First Time Ever--Eureka Beats Lafayette

Typically, the term "rivalry" implies that competitors have a history of fighting it out tooth and nail with a very close overall victory count. That might be the case for Eureka and Lafayette when we look at their sports endeavors as a whole. However, it has not been the case in boys tennis.

Coach Jason Conley reports that his Eureka Wildcats boys tennis team beat Lafayette for the first time ever at the Eureka tennis courts on Wednesday, April 18.

Lafayette held the victors' feet to the fire right down to the last two matches, Collin Mayer, at the #2 flight and Matt Varner at #4. Eureka had to pull out one of those matches to bring home the win.

While Mayer had split the first two sets and was trying to pull out a win in a deadlocked super tie breaker (first one to 10 points, win by two), Matt Varner was hanging on a precipice in a second set tie, having lost the first.

Usually, tennis competitors celebrate their victories and suffer their defeats in relative anonymity. That wasn't the case on this day. Both teams, all the coaches, and the remaining parents, family and friends watched on as Mayer pulled out his match with a 10-8 super tie break squeaker just before Varner, on a neighboring court, lost a close second set. 

It was a win worthy of a rivalry. But it doesn't end there. Lafayette will have to think twice before assuming that the next match will go their way later this year, because Eureka was playing without one varsity competitor. 

Rivalry on!