MAUMEE – From their first match of the season, Ethan Moyer and Lucas Cronin believed they had a chance for a special season at No. 2 doubles for the Fremont Ross boys tennis team.
That season-opening victory came against Findlay, in a three-set win over the team of Blake Gray and Evan Gephart.
Saturday, Moyer and Cronin’s season came full circle, finishing off where it began with a win over Gray and Gephart, this time in the championship match of the No. 2 doubles bracket in the TRAC tournament.
Moyer and Cronin defeated the duo from Findlay, 6-3, 6-3, becoming the first tennis players from Fremont Ross, boy or girl, to claim a TRAC tennis championship.
“They had that in the back of their minds from the very first league win against Findlay,” Ross coach Lisa Wolfe said. “Findlay was our first duel match and when they came through with a win in that one, that was a great start for them.
“Halfway through the season, I told them to have confidence, with St. John’s, at that point I could scout a little bit and noticed they were beatable. The way Ethan and Lucas had played, they were undefeated at that point in the season, they just have a lot of confidence playing together.”
Moyer and Cronin began the league tournament rolling to victories over Lima Senior (6-0, 6-0) and St. Francis (6-0, 6-1), setting up their rematch Saturday with Gray and Gephart.
Moyer and Cronin have a 13-0 record playing together, with Moyer specializing in playing on the baseline and Cronin being the aggressor at the net. But Saturday, the Little Giants realized winning the championship would require changing things up.
“In the second set of the final, against Findlay, it was neck and neck, even though 6-3, 6-3 doesn’t sound like it,” Wolfe said. “They communicate really well and decided in the second set, ‘We’re not going to play games anymore, let’s just both go to the net.’ And Ethan is not afraid of the net.
“They play just very well together. And being juniors, it is so nice to see.”
Wolfe said both Moyer and Cronin have put in the work on the court, which has now paid off in a championship.
“They both worked very hard in the offseason, too,” Wolfe said. “They are two kids that worked in the winter for lessons and clinics in the Toledo area and they put the time in.”
They entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed. The rest of the Little Giants, each of whom were seeded third or fourth entering the weekend, performed largely as-expected.
Singles player Nils Nolte, Alex Thatcher and Drew Miller each won their opening-round games before losing in the second round, dropping them into the consolation bracket. All three placed fourth in their respective bracket while the No. 1 doubles team of Sam Long/Trevor Weickert finished fifth.
The Little Giants will host Northview on Monday and against Bowling Green on Tuesday for Senior Night.
Ross will also play host to the sectional tournament, which begins Thursday and concludes Saturday.
Despite their success, Moyer and Cronin won’t be playing together in the postseason.
Wolfe explained as the postseason nears, she allows her seniors to choose where and with whom they play in the tournament. Thatcher, a four-year senior, chose to play doubles with Trevor Weickert and Long drafted Cronin to be his partner at No. 2 doubles.
Nolte, Moyer and Miller will compete at first- through third-singles.
Regardless of how the Little Giants fare in the sectional tournament, Wolfe is confident they’ll make her and Fremont proud in at least one respect.
“My boys caught the eye of the (TRAC) tournament director and said, ‘You have the nicest boys,’” Wolfe said. “When Nils got done playing his final round, he and his opponent from St. John’s, they sat on the bleachers for at least 20 minutes talking after the match was over. When Alex got done against the Findlay kid, and they were just wailing at the ball, even though it was 6-0, 6-0, it was a long match, and when they got done, they hugged at the net.
“It’s just the good sportsmanship coming from Fremont Ross that makes me so proud.”