The Philomath High School boys tennis team had a close one in its season opener Thursday at Class 5A West Albany but pulled out the victory in a match that came down to two tiebreakers.
The two teams ended play with each winning four matches. The first tiebreaker comes down to sets won and each team had nine. The second tiebreaker goes to games won and Philomath had a 70-64 advantage (points from a super tiebreaker in one of the matches does not count toward that total).
Philomath won three of the four matches at singles. Junior Dawson Beckstead at No. 1 and senior Dylan Bell at No. 2 both won their matches easily with 6-0, 6-0 finals. Sophomore Andrew Leonard also won at No. 3 singles by a score of 6-4, 6-2.
In the fourth spot, senior Braedon Littrell pushed his opponent to three sets but lost 6-4, 2-6, 10-4.
At doubles, senior Noah Aynes and junior Teddy Benbow won a thriller over their opponents, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. West Albany won the other three doubles matches in straight sets.
Philomath’s next scheduled match is March 29 at home against another 5A opponent in Lebanon.
