Improving Ram racqueteers lose by 3-2 scores to the Mount Vernon and East Ramapo swingers
May 8, 2024 at 9:53 p.m.
It was a week of close finishes in sports with lots of wheeling, dealing, horsing around and racqueteering on the national and local stages.
The action included a photo finish in the Kentucky Derby with longshot Mystik Don edging Sierra Leone, one of the pre-race favorites, by a nose and Sierra Leone, in turn, winding up a nose in front of third place finisher Forever Young last Saturday (5/4). It was one of the closest Derbies ever in a race that dates back 150 years, so it was a big deal for the horsey set with $5 million in purses on the line and $3 million going to the winner by a nose.
Over in NASCAR, Kyle Larson beat Chris Buescher by .001 seconds at the Kansas Speedway Sunday night (5/5) in the closest finish in 76 years of big-league stock car racing history.
Rams silver lining
And on the local tennis courts, the Rams racqueteers lost back-to-back matches to Mount Vernon and East Ramapo by identical 3-2 scores last Thursday and Friday (5/2/3)
But there was a silver lining in the tennis net losses. The final scores showed marked improvement for the Rams because they had previously lost to both teams earlier in the season by identical 4-1 scores.
And the Rams’ top two singles players—Christian Yupanqui and Lucas Cepeda—are galloping towards the end of the spring season with winning records.
The way it was
In the Mount Vernon match:
*Yupanqui won at first singles by scores of 6-4 and 6-2.
*Cepeda lost close playing at second singles by scores of 4-8, 7-5 and 15-17 (including a 10-point tiebreaker).
*Andres Sanchez won two close sets by identical 7-5 scores playing third singles.
That sent the Rams into the doubles contests with a 2-1 lead, but that wasn't quite enough. Because Manny Coyt and Sean Heffernan lost a close match by identical 4-6 scores playing first doubles. And Leo Jimenez and Tony Nievecela lost by almost as close scores of 4-6 and 3-6.
More ups, downs
In the equally narrow loss to East Ramapo, the Rams once again came out of the singles matches with a 2-1 lead only to lose both doubles matches by close scores.
Yupanqui once again won first singles by scores of 4-6, 6-4 and 10-6 (again winning the deciding 10-point tiebreaker).
Cepeda breezed through his second doubles win by identical 6-2 scores.
But Coyt lost at third singles by scores of 4-6 and 3-6. And Heffernan and Sanchez lost while playing first doubles by scores of 3-6, 4-6 while Jiminez and Nievecela made it close before losing the third doubles match by identical 4-6 scores.
Despite the losses, Rams head coach Craig Holcomb came away encouraged by the team's improved play as the spring season progresses. He hopes to see continued improvement in singles and doubles play in the Rams’ next match away against Woodlands Monday (5/13) at 4:30 p.m., maybe even winding up with a W instead of an L give or take another tiebreaker in what figures to be another close match. But no matter how close it is, it can't end in a photo finish or by a fraction of a second, and the Rams are due for a break. But don't bet on it.
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