive the coin toss first and hoped to use immediate pressure as a restorer. His plan worked just fine, as neither Barrington player kept the service until the sixth match of the matches. Zhang paid homage to take the 4-2 lead and sent a two-handed rear hand up and broke into to grab the 5-2 pad.
I tried to get first so I could try to break into the first game and keep the service to gain an advantage, Zhang said. It worked in the end.
James Robles (1989-91) and Jamie Gresh (1996-98) were both Eagles ’three-time doubles champions. Jason Scanlon stopped 18 years after the next wait and took home the 2016 crown. Providence schools had captured the last three, with Nick Fontecha of Central ahead of Schmidhauser in 2017.
Coia and Dobron did not allow doubts about the adjoining court. They played aggressively from the start, dominating the action with Coia at the entry level and with Dobron online. Dobrons overhead Smash closed without openings.
No silly points, Coia said. Just get everyone in and be aggressive when we had to be. It was kind of a picture perfect for us.
It was more similar in the second, when Coia and Dobron won their lone swings after an early service break. They cruised through the last five games, Coia slapping his hand down at the match point.
The Quakers fell to Rams on Saturdays in the Division I team final, and this was a much more satisfying conclusion.
Were best friends, Dobron said. We have been since the first year. The great adventure of all of it came in full circle today.
On Twitter: @BillKoch25
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