The weather was starting to get chilly at Dwight Davis on Tuesday evening. It was 6:30 p.m. and as the wind picked up, the Jr. Bills were in a familiar spot: waiting on a closely-contested singles match to end. Just like the MICDS match, senior No. 2 Henry Dowd found himself fighting long after the others had finished. 

After stubborn baseline rallies, Dowd had stayed neck and neck with his Oakville opponent the entire time. Now, at 7-7, all he needed was a tie break win. Unlike the MICDS match, though, everything went his way. His forehands were clicking and his net play had started to heat up late in the set. With all eyes on him, Dowd pulled off a decisive 7-2 win in the set tiebreak, securing his 8-7 win and epitomizing SLUH’s play of late. 

With only a few matches to go, the SLUH tennis team is coming off of back to back wins against De Smet and Oakville after scoring the singles title of last Friday's Tournament of Champions, courtesy of senior Gus Tettamble. The Jr. Bills have been playing strong at just the right time. Singles play has grown in consistency as the team’s serves have settled in as well. Now, with one match to go tonight, players are eyeing a potential Marquette rematch in Districts later this May. 

After losing 8-1 to Marquette in the team’s first match of the season, SLUH will need to overcome the Mustangs, who have already secured the No. 1 seed in the District bracket, in order to make a play at state. It’s a daunting prospect, but junior Josh Lombardi thinks it's possible. 

“If we really try I think we could actually have a chance,” he said. “We’d have to do perfect but it’s definitely a possibility. I wouldn’t say it’s quite 50-50 at this point, though.” 

SLUH certainly has work to do in order to beat Marquette, but one thing they do have on their side is energy. In the past few days, the Jr. Bills have found their groove and started playing better as a team. Lombardi noticed this in his own game especially. 

 “I feel a lot better about the way I’ve been playing. Halfway through the season I started doing a lot better because I started trying harder and had a renewed drive for tennis,” he reflected. 

He’s certainly got the numbers to back it up. Lombardi is coming off back-to-back 8-0 singles wins against De Smet and Oakville and he’s not alone. Dowd and Tettamble both posted the same scores against De Smet, leading SLUH to the 9-0 win and setting them up for the MCC sweep later tonight against Chaminade.

In the past few matches, when Tettamble’s dominance has not been as necessary, head coach Brian Kirk has adjusted the lineup to allow more players the chance to compete at singles and build the team’s depth. Freshman Noah Butler made his first Varsity start at No. 6 singles against Oakville on Tuesday while sophomore Jimmy Holcomb made his first regular season start in singles against De Smet on Monday. Both won in dominant fashion.

On the topic of dominance, one can’t forget to mention Tettamble’s latest hardware from Friday’s  tournament at MICDS. After the rest of the Jr. Bills went out in the first round of the morning, Tettamble was left alone to represent SLUH in the singles bracket. Facing a difficult set of conditions, he battled all the way to the final.

“Friday was a fun day,” Tettamble said. “It was long and it was the first time all year it was really hot, which can take a lot out of you. It tested my endurance but I still felt good all day.”

In the final, which took place after nearly 10 hours of playing, Tettamble played Max Litton, a senior from Rock Bridge High School in Columbia, Mo. Even though he won every match, it wasn’t easy to get there. 

“I had a bit of a tough draw with some solid players in my half (of the bracket). It wasn't an easy road to the finals but I was glad to take out some of those guys and get some more names,” Tettamble said.

In his semifinal match, Tettamble’s opponent even took him to a third set. Of course, when it really mattered, he came up clutch in the final, winning 7-5, 6-2. The win was extra special for Tettamble, who was knocked out of the team state final by Rock Bridge as a freshman. It provided some closure for the grudge from 2019’s playoffs.

As for this year’s postseason, Tettamble is preparing to lead his team through some difficult matches. He recognized the threat of the Mustangs, but was hesitant to rely on Lombardi’s assessment.

“I don’t think we can expect to ever be perfect,” he said, when asked about beating Marquette. “We can hope to play really well and play to the best of our abilities, though. We have to not try to do anything out of our comfort zone and do what we do really well.”

Luckily, the Jr. Bills should be well within their comfort zone tonight against Chaminade. Weather permitting, the match begins at 4:00 at Dwight Davis. SLUH will be looking for its second conference sweep in as many years.