Daniel Haddadin and Emery Corpstein have just a handful of matches against each other remaining.
Corpstein, Dobyns-Bennett’s sophomore sensation, took the latest chapter in the series. But with Haddadin bound for Mount St. Mary’s after he graduates Science Hill this spring, time is running out to watch two of Northeast Tennessee’s finest tennis players battle head to head.
One can only hope their next match is as intense as Tuesday’s. Corpstein and Haddadin won the first and second set respectively, 6-4, before Corpstein emerged victorious in the 10-point tiebreak (10-8).
“Fun is an understatement,” said Corpstein, who avenged last year’s region championship loss to Haddadin with his triumph. “We’ve played a lot of matches. That regional final last year, I dreamed about that one a lot. That was a rough match for me. Whenever I go out and play him, I know I’m expecting a fight.”
No doubt. In fact, Haddadin’s region championship victory last season was a revenge match itself, as Corpstein had beaten him for the individual district crown.
“Emery’s got a really wide variety of game styles he can easily switch to,” Haddadin said. “When we were getting into more solid points and harder rallies, I was taking most of those points. Once he started pushing me back, pushing some angles, trying to dictate the point, getting into a really long rally, he was taking me on a lot of those points. The key is getting him out of that pushing stage and finding a way to the net to put the ball away.”
THE DECISION
Haddadin and Corpstein will face off in the No. 1 match during team postseason play. But for individual competition, the TSSAA requires tennis players to choose between playing singles or doubles.
Should Haddadin play singles, he and Corpstein are surely the favorites to meet for the district and region titles. But only the region champion advances to substate, let alone the state tournament.
With junior Shreeyan Papireddy as his partner, Haddadin feels the potential to bring a doubles state title home to Johnson City. He hasn’t decided yet.
“I’m still thinking about it to be honest with you,” Haddadin said. “Shreeyan and I have a really good feeling about going to state and possibly winning in doubles. It’d be cool to see what me and him could do.”
Haddadin/Papireddy won their No. 1 doubles match over Corpstein/Rishab Dey 8-1 Tuesday.
Haddadin has reached the state semifinals in both singles and doubles during his Science Hill tenure, which includes three straight trips to at least the team semifinals with last year’s runner-up finish.
CHASING HISTORY
Should Corpstein advance to the TSSAA Spring Fling, he’d be the first boys singles state qualifier from Dobyns-Bennett since Ben Rogers in 2003. After coming close as a freshman, Corpstein has already taken on a team leadership role as a sophomore.
“I’ve gotten to do a lot of coaching,” Corpstein said. “Being in that role on our team, kind of a mentor, that’s really helped my mental game. I used to have a terrible record in 10-point tiebreaks when it got really close, but I’ve gotten a lot better, especially improving in the mental game as much as I have.”
The team district tournament at Science Hill runs from April 29 through May 3, before the individual district tournament at Tennessee High from May 6-7.
ANOTHER HONOR FOR BROWDER
Former Dobyns-Bennett basketball standout Jack Browder, along with teammate John Zhao, became Carson-Newman’s first-ever men’s basketball Academic All-Americans — chosen by the College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA).
Browder, who’d already been tabbed the SAC Scholar Athlete of the Year, was the only South Atlantic Conference player to rank in the league’s top 10 in scoring and rebounding. He averaged 18.5 points and 8.1 boards, while collecting 11 double-doubles while maintaining a 4.0 grade point average.
BUCS ARE BACK
Friday’s Ballad Heath Spring Game at William B. Greene Jr. Stadium will wrap up ETSU’s spring practice. Kickoff is at 7 p.m., and admission is free.
The parking lots will open at 3 p.m., and the stadium gates open at 4 p.m. before a pregame concert by the Emerald Empire Band from 5-6:45 p.m.
A special-edition pin, known as the Buc Badge, will be given out at the gate to those who arrive early enough, as the number of pins is limited. The concession stands and bookstore will be open as for a normal fall game day.
Fans will also have the chance to play games, such as cornhole, on the concourse prior to the game in addition to on-the-field competitions during stoppage of play.
Season tickets are also on sale and can be purchased by calling the ETSU Ticket Office at 423-439-3878 or visiting ETSUTickets.com.
