MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Hixson’s Alex Condra and Richard Vuong’s hopes for a state doubles championship fell just a little short Friday, as did those for Baylor’s Alec Kadrie and Patrick Toomey.
Both duos lost in their respective state championship matches at Adams Tennis Center, Condra and Vuong in the Class A/AA final, 6-3, 6-2 to Christian Academy of Knoxville’s Reed Bristow and Ethan Fussell. Kadrie and Toomey fell in three sets to Memphis University School’s Andres Carro and Frederick Danielson.
Baylor did have the team state championship to fall back on, and the Red Raiders pair got off to a hot start Friday against Carro and Danielson by taking the first set 6-1. They were down 5-2 and rallied before falling 6-4 in the second set, and they had opportunities in the third but were unable to convert some key points down the stretch and lost 6-4 again.
“They won some of the bigger points, some of the big deuce points where no-ad scoring can make a huge difference,” Kadrie said. “They got big points at the right times, big breaks at the right times. They made better shots than us, but we played hard and stayed close.”
He and Toomey had four break-point opportunities in the final set, down five games to four. A point would have given them life, but they lost the next four points and the match.
“We lost a little focus toward the middle of the set,” Toomey said. “It was almost a good comeback; we just didn’t quite make it.”
Condra and Vuong exerted a lot of emotion and energy in defeating Notre Dame’s Nick Coronis and Andrew Lisy in the A/AA quarterfinals, as the match went to a third-set tiebreaker. They had an easier time in the semifinals but weren’t as fortunate Friday.
“The first match was mentally and physically draining,” Condra said. “CAK’s intensity – they were in the finals for the team, so they’re probably very familiar with that environment. We’ve done well over the last few years in high school, but probably not as much as they have, so that probably played a part in it.”
Condra finishes his high school career with back-to-back runner-up state finishes – he was a singles finalist in 2015 – and the two were part of consecutive team semifinal finishes in 2014 and 2015.
“When I look back at this, I won’t be sad at all,” Vuong said. “I’ll remember all the times we practiced with the team, the hype, the intensity of the team. When you come here, the game is on a new solar system. The intensity, the level of skill that everyone brings, it makes me happy I made it here and can call myself a state finalist.
“Even if we didn’t win, I’m proud we made it this far.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.