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Sports

Solon Boys' Tennis Team Rolls Stow-Munroe Falls

Comets post three double bagels in season opener

When rain pelts a hard court in tennis, play is usually called immediately as what was once sure footing can seem like ice skating in seconds.

Interestingly enough, the Solon boys’ tennis team didn’t protest the boggy conditions at Solon Community Park, perhaps eager not to cancel play as the school’s softball and baseball teams did earlier Wednesday afternoon.

Better to just get on with it and get out of the rain.

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Solon, one of the area’s best teams, dispatched Stow-Munroe Falls, 5-0, in three singles and two doubles matches. No Solon singles player or doubles team yielded more than three games in a set against the Bulldogs. Three of the matches featured double bagels.

Oddly enough, it was the No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles team that took the longest to finish their matches, which all began simultaneously. Nonetheless, it was over in a little more than a half an hour.

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“The other guys (Stow) didn’t play real well because of the weather. I think they were intimidated by our team and just a little bit by the conditions,” new Solon coach Chris Klampe said.

Top singles player and Solon senior Jason Schrode knocked off junior Tyler Whitelaw, 6-1, 6-0. Solon No. 2 David Shankman, a sophomore, downed Eddie Hsu, 6-0, 6-0, and No. 3 Comet Brian Yang, also a sophomore, beat Luke Rocco, 6-0, 6-0.

In doubles, Solon’s senior top team of Evan Schrode, Jason’s twin brother, and Zach Singerman beat Matt Bujorian and David Hsu, 6-0, 6-2, while senior Liam O’Brien and junior Andrew Branstetter paced Solon’s No. 2 team, 6-0, 6-0, over Ricky Crawley and Sean Bascik.

Right-hander Jason Schrode is certainly glad to be back healthy again after injuring his right shoulder last season. After recovering from surgery, he was often reduced to playing doubles, but regained his rhythm in time to compete in district singles competition.

Schrode is excited about this year’s prospects for the Comets.

“Out of the teams in the area, we have one of the best shots of making it out to the tournament. We’ve got a solid lineup,” Schrode said. “We’re geeked. We feel our chances are good.”

In his match against Whitelaw, Schrode had to counter the lefty strikes of his opponent. Schrode, who has faced plenty of lefties in his career, was ready.

“He hit some pretty nice balls. Overall, I just constructed points better. He had some big shots throughout the match, but I was a little more solid throughout the entire thing. It was good stuff,” Schrode said.

Klampe couldn’t be happier with his team’s start. The Comets feature six seniors among its nine players and is loaded with plenty of playoff experience. Both the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles teams played at the Division I state level last season.

“We have a team that’s not going to be assembled like this for years,” Klampe said. “This is the year to get us as absolutely far as Solon tennis can get.”

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