Crossroads News

Middle School Boys Tennis Team (Navy) Wins Championship

The win required teamwork and perseverance, which the Roadrunners had in spades.
The Crossroads Navy boys middle school tennis team claimed the Pacific Basin League championship title on May 5 in a nail-bitingly close matchup, with sixth grader Boone Casady, walking away as the League’s coed singles champion after an 8-set win streak. 

The tournament, which took place over the course of three consecutive weekends, “was a complete team effort,” said head coach Sharona Levinson. After advancing through the quarter and semifinals, the Navy team headed to the championship round, where the Roadrunners faced Archer, their toughest opponent of the season. 

From beginning to end, the championship race was tight. After Boone Casady won his singles match, Archer claimed the number two singles victory to even the score. But even in games they lost, Crossroads battled hard to claim points. Heading into the final two matches, the tally was 2-2 with eighth grader Blake Markman working to earn wins. Despite losing the match, Blake picked up points in enough games to tie the Roadrunners up with Archer’s competitive team. “Without Blake fighting for every point, we would not have won the overall score,” said Sharona. “He played his role as a team player in getting us there.”

Seventh grader Owen Weg and eighth grader Mateo Krauze, who worked hard to get into the rhythm of doubles play during the season, hit their stride in the championship game. Their match, the last of the championship round, was against Archer’s number three doubles team. In a dominant run, they beat Archer 8-3 giving Crossroads the points lead they needed to claim the title with a final score of 3 [40] - 3 [33]. The championship win was a true reflection of the Roadrunner's team effort with sixth and seventh grade teammates Luc Montalba, William Dinh and Daniel Chen pre-set to play for every single practice and match, and eighth grader Theo Tierney taking a leadership role on the doubles side.

“The boys really did a great job of coming together as a team and realizing that it is an individual sport, but with the right encouragement it feels like you’re really part of a team,” said Sharona. 
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