Final act goes awry on Lexington

West Florence wins three tiebreakers to earn a repeat crown at Wildcats’ expense

By CHRIS DEARING - Special to The State

The West Florence and Lexington boys tennis teams staged a drama-filled marathon that lasted nearly four hours Saturday aaat the Richland County Tennis Center.

Just as it did in last season’s Class 4A final, this year’s championship wasn’t decided until the No. 1 doubles teams walked off the court. And as was the case last season, Bobby Browning and Pruitt Williams made enough key shots to lift West Florence to a 4-3 victory and back-to-back titles against the Wildcats.

Unlike last year, when Browning and Williams won in straight sets, Lexington’s Derek Dickey and Gordon Lucas forced a third-set tiebreaker this year.

“We could not have asked for a more classic ending to our season,” West Florence coach Charles Nelson said.

With the team match even at 3, Browning and Williams rallied from a 4-1 hole in the scramble tiebreaker format (first team to 10 or more points with a two-point advantage) to take a 9-6 lead.

Dickey and Lucas fought off three match points to tie it at 9 before Browning won two points on his serve to end the match.

“We played better from behind the whole match,” Browning said. “We felt better not having the pressure to close it out. It was tough, but we were in the same situation they were.”

That was the third individual match that went to a tiebreaker, and West Florence won all of them. Browning beat Dickey at No. 1 singles 6-4, 2-6, 10-7. Matthew Canelon overcame cramps in the tiebreaker to beat Jordan Hunter 6-4, 3-6, (10-4) at No. 3 singles.

The top three players for West Florence (20-1) — Browning, Williams and Canelon — earned all four points. The Knights won the same points last season to stop the Wildcats (19-1) three-year state championship run.

“They had to do it last year (and) they had to do it again this year,” Nelson said. “They knew it was going to be up to them. Bobby and Pruitt have carried us here, and they deserved their chance to repeat from last year. These kids didn’t give up on those points.”

Lexington received victories from Cory Pickens and Kendell Hillis and the doubles team of Barron Wells and Parker Adkins.

“They made fewer mistakes than we did; it’s really that simple,” Lexington coach Robbie Hunter said. “They were two points better than us today. We lost three tiebreakers and that’s heartbreaking, but, hey, the sun will come up tomorrow.”

Singles: Bobby Browning (WF) d. Derek Dickey 6-4, 2-6, (10-7); Pruitt Williams (WF) d. Gordon Lucas 6-2, 6-2; Matthew Canelon (WF) d. Jordan Hunter 6-4, 3-6, (10-4); Cory Pickens (L) d. Daniel Sechton 6-0, 6-2; Kendell Hillis (L) d. John Duncan 6-2, 6-0. Doubles: Browning/Williams (WF) d. Dickey/Lucas 6-4, 5-7, (11-9); Barron Wells/Parker Adkins (L) d. Rhys Miles/Price Gibson 6-4, 6-0. Rec: WF 20-1; L 19-1.