Maumee Valley duo, Perrysburg's Schorsch advance to semis

5/26/2012

COLUMBUS -- Maumee Valley senior Stephen Shin used the word "sloppy" to describe the performance of he and sophomore teammate Grant MacPherson in the first set of their second-round match in the Division II state doubles tournament Friday at Ohio State.

They played like a different team after that start, however, rallying for a 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) win over Cincinnati Seven Hills' Alex Markovits and Matt Cohen to advance to today's state semifinal round.

Also advancing to a state semifinal was Perrysburg junior Jeffrey Schorsch, who competes in Division I singles.

"After the first set, we were both pretty down," MacPherson said. "We just picked it up after that. We knew if we played out of our minds we could make the second day of the state tournament. Especially to beat a team like Cincinnati Seven Hills, it's a really great accomplishment."

"Our footwork was awful in the first set. We knew we were better and we wanted to prove it."

MacPherson and Shin, who were second at district, opened the state tournament by beating Portsmouth's Trevor Violette and Tanner Hatcher 6-1, 6-2.

Schorsch will play Liberty Township Lakota East's Zach Mueck in a semifinal. Mueck has been the runner-up the last two seasons.

Schorsch began the state tournament by beating Gahanna Lincoln's Canyon Teague 6-0, 6-1 and Lodi Cloverleaf's Jacob Dunbar 6-4, 6-2.

Schorsch lost in the first round of the 2010 state singles tournament and lost his opening state match last year while teaming up with David Hoops.

The Schorsch-Mueck winner will meet Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit's Aaron Sandberg or Westlake's Colton Buffington for the championship.

"I played pretty well," Schorsch said. "The heat got to us both and it was just a slugfest. I think my endurance helped a lot and my forehand down the line was really coming on.

"It feels great. I've never won a match at state before. I think I've grown a lot more and have gotten a lot stronger, especially with my serving. I know [Mueck] has got a big forehand, so I'll have to make him go to his backhand."

Schorsch takes a 24-0 record into the semifinal.

"He executed everything we wanted him to do," Perrysburg coach Mark Weider said. "His footwork was on and he accelerated with his swing. He did everything right. It's very exciting.

"This is what we hoped for all year."

Also competing at state but losing their opening matches were Central Catholic sophomore Dugan Delp in Division I singles, the St. John's doubles team of freshman Kevin Brown and senior Spencer Crawford, and the Northview doubles team of seniors Brandon Rachwal and Spencer Georgetti.

Delp lost to Sandberg 6-1, 6-4.

"He did a really good job moving into the net and he didn't miss many shots at all," Delp said. "I definitely picked it up in the second set, and I'm happy with how I played."

Crawford and Brown lost to Cincinnati Sycamore's Yuri Karev and Nakul Narendran 7-6 (7-4), 7-5.

"We had plenty of opportunities," Crawford said. "We actually served for the set in the first set. They fought us hard, but it was hard going against their unique style. They both play double back. It was a tough match and a tough loss, but Kevin is here as a freshman so it's good for him. I had to wait until my senior year to get here."

Rachwal and Georgetti lost to Sycamore's team of Dylan Stern and Nikhil Grandhi 6-4, 6-2 in their first state match.