BOURBON - The Northern State Conference boys tennis match between Triton and Knox couldn't have been much closer Wednesday in Bourbon.
Tied at 2-2, the match came down to a third set on the No. 1 singles court.After winning the opening set 6-2, Triton sophomore Jeff Ross dropped the next two tight sets to Knox foreign exchange student Jason Steinkuler, giving the visiting Redskins (4-0, 2-0 NSC) the 3-2 team win.
"To be quite honest, we had our weak part of the schedule in the beginning," Knox coach Mark Krom said about his team's unblemished record. "We knew this was going to be by far the toughest match we had had. Triton had handed it to us the last three or four years."
The loss was Triton's first loss of the year, falling to 2-1 overall and 0-1 in the NSC, but coach Allen Peckham has a young team.
One of those young players was Ross, who played strong against the hard-hitting Steinkuler.
After breezing to the opening-set victory, Ross had a chance to finish Steinkuler off when he held a 6-2 lead in the second-set tiebreaker. Instead, Steinkuler fought back to win the tiebreaker 8-6, forcing a third set.
In the decisive set, Ross found himself down 3-0, but fought back to take a 5-3 lead.
"That's the way tennis is, it's a game of streaks," Peckham said.
It appeared Steinkuler may lose his composure after he was denied a point after calling a ball out, but admitting he 'wasn't sure'. With Ross given the point, drawing the game to deuce, Steinkuler won the next two points, taking the game and closing the set to 5-4.
Once again, the German appeared ready to explode after the Knox assistant coach penalized him a point for ball abuse to open the next game. Instead, Steinkuler responded by winning the that game and the next two, taking the set and the match.
"He's a foreign exchange student who just came in, so we're working on some things," Krom said. "There's a little difference between Germany and here. We have to work on some court etiquette and some things like that. It's just a different game over here than it is over there.
"Both kids fought well," Krom added. "You really have to hand it to (Ross). He's only a sophomore, and you can see the incredible amount of talent change he's had since his freshman year."
Ross proved to be talented, but strong winds affected numerous shots, which in turn affected Ross' head.
"I think he puts too much pressure on himself and his head gets in the way of his game sometimes," Peckham said. "I'm trying to get him to the point where he can just go out there and play. He gets to the point where he thinks he needs to hit the perfect shot every time. I've told him, 'Just keep it in play, work it, work it and then take advantage of shots.'"
The No. 1 doubles court also featured a third-set match, which Triton seniors Austin Davis and Jordan Everett won 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
"They were undefeated last year," Peckham said of the duo, which played junior varsity as juniors. "They play so well, the chemistry is so good and they're both big. They're both 6-foot-5, and that's a pretty tall high school team. I don't think many colleges have that height. It's pretty intimidating seeing those bigs. I tell them to come to the net and look big, because the other guys then think, 'Now what do I do?'."
Triton's other victory came at No. 2 doubles, where juniors Josh Shafer and Austin Kanarr won 7-6 (7-5), 6-1.
The Trojans play their third match in three days tonight, travelling to Mishawaka Marian.
KNOX 3, TRITON 2
SINGLES: No. 1 - Jason Steinkuler (K) def. Jeff Ross 2-6, 7-6 (8-6), 7-5; No. 2 - Grant Warren (K) def. Pete Kauffman 6-3, 6-1; No. 3 - Davey Johnson (K) def. Jackson Downing 6-1, 6-2
DOUBLES: No. 1 - Jordan Everett/Austin Davis (T) def. Blaine Wallen/Austin Risner 4-6, 6-4, 6-3; No. 2 - Josh Shafer/Austin Kanarr (T) def. Harrison Metz/Elliott Coad 7-6 (7-5), 6-1
