WHEELING – The Buckhannon-Upshur Buccaneers ran into a buzzsaw when they made the trip to the northern panhandle this past weekend.
Going up against two very solid teams, the Bucs dropped a 6-1 decision to John Marshall Friday and the lost a 7-0 decision to Wheeling Park Saturday morning.
They were scheduled to play Brooke on Saturday as well, but the Bruins canceled on them.
The lone win against John Marshall was at No. 3 doubles where Roman Blonn and Ayden Cottrill won by forfeit.
Mitchell Tracy had the best showing for the Bucs in singles play, falling to Narad Bruan at No. 2 by an 8-5 score.
“The boys played hard, but John Marshall has a lot of depth,” stated Buckhannon-Upshur head coach Jason Rock. “Their No. 3 used to be their 1 seed, so they all have a lot of varsity level experience to go with a lot of talent. I was especially impressed with Mitchell’s effort in doubles and singles. He played a hard-fought match and was hustling for every ball. He showed off his defensive skills and quickness and got to some balls that seemed like sure winners from his opponent.”
While the Bucs were blanked by the Patriots on Saturday, Rock said about his Bucs’ effort, “Wheeling Park is always a tough match, but I think our boys didn’t shy away from the challenge. I have been really proud of how Jeremiah (Jeffries) and Mitchell played in doubles because they get the fundamentals of position, movement, and placement right and they have competitive matches against players that individually are more talented, but we are in the match because of our good doubles play. Mitchell played another great match in singles.”
The action left the Bucs with a 3-6 mark overall.
They were scheduled to visit Bridgeport on Monday and host Lewis County on Tuesday.
They will be back at it on Thursday at Elkins for a 4 p.m. outing.
The results:
John Marshall 6 Buckhannon-Upshur 1
Singles
No. 1 – Cooper Berlin (JM) def. Jeremiah Jeffries, 8-2
No. 2 – Narada Braun (JM) def. Mitchell Tracy, 8-5
No. 3 – Wyatt Jefferson (JM) def. Dwayne Riley, 8-0
No. 4 – Tripp Bonds (JM) def. Liam Davis, 8-2
Doubles
No. 1 – Berlin and Braun (JM) def. Jeffries and Tracy, 8-5
No. 2 – Jefferson and Bonds (JM) def. Riley and Davis, 8-2
No. 3 – Roman Blonn and Ayden Cottrill (B-U) won by forfeit.
Wheeling Park 7 Buckhannon-Upshur 0
Singles
No. 1 – Aaron Chao (WP) def. Jeffries, 8-2
No. 2 – Asher Chao (WP) def. Mitchell Tracy, 8-4
No. 3 – Brooks Wharry (WP) def. Dwayne Riley, 8-0
No. 4 – Liam Davis (WP) def. Rex Montanye, 8-2
Doubles
No. 1 – Aaron Chao and Asher Chano (WP) def. Jeffries and Tracy, 8-4
No. 2 – Wharry and Noah Lloyd (WP) def. Riley and Davis, 8-0
No. 3 – Montanye and Alex Zhao (WP) def. Roman Blonn and Ayden Cottrill, 8-0
