By John Goralski Sports Writer Luke Pfanzelt slid into one corner to return an impossible shot. He turned and lunged at the other corner and nearly came away with a point. On Saturday, May 31, Pfanzelt’s qualifying round victory advanced him into a contest with last year’s defending champion, but Southington’s No. 4 player was matching his opponent on one of Yale University’s indoor courts. His teammates gathered above him in the gallery to greet Pfanzelt’s efforts with a chorus of ‘Oohs’ and ‘Ahs’ as Pfanzelt fought for every point. He lost both sets, but scored managed to avoid the shutout. He lost most games, but managed to rally for points and broken serves. Pfanzelt even managed to score an ace against the top ranked player in the state, and his teammates exploded with cheers. Coach Tony Mauro sat back and drank in the atmosphere with a quiet pleasure. “This has been fun. As much as I have a negative feeling about the structure of this tournament, I think that if we came here every year I might have different feeling about it,” said the coach. “This has been such a nice experience.” Nobody escaped the second round, but the [...]
By John Goralski Sports Writer Luke Pfanzelt slid into one corner to return an impossible shot. He turned and lunged at the other corner and nearly came away with a point. On Saturday, May 31, Pfanzelt’s qualifying round victory advanced him into a contest with last year’s defending champion, but Southington’s No. 4 player was matching his opponent on one of Yale University’s indoor courts. His teammates gathered above him in the gallery to greet Pfanzelt’s efforts with a chorus of ‘Oohs’ and ‘Ahs’ as Pfanzelt fought for every point. He lost both sets, but scored managed to avoid the shutout. He lost most games, but managed to rally for points and broken serves. Pfanzelt even managed to score an ace against the top ranked player in the state, and his teammates exploded with cheers. Coach Tony Mauro sat back and drank in the atmosphere with a quiet pleasure. “This has been fun. As much as I have a negative feeling about the structure of this tournament, I think that if we came here every year I might have different feeling about it,” said the coach. “This has been such a nice experience.” Nobody escaped the second round, but the [...]