Ads show ‘fight’ in final match
It was a short-lived celebration for the Farragut senior, who defeated Science Hill’s Rohan Papireddy in a 10-5 match breaker to win 2-1 as a part of the Admirals’ Class AA sectional match against the visiting Hilltoppers.
Lu’s win brought the first victory of the night for feisty Farragut, which rallied from a 3-0 deficit to draw within 3-2 last Friday, May 8. Unfortunately for the Admirals, that was as close as they came in a 4-2 loss that left them one win short of their first-ever team-wide state tournament berth.
It marked their second sectional loss in the last three years, bringing a bittersweet end to a season that saw district and region championships.
“I always knew they were good and capable of getting this far,” FHS coach Joan Swanson said after talking with her team. “It was about keeping the momentum of their confidence and strength and the fact that we had five seniors — four of whom are in our starting six — I knew they wanted it. They had an opportunity to end their careers on a positive note, and they were driven.”
That showed throughout this season, as FHS rallied from a similar deficit to beat Maryville 4-3 for the aforementioned district crown. Days later, the Ads thumped Campbell County, 4-0, to claim the gold region plaque.
But their run ended against a Science Hill team that will make its seventh straight state tournament appearance in Chattanooga this week.
Meanwhile, Farragut said goodbye to five seniors — including Lu — under the lights at the park tennis courts last weekend.
“It’s a great privilege and an honor to play tennis for something bigger than myself,” Lu reflected. “When you’re younger, tennis is a very individual sport — there’s not really a team aspect. Being part of a team is so different, especially for tennis, so it means a lot to make the friends I have and win, fight and compete for them.”
That fight showed throughout the match. Science Hill picked up its first point with two doubles victories, then Jackson Baker and Joe Luna defeated Farragut’s Grayer Dunagan and Skyler Meade, respectively, by scores of 2-0 in each one.
“We never give up and try to fight for every point and match,” Lu said. “In the future, this program is going to be in good hands.“
At that point, FHS faced its largest deficit of the night. Yet here came Lu, storming back from a 6-2 loss in his first set to defeat Papireddy, 7-5, in the second set before winning the match breaker by the aforementioned score.
Lukas Bukovsky followed with a match-breaking win of his own, 10-6, to follow a set win of 6-4 and a loss by the same score. That left FHS down one, but Mustafa Malik defeated Admiral Kori Faulkner 6-0 in both sets to mark the final margin.
And even while Science Hill players mobbed Malik, Swanson reiterated the grit she saw in her team from the beginning.
“They’re fighters. They know how to not give up,” she said. “When we had tryouts back in September, we knew from practice that this would be a really good boys team. And from what I hear, we
have a lot of good potential coming up.”
I’ve got a couple freshmen this year and can’t wait to see them grow.”
