05/01/24 Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski/Hollidaysburg's Garrett Bouchard (right) plays against top seed Mark Sandow and State University's Peter Bouchard in the District 4-6 Class 3A boys doubles tennis championship. After the set with Novikov, he turned his racket over.
Written by John Hartsock
jhartsock@altoonamirror.com
The Hollidaysburg Regional High School team had won the previous three District 4-6 Class 3A boys doubles championships before Wednesday's championship match at Mansion Park.
However, while the Golden Tigers' second-seeded team of senior Ben Johnson and sophomore Garrett Bouchard fell a little short of their goal of extending the school's doubles title streak, their efforts and spirit showed. It certainly wasn't what I expected.
Under bright sunshine, both teams gave it their all on the court, with State College's top-seeded junior team of Mark Sandow and Peter Novikov defeating the combination of Johnson and Bouchard 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. I dismissed it.
With Wednesday's win, Sandow and Novikov will advance to the PIAA Class 3A state doubles championship to be held May 24 and 25 at Hershey's Racquet Club.
Perhaps State College coach Jane Bowden's assessment best summed up Wednesday's matchup.
“It was an exciting doubles match today and all four players played very well,” Bowden said. “It was a very tough final. I'm actually proud of how all four of us played the way we played.”
Hollidaysburg coach Brian Dennis was also pleased with his team's effort.
“Today was a little bittersweet because we wanted to win our fourth straight district title,” Dennis said. “But I'm really proud of the way our guys played. It was a back-and-forth game the whole time. I'm really happy for Ben and Garrett. They're both having great seasons and the losses between them are There’s only one.”
State College broke away from a 4-4 tie in the first set to win 6-4, but Hollidaysburg returned the favor with a 6-4 win in the second set.
“I thought we won three games on Tuesday and played very smoothly, and I felt pretty confident that we could carry that into today's championship match,” Johnson said. He was on the runner-up team in doubles last year, but lost to another team. Hollidaysburg team in the district championship match.
“After losing the first set, we managed to pull together and win the second set, but unfortunately (State) took the final set back,” Johnson added. “I was really proud of my doubles teammate Garrett Bouchard's play today in his first career championship match. He played very well today.”
Bouchard admitted that she had to overcome some early fears.
“I was nervous at first, but in the second and third sets I was less nervous,” Bouchard said. “It was a good game and I thought we played well, but in the end we couldn't win.”
State College never trailed in the third set, building a 4-1 lead before Hollidaysburg cut the gap to 4-3. State College responded and finished strong, earning a decisive 6-3 victory.
“I'm very happy,” Novikov said. “It was the first time we won a district tournament and it was really fun. But it was also a very tough game and (Hollidaysburg) gave us a good game. It was really stressful with a lot of ups and downs. ”
Sandow agreed.
“It was a really tense and close game,” Sandow said. “We were a little nervous in the second set, but as the season progresses, we're getting better as a doubles team.”
The intensity and competitiveness of Wednesday's matchup came as no surprise to Dennis, whose entire Hollidaysburg squad will compete in the District 4-6 Class 3A team tournament next week. Hollidaysburg will be the second-seeded team and State College will be the first-seeded team in this event.
“It was a very competitive match today and we saw some really quality doubles play,” Dennis said. “State College has always been a very good, well-coached program and has won the last three doubles championships. This is what you get when two good teams play against each other and what is expected. ”
Mark Sandow, SC, def. Ben Johnson vs. Garrett Bouchard, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
