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Mount Airy third-seed Eric Belton lines up a volley during doubles play with Matt Kessler Monday afternoon. The pair won their match 8-2, and the team won 6-3 over East Wilkes.
Basketball standout Taylor Bobbitt has been practicing with the team and made his debut at the sixth seed.
While the junior didn’t win his match, Coach Jim Reeves was pleased with the performance.
“They’re a very good team top to bottom,” Reeves said of the Cardinals. “They are about as good at five and six as they are at one and two.”
The job Bobbitt did, especially on a sore left foot, would have won against a lot of team’s sixth seeds, but he fell to Calvin Macemore 5-7, 3-6.
Top seed Matt Kessler swept Jeremy Baugess 6-3, 6-0, the same score that second-seed Mitch Kessler had to win over Kelly Calloway.
At the three spot, Eric Belton won 6-2, 6-1 over Luke Calloway.
The best battle of the day came at the fourth seed where Jordan Lawson won in three sets over Luke Sealey.
The two passionately played every point of the second set and third-set tiebreaker. Sealey went ahead 6-3 in the first set, but Lawson came back 7-5 and 10-4 to give the Bears their fourth win.
At the fifth spot, Robert Blizard lost to Chris Deal 0-6, 1-6.
“We’re really strong at one and two doubles,” the coach said, so if the team can split its six singles matches, he feels very confident about winning the entire match. In this case, the Bears won four of six singles matches and two of three doubles matches.
Bobbitt’s aching foot kept him out of doubles play, but Robert Blizard and Blake Hensley have played together in a few matches already and did so Monday.
Bobbitt, the coach said, is going to physical therapy in order to keep playing. “He makes us a better team,” Reeves said.
Matt Kessler and Belton won 8-2 over Baugess and Sealey. Mitch Kessler and Lawson won 8-2 over Kelly and Luke Calloway.
Blizard and Hensley fell 2-8 to Deal and Macemore.
This match originally was scheduled for last Tuesday, but was delayed by rain. The Bears travel to Elkin today for another match.
Contact Jeff Linville at jlinville@mtairynews.com or 719-1920.
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