A.C. Flora boys overcome Chapin in 3A Upper State tennis final

A.C. Flora is going back to the Class 3A state tennis championships.

The Falcons defeated Chapin 4-2 at home on Wednesday to claim the Upper State title and, for the second time in as many years, advance to Saturday’s final at the Cayce Tennis Center at Otarre Pointe.

“This team came together about six weeks ago, and from there on out, they knew what they had to do to get the job done. They wanted to get back to state,” Falcons coach Amy Martin said. “This team wanted it, and to come together like they have. From the first of February to today, I think half of those days we’ve had rain. So, we’ve had to overcome weather, and this and that, and they’ve been a great team to work with.”

The Falcons (14-4) had defeated Chapin 5-2 and 4-2 in their Region 4 contests but Martin said they were far from overconfident.

“As we saw in the fall, it’s pretty hard to beat any team three times,” said Martin, who also coaches the Falcons’ girls tennis team, which lost its Upper State final against Chapin in 2014.

“We kind of knew going in that we were going to have to take three of the singles, and we just couldn’t do it,” Eagles coach John Rogers said. “But, 16-4 overall, getting to the Upper State, final four in the state, just a great job. Our kids showed a tremendous amount of heart, yesterday beating Dreher, and battled today. But I think Flora was a little bit better than us today.”

Chapin claimed wins with Jason Powell on the No. 1 and Luke Layton on the No. 5 singles courts to score the first points, but Falcons Zach Kirkland and Austin Powell won the No. 3 and No. 4 courts, respectively, in straight sets to even the match score.

“We felt we were in a good position then. But Hal Fant really turned it around for them, beating Noah Mervak, That really was a key match,” Rogers said of the No. 2 singles match.

Flora’s Fant fought with Mervak for the first set, eventually claiming a 7-5 victory. Fant won the second set 6-1 to put Flora ahead 3-2 in the match.

That left the pressure on the No. 2 doubles court, where Falcons Richard Kneece and Cortney Reed were up a set.

Martin still was not comfortable with the situation. “I am a bundle of nerves, 100 percent, until I shake hands with the other coach at the last court,” she said.

Rogers said, “I think, their No. 2 doubles is probably the strongest that we’ve faced this year, so I felt like we really had to have that match at No. 2 to get to No. 1 doubles, where we really had a good shot.”

Flora’s doubles pair defeated Luke Meetze and Adam Abdulrahman 6-1, 6-1, and the Falcons broke into celebration.

The Falcons will learn who their opponent is Thursday, as Hilton Head and Wilson rescheduled the Lower State final match due to International Baccalaureate testing.

The Falcons faced Hilton Head in the 2014 championship match and finished at state runners-up with a 6-0 result.

“We know, whoever it is, it’ll probably be our toughest match of the year, and we’ve to be 100 percent,” Martin said.

This story was originally published May 14, 2015 at 12:35 AM with the headline "A.C. Flora boys overcome Chapin in 3A Upper State tennis final."