Pascual, Spring-Ford come up clutch against Exeter
Describe the Exeter and Spring-Ford boys’ tennis teams and you could mistake one for the other.
Both squads have become annual contenders in their respective conference, each hoping 2016 is the year to go from runner-up to champion. Both have a veteran, accomplished No. 1 singles player with visions of a league championship and a deep run into the postseason.
With so many similarities, it was only fitting for the Eagles and Rams to face off in a non-league contest on March 31.
With the heavyweight showdown between Spring-Ford’s Patrick Pascual and Exeter’s Jonah Buczewski as the centerpiece, Spring-Ford players came through when they needed to most in the non-league encounter, the Rams prevailing 6-1.
The matchup between Spring-Ford’s Pascual, the three-time PAC singles champion, and Exeter’s Buczewski, a District 3-AAA semifinalist and All-Berks player as a junior, was a bipolar battle.
Buczewski owned the first set, 6-0. But Pascual grinded his way back into the match to win the second set and upped the consistency in the super-tiebreaker by winning the final six points en route to an 0-6, 6-3, 10-7 win at No. 1 singles.
At No. 2 singles, Spring-Ford’s Nick Griswold also emerged via super-tiebreaker, winning a marathon match over Exeter’s Diego Olazagasti, 7-6 (5), 2-6, 10-7.
Buczewski and Olazagasti got a dose of revenge in doubles – the match followed Berks’ format of five singles and two doubles with repeats – with a 8-6 win over Pascual and No. 3 singles player TJ Cruickshank.
Cruickshank was dominant in singles, as was the rest of the Rams. Cruickshank defeated Ethan Reed 6-0, 6-0 while Matt Yerkes defeated Jack Leinbach, 6-1, 6-2 at No. 4 singles and Ben D’Arcangelo downed Brian Ward, 6-0, 6-3 at No. 5 singles.
Yerkes and Matt Moore teamed for Spring-Ford’s final win at No. 2 doubles, edging Reed and Ward, 8-4.
Spring-Ford’s designs on capturing the PAC team title took a hit on March 22 in a 5-2 defeat to Methacton. They are 3-3 overall (1-1 league) and got a confidence-boosting win over the Eagles.
Pascual can say the same after rallying to get by Buczewski.
“I’m glad I got the win against a tough opponent. He was playing well and I’m happy to have a close win – it feels good,” said Pascual, who is 4-2 in singles.
“That first set didn’t go well obviously. The second set I think I warmed up a bit. I think I was a bit nervous in the first set. The second set I rebounded and the tiebreak, I don’t know how I did it. 4-7 down and I won … 10-7. Wow, six straight points. I don’t know how I did it.”
It was Buczewski’s first loss of the year after cruising in his first three matches. He took it in stride, thankful to have been in a tight matchup.
“It was good to have a very competitive match – I don’t see a competitive opponent each time out in our league. Don’t get me wrong, there’s some good guys but not to the quality (Pascual) was,” Buczewski said.
Buczewski’s attacking serve-and-volley game was on full display in the first set especially.
“I try to get to net a lot because I feel it you can pressure your opponent and make them feel that pressure it’s going to benefit you in the long run,” Buczewski said.
Ultimately it was a match Buczewski plans to learn from.
“I wasn’t nervous, which was good, but I needed to finish better,” he said. “I know what I need to work on.”
The same goes for the entire Exeter team, which is undermanned without No. 2 singles player Todd Weiner, who Buczewski teamed with to win the District 3-AAA doubles crown a year ago and reach the PIAA quarterfinals.
“We’re still making do with what we’ve got. The bottom half of our lineup are all underclassmen and our No. 2 (Olazagasti) is a junior,” Buczewski said. “They’re stepping up and learning a lot, which is good. We’re going to keep learning and keep growing as a team and get better and better.”
