Published Wednesday, May 14, 2008 11:45 AM
Updated Wednesday, May 14, 2008 11:45 AM
Stags number one singles player Dirk Bair closed out his high school career undefeated in region play.
Stags blanked in playoff elimination
The end came quick.
The Berkeley Stags boys tennis team ran into the juggernaut that is West Florence last week in the third round of the Class AAAA playoffs and were sent packing, whitewashed 6-0 at the hands of the defending state champs.
Stags top seed Dirk Bair who had never lost a match against a region opponent, lost his first match of the season against West Florence number one singles Bobby Browning, dropping the first set 7-6 that took the wind out of Berkeley’s sails. Browning blew through the second set 6-0 and it was over from there.
Seventh grader Zac Dye lost in straight sets to Pruitt Williams 1-6, 3-6 and big brother Micah Dye lost to Matthew Canelon 0-6, 1-6.
The whitewash continued with Will Farmer losing to Daniel Sechtin 5-7, 6-2 and Jared Wadford dropping straight sets to John Duncan 2-6, 4-6.
The only set won by the Stags in the match was by the doubles team of Matthew McPherson and Andrew Hinson who took the second set 6-3 before dropping the match in the tiebreaker (5-7, 6-3, 4-10).
The Knights who claimed the Lower State championship with a 4-2 win over Spring Valley played for the state championship Saturday. The two-sets lost in this match were the first two sets West Florence had lost during the entire run of the playoffs.