Saints take silver at State tourney

Jeff Harrison
The Edmond Sun

May 20, 2008 05:00 pm

— OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma Christian School’s Jefferson Berryman knew the road to a state title would not be easy, and figured eventually he’d run into a familiar roadblock in Cascia Hall’s Chris Gordon. Berryman had met up with the Chargers’ three-time state champion, twice before, but managed to win just one game.
The Saints senior tore through the No. 1 singles bracket Friday and Saturday at the Oklahoma City Tennis Center, and squared off against Gordon in the finals.
After losing the first set 6-2, Berryman bounced back and took the second one 6-4. But Gordan was able to pull out a 6-2 win in the third set, to take the title.
“I was glad I made the finals and did much better, but nobody wants to be second,” Berryman said. “The biggest thing for us this year was confidence, we really felt like we had a shot this year, and going into that match I felt that if I played hard enough and smart enough I could give him a good match.”
OCS also earned a second-place finish from Ryan Witham, who lost to Cascia Hall’s Chase Tomlins 6-2, 6-2 in No. 2 singles. Those two second place finishes helped the Saints grab second place as a team in the Class 3A state tournament, behind Casica Hall.
The Saints also got a third place finish from Brandon Parduhn and John Thompson in No. 2 doubles. The Saints duo bounced back from a 6-3, 6-3 loss to Cascia Hall in the semifinals, and topped Bishop McGuinness 6-4, 6-4 in the third place match. The No. 1 doubles team of Connor Tebow and Austin Bell finished fourth with a loss to Bishop McGuinness in the third-place match.

Class 5A
Edmond Memorial was the top area team in the Class 5A competition. The ‘Dogs took third overall, behind Tulsa Union and Jenks, and were named the 5A academic state champions with a perfect 4.0 team grade point average.
“The academic state championship was the most important, that will take them down the road, tennis is just for a while,” Memorial coach Randy Hays said.
Memorial finished the day with three top-three finishes. The top placer was the No. 2 doubles team of Aaron Krause and Bowen Xu, who lost 7-6, 6-4 to Union’s Logon Collins and Taylor Gallien in the finals.
Truitt Gray beat Brandon Champagne of Jenks to place third at No. 2 singles. And the No. 1 doubles team of Duncan Fugitt and Zach White edged Norman North 6-4, 6-4 in the third-place match.
Edmond North had all four teams place and finished in a fifth-place tied with Norman North. The Huskies top placers were No. 2 singles Nick Jordan, and the No. 1 doubles team of Bryce Lilley and Alex Mathieson, who both placed fifth.
“I was pleased with their performances,” North coach Dee Waller said. “Out of six players, only one had experience, hopefully it’s something to build on.”
Sophomore Casey Distaso, the team’s lone returning state qualifier, took seventh in No. 1 singles, and Blake April and P.J. Osborn were eighth in the No. 2 doubles bracket.
Santa Fe had a strong showing from both of their doubles teams. The No. 2 duo of Ben Birdwell and Jeff Hendrickson won their first against Jenks 6-2, but fell in the final two sets 6-1, 6-2 and placed fourth overall. The Wolves No. 1 team of Christian Pearson and Trent Sanger beat Claremore 6-2, 6-3 to finish seventh.

Class 4A
Deer Creek brought only two teams to the Class 4A state tournament, but made the most of their opportunities.
The No. 1 doubles team of senior David Sheetz and sophomore Jordan Phillips battled through their bracket, and upset Shawnee 6-1, 6-1 to advance to the finals. But the Antlers duo came up short in the finals, losing 6-4, 7-6 to Bishop Kelley.
“I was pleased them taking care of Shawnee and they did better against Bishop Kelley than probably anyone did all year,” Deer Creek coach Jennifer Bush said.
First-year player Kirk Hays came one win away from placing in tournament at No. 2 singles.

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