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Roark roars back in tie-breaking set to give Knights win over West Vigo
As the sun was setting and the five courts around him had cleared, Northview’s Gavin Roark, playing at No. 3 singles, found himself in the spotlight.
Roark was taking on West Vigo’s Colton Enyeart in a third set tiebreaker to determine Wednesday night’s match winner, placing Northview head coach Emily Goff in a reminiscent mindset.
Northview and West Vigo were tied at two points apiece last season with the final point coming in a tie-breaking third set that ultimately went the way of the Knights.
The location was different on Wednesday, but the final result was the same as Roark breezed past Enyeart to give Northview a 3-2 win over the rival Vikings.
“I knew by looking at the matches they’ve played in that we matched up with them really evenly, so I knew it was going to be a close match. We won 3-2 last year and they brought back everyone except for one player from that team, although they changed the lineup from last year. Still, I knew it was going to be close,” said Goff. “I was thinking it was going to be a 3-2 match. I was just hoping it was going to be us with three, and it was. It was a good match.”
Roark, who dropped the opening set by a tight score of 6-7, had to fight all the way back to get the job done. He did so by winning the second set, 6-4, and in doing so saw his confidence grow. That continued throughout the tiebreaker as the senior, who cemented his spot as a singles player during the preseason after playing doubles last year, was urging himself on to make it tough on Enyeart.
He did more than that, winning by a score of 6-2 to complete the come-from-behind victory, which resulted in his teammates showering him with applause from behind the fence before rushing to pat him on the back once Roark and Enyeart shook hands and gathered their belongings at their respective benches.
“Gavin has played well this year at No. 3 singles,” said Goff of Roark. “I wasn’t sure if he was going to play singles, but he’s been so good at doubles, but he told me he wanted to play singles and that’s where he played during the challenge matches. I told him he was going to have to earn that spot to stay as a singles player and he has definitely done that. Him winning tonight to clinch the match was huge.”
Brayden Goff defeated Jace Noblitt by scores of 6-1, 6-2 at No. 1 singles and the No. 2 doubles tandem of Christian Bryan and Raj Singh took down West Vigo’s Bennett Evans and Mylo Bennett by scores of 6-1, 6-1 to earn Northview’s two other points.
With the win, the Knights improved their record to 9-2 on the season and clinched the program’s sixth straight winning season – the first goal Goff had on her to-do list when the team got together for the first time over the summer.
“That’s a big deal, especially with this group that came in so inexperienced,” Goff said. “We weren’t sure how the season was going to go, so it’s a huge deal that we’re going to end it with a winning record.”
Northview has five more matches before the sectional tournament gets underway in October. And Goff said those bouts with multiple strong opponents will be used to iron out the various weaknesses she’s picked up on over the course of the season with an eye on making some noise again during the postseason. But on Wednesday, she was proud of the way her group fought to beat a longtime conference rival.
“We have a ton to still work on. We still have a lot of tennis to learn before sectionals, which is not very far away,” said Goff. “Our footwork is there. These boys have great footwork, but we’ve got to work on our aggressiveness and putting that ball away at the net and playing with confidence. We did better with that tonight.”
Northview 3, West Vigo 2
Singles – Brayden Goff (Nv) def. Jace Noblitt (WV) 6-1, 6-2; Brandon Dailey (WV) def. Derek Morrison (Nv) 6-4, 7-6 (8-6); Gavin Roark (Nv) def. Colton Enyeart (WV) 6-7 (1-7), 6-4, 6-2
Doubles – Bryce Easton-Jack Readinger (WV) def. Zac Buell-Jackson Pierce (Nv) 6-3, 6-0; Christian Bryan-Raj Singh (Nv) def. Bennett Evans-Mylo Bennett (WV) 6-1, 6-1