After two tough losses against high-quality opponents to begin the season, the Columbus East boys tennis team was hungry for a win.
The Olympians got that Monday night. They won three matches in straight sets in a 3-2 victory against visiting Bedford North Lawrence.
“Everybody came together and got clutch points when they needed to,” senior Matt Furnish said. “Our No. 2 (singles) guy, Neeraj (Pandita), came in and got a great close-match win for us. We had a great win today.”
Furnish was nearly flawless at No. 1 singles for East. He got the Olympians going with a 6-0, 6-0 shutout of Ian Dillman.
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With a high first-serve percentage and groundstrokes that were going in, Furnish was at the top of his game from beginning to end.
“I was able to get to the net and play the game I wanted to play,” Furnish said. “So I felt pretty good.”
Pandita pulled out a 6-2, 7-5 win against Brandt Callahan at No. 2 singles. Sammy Woolwine and Daniel Kuhlman beat Alex East and Corbin Bushey 6-4, 6-2 at No. 1 singles.
Columbus East coach Jim Stone thinks those wins should give the kids a little bit more confidence.
“No. 1 doubles played a real good match,” Stone said. “Neeraj a really good match. He got a little tight there near the end, but he played really well, too.”
The Olympians’ Luke Miller fell to Logan Brand 6-4, 6-4 at No. 3 singles.
Austin Guse and Jackson Stevens lost to Christopher Kidd and Isaac Titche 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 an a two-hour-plus match at No. 2 doubles.
“With our team, we really need to win at 1 (singles), we need to win at 2 (singles) and 1 doubles,” Stone said. “Those are our three strongest positions.”
