By By EUGENE L. TINKLEPAUGH, Staff Writer
The momentum of a big victory the night before wasn’t nearly enough for Washington to sail to a second win in its second tennis match-up of the season.
The Pam Pack fell to Edenton in eight of nine matches in nonconference action Wednesday, giving Washington an early taste of defeat.
Washington (1-1) played close in three of the six singles matches but lacked the consistency to stand up to solid-playing Aces, who stayed in control of the courts much of the night and let Pam Pack mistakes translate to Edenton triumph.
Third- and fourth-seeds Trey Moore and J.D. Robinson found redemption in doubles play.
The yin-yang combo took the doubles match easily against the Edmundson brothers who handed out punishing medicine in singles matches against the two but didn’t clique together as well as the camouflage-hat-wearing Moore and his headband-wearing partner.
Moore and Robinson jumped out to a 3-0 start and refused to relinquish command, winning 8-1.
It was Pam Pack’s only win of the night excluding exhibitions.
In singles play, Robinson fell in a tough, nearly three hour match against freshman Tyler Edmundson.
Robinson took the first set, 6-4, but couldn’t keep the freshman down.
Early in the second set, Robinson had to battle back from a 1-4 deficit. He sent the set into a tie-breaker game and watched it slip through his fingers, losing the second set and then losing the tie-breaker set that decided the match.
Robinson’s bout was the only one to go the distance, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 5-7.
Moore lost in two tight sets, 4-6, 5-7. The charismatic senior traded the lead with Chris Edmundson, also a senior, throughout the second set. Down 1-2, Moore won the next two sets, lost the next two and then won the next two to make it 5-4. The final two sets of the match would go Edenton’s way.
The Pam Pack’s top two players stayed in volleying slumps the entire night. Both were down 0-3 in the first set and couldn’t recover from mistakes at the net.
Top-ranked Ben Peele struggled at the serving line, while Nathan Worsley had trouble returning his opponent’s power shots.
Worsley was kept scoreless in two sets against Collins Small, losing 0-6, 0-6.
Peele’s efforts to take down the Aces top player Mike Pataki weren’t much better. He lost 3-6, 2-6.
When Peele and Worsley teamed up to take on Pataki and Small, the same woes followed them in doubles play. The Pack’s top team lost 4-8.
Peele said the Aces played without their star tennis player Wednesday, who was out with an injury.
Washington netters were slated to play South Central today, but that matched will be rescheduled for later in the season.
The Pam Pack’s next game will be on the road at West Craven Tuesday. On Thursday Washington plays at Rose.
Edenton 8, Washington 1
SINGLES
Mike Pataki (E) d. Ben Peele, 6-3, 6-2; Collins Small (E) d. Nathan Worsley, 6-0, 6-0; Chris Edmundson (E) d. Trey Moore, 6-4, 7-5; Tyler Edmundson (E) d. J.D. Robinson, 4-6, 6-7 (5-7), 5-7; Danny Brisko (E) d. Andrew Friedman, (scores unavailable); Joey Johnson (E) d. Archie Griffin, 6-4, 5-7.
DOUBLES
Pataki/Small (E) d. Peele/Worsley, 8-4; Moore/Robinson (W) d. C. Edmundson/T. Edmundson, 8-; Brisco/Johnson (E) d. Griffin/Zach Ware, 8-2.