Waters, Hurricanes prosper from move to doubles

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HAMPSHIRE – Moving Aaron Waters into doubles was an easy decision for Marian Central boys tennis coach Jim Sarthers, and the move might pay big dividends as the season progresses.

Waters, who played No. 2 singles last year, was teamed with Conor Moon at No. 1 doubles this season. The move was partly strategic but made simpler by injured or non-returning players.

Moon and Waters defeated Hampshire’s Chris West and Brandon Hankla, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 1 doubles to lead the Hurricanes to a 3-2 non-conference win Wednesday.

Waters said the biggest differences in doubles are how quickly points are put away and playing strategically. Having a partner on the court and trying to stay in sync also takes some work.

“With doubles, it’s always placement and where you are going to hit it,” Waters said. “You’re always trying to get both people at the net.”

Moon, who played doubles last season, said the transition to a new partner was an adjustment, but the two are starting to play well together. The move was easier, Moon said, because Waters wasn’t a serve-and-volley type of singles player.

“He was always more of a finesse type of player,” Moon said of his partner’s singles game. “That’s great for doubles.”

Also winning for Marian (4-4) were Riley Waters at No. 1 singles, and Andy Yuk and Will Kaufmann at No. 2 doubles.

Riley Waters handled the Whip-Purs’ Christian DelaCruz, 6-2, in the first set but fell behind in the second before coming back to win, 7-5.

Riley Waters said he knew that DelaCruz was a tough, hard-hitting player and expected a good match. The difference was consistency and trying to keep DelaCruz deep in the court and away from the net.

“I always play to get one more ball in play,” Riley Waters said. “I was trying to keep him deep. He has a lot of good shots and volleys (at the net).”

Sarther said Moon and Aaron Waters should have a good chance of making it out of the Cary-Grove Sectional to qualify for state. That was also a major reason for the move, Sarther said, as it’s tough to get a sectional seed for a No. 2 singles player.

“They should be one of the top seeds in our sectional as long as they continue to improve,” Sarther said.

Hampshire (7-2) got wins from freshman Elisha Hougland at No. 2 singles and Austin Eaton and Basit Syed at No. 3 doubles.

Whips coach Jon Betts said he was expecting a close meet against the Hurricanes and was pleased with his team’s play despite the loss. It also was good experience for DelaCruz to play against someone who extends points and keeps the ball in play.

“It’s tough for [DelaCruz] to play those long points,” Betts said. “It was a good match for him before playing some of the tougher matches on our schedule.”