Courtesy of ThePress.net
by Justin Lafferty
In an exciting, back-and-forth match between two intense athletes, Deer Valley’s Abid Ahmad came up with a victory over Freedom’s Jeff Matteri to claim the singles title in Tuesday’s Bay Valley Athletic League Championship.
Ahmad, a senior, topped a frustrated Matteri 6-1, 6-4 in the final round. To get to the final, Ahmad defeated Matteri’s teammate, junior Justin Monge, in the semi-finals. He also topped Liberty’s Jordan Tickner, as well as Juan Morales and Servando Reyes, both of Freedom.
In last year’s BVAL tournament, Matteri defeated Ahmad, then playing for Antioch. Matteri’s road to the final match included a tough semi-finals win (7-6, 6-3) over Antioch’s Ikram Najib, who took third place after defeating Monge.
“I’m really happy, and playing against Jeff was amazing; I wish I could play him every day,” Ahmad said. “He’s a really nice kid; I really respect him.”
A few feet away, the doubles title game was underway, but the feeling was much more lighthearted. Both Heritage doubles teams – Mike De La Madrid/Andrew Mucha and Matt De La Madrid/Collin Friedel – advanced to the final. Though both teams were still hungry for the victory, it was more of a friendly match. Amid the laughing and fun, Mike De La Madrid and Mucha were able to repeat as doubles champions, 6-1, 6-1.
“That was our whole goal this season: we wanted to repeat and move onto NCS,” Mucha said. “Last year, we didn’t make it past the first round of NCS."
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