Boys Tennis Takes On State
Waverly’s varsity tennis boys competed and fought hard through various rounds at the State Tournament on Thursday, Oct.15 at Woods Tennis Center.
Four of the six Waverly players were able to advance into the third round of the tournament which was also, unfortunately, all the further they advanced, losing against either Elkhorn South or Gretna.
Senior Derek Trausch played against Roncalli in the first round and won 6-0, 6-0. In the second round playing Gretna, he lost the first set 2-6. He then came back and won the second set 6-3 and finally, won the tiebreaker 8-6. After a long match against Gretna, Trausch played Elkhorn South and lost 1-6, 1-6.
“I kicked Roncalli’s butt in the first round. Second round: Gretna. I’m down 2-6 after he won the first set. I thought there was no way of making a comeback. So, I told Zach [Tabor] ‘I’m just gonna make this the longest match of my life.’ I dinked the ball over the net, he messed up, and I won. Then the third set came around and I thought, ‘If I win this I go on,’ and I won it. Then for my third round: Elkhorn South. That kid’s a freshman! He was really good,” Trausch said.
Although Trausch lost in the third round against Elkhorn South, he was still very content with how he played at state, and he wasn’t the only one.
Senior Josh Doppler was also thrilled with how he performed this year.
“At state, I was doing amazing. It was the best I’ve played all season, and I’m proud of that,” Doppler said.
Doppler played as the number one doubles team on Waverly with senior Zach Tabor. The boys got a BYE the first round because they were ranked number 5 in Class B. In the second round, Doppler and Tabor had a solid win against Hastings with the scores of 6-0, 6-1. Moving onto quarter-finals, they lost to Elkhorn South 1-6, 3-6.
“They were amazing that day. There’s no way we were going to beat them,” Doppler said.
Even though Doppler was satisfied with his performance at state, he knew he could’ve done certain things better.
“What would I do differently? I would talk to my partner. I would try to prepare him better so that we could work as a team and be more confident in each other,” Doppler said.
Senior Seth Howe was the other player that was able to advance into the third round of the State Tournament. Howe won his first round 6-0, 6-0 against Lexington, and won his second round 6-1, 6-2 against Gering. He then lost in his third round against Gretna with the scores of 0-6, 0-6.
“I played the best tennis I’ve ever played in my life at state. Everything seemed to flow and my serve was on fire. I didn’t think much other than, ‘This is the last time I will play competitively. So, I have to give it everything I have.’ It didn’t matter if I was winning or losing, that was my mindset.” Howe said.
Through all the hard work of many matches and rounds played by the varsity boys, they ended up placing 6th overall with a score of 22 points. Coach Jordan Zimmerman was unavailable for an interview.
