Pope/Wilson keep unbeaten streak alive

By Tommy Keeler Jr. -- tkeeler@nvdaily.com

NOKESVILLE -- James Wood's Kari Pope and Headley Wilson zone out everything around them during a match. They're not thinking about the score or who they're playing. Maybe that explains why as Handley's Katie Gordon served for the match in the second set, they were unaware of how dangerously close they were to losing for the first time in almost a year.

"I didn't even know that they served for the match," Pope said after their three-set win in the individual doubles final.

"We're not worried about the score," Wilson said. "We just try to focus on the ball and play each point as it comes."

Pope and Wilson fought back to beat Handley's Gordon and Elizabeth Gardiner, 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-4, in two hours and 21 minutes, for their first Northwestern District individual doubles title. The win is the 25th straight for Pope and Wilson, who are the defending Group AA state champions.

As Gordon served for the set, Pope and Wilson moved in front 15-40. Gardiner and Gordon battled back to deuce on a James Wood error and a volley winner from Gardiner. An overhead smash from Wilson and a Handley error evened the set at 5-5. Pope held serve for a 6-5 lead and the pair broke Gardiner's serve in the following game, aided by three double faults.

"We never give up," Wilson said. "Once we lose a set we just put the last set behind us. It's 0-0 and it's a fresh start."

Pope and Wilson seized the momentum early in the third set, breaking Gardiner's serve for a 3-1 lead. The James Wood pair built the lead to 5-2, but Gardiner and Gordon didn't go away quietly.

Gardiner held serve to cut the lead to 5-3, but Wilson served for the match and the James Wood pair held a match point. However, a Pope error brought the game to deuce, and two more James Wood errors put the match back on serve at 5-4.

Pope and Wilson (18-0) responded by breaking Gordon's serve at love, including two overhead winners from Wilson.

"They got off to the quick start in the third and that was really the difference," said Gardiner, who was going for her fourth-straight district doubles title. "We came back, but they always had that extra game on us."

Both teams advance to the Region II tournament on May 26 and 27 at Millbrook.

Sherando's Kaleb Nguyen and Trey Scott beat Handley's Daniel Park and Danny Nolan, 6-4, 7-5 in the boys doubles final at James Wood High School. Both doubles teams will play on May 26 and 27 in the Region II tournament at Western Albemarle. Handley substituted Nolan for John Adams in the final after Adams suffered from cramps during the semifinals.

Adams and Nguyen played for over four hours in the singles final, won by Nguyen.

"They did a good job. Kaleb played a whole lot of tennis today and he did really well," Sherando coach Steve Jennings said. "Trey and Kaleb play very well together. Trey played better in the finals of course, because of all the tennis Kaleb had played. Kaleb was hoping it wouldn't go past two sets."

Nguyen and Scott (18-0) beat Millbrook's Trae Drexler and Ben Golden 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinals. Adams and Park rallied for a 5-7, 7-5, 6-0 win over James Wood's Thomas Wilson and Joe Damron in the other semifinal.

"We obviously played a great first set," Wilson said. "We had some chances in the second set and let them slip away. Then we had a major letdown in the third set. They got the momentum going in the third set and that was the key."

Jennings said the substitution of Nolan into the Handley lineup eased some of the tension of the final.

"Kaleb and Trey know Nolan and they are friends with him," Jennings said. "That made it a lot more fun. It made it less stressful for them."

Despite the loss, Gardiner and Gordon were very pleased with their performance considering Friday was the first time they had ever played an official match together. Gardiner has played with Sarah Moomau at No. 1 doubles for the team this season, while Gordon has been partnered with Mykenzie Garrett at No. 2 doubles all year. Gardiner and Gordon found out last week they would be playing together and began practicing in preparation for the tournament.

In their first match, they beat Sherando's Sarah Wolfe and Nicole Miller 6-3, 6-1 to secure a regional berth.

"This was definitely a good start," Gordon said. "We'll get a lot more practice in and work on some things. Hopefully, we'll beat them in regionals."

Not surprisingly, Pope and Wilson said they don't keep track of how many consecutive wins they have and don't consider being the defending champs as added pressure. However, they expect more tough matches in the regional tournament, perhaps even another one against their district rivals.

"We know we're going to have our work cut out for us," Wilson said. "We know it's never going to be a cakewalk."