STATE CHAMPIONS: Gate City Takes VHSL Group A Boys Team Title

RADFORD, Va. – Tyler DeBoard didn’t believe he had it in him.

Not when he woke up Saturday morning, not when he boarded the bus to ride to Radford University and certainly not when he dropped the first set of his singles match to Radford’s Jay Desai.

But Gate City’s only senior also believed he had no reason to let fatigue and the intense heat get the best of him. So he kept plugging away and eventually produced a result which helped the Blue Devils claim their first Group A boys tennis championship.

While Chad Sheppard’s blistering forehand winner in the No. 3 doubles sealed the last point in Gate City’s 5-3 decision, it was DeBoard’s 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (2) defeat of Desai which put the Blue Devils in position to celebrate.

“I had too many people counting on me not to let them down,” DeBoard said.

DeBoard and Dalton Moore expended plenty of energy late Friday night in a Group A doubles semifinal, dropping a marathon three-setter to a George Mason duo in a match which didn’t conclude until 11:21 p.m.

So when the alarm clock went off at Gate City’s hotel yesterday, DeBoard was understandably whipped and wasn’t sure he could participate, even telling his father so. But after trailing by a set, DeBoard had a different thought. 

“It was my last match as a player at Gate City, so I had to make it count,” he said. “It was incredible to get it over with and get it done. It was amazing to win.”

“That [third] set was awesome,” Sheppard said of DeBoard’s win. “For him to be able to fight through it was great.”

Trailing 4-2 in the third set, DeBoard changed his strategy, opting to hit softer shots and hoping that Desai would make mistakes. The plan worked, as Desai frequently ended points with errant shots.

DeBoard maneuvered the match into a tiebreaker, then scored the first six points of it. As he and Desai changed sides after the sixth point, DeBoard was overcome by emotion.

“This atmosphere was so intense and there was so much emotion to it,” he said.

The emotions flowed again moments after Sheppard’s final shot gave the Blue Devils (15-4) their first state title and extended the athletic program’s streak of state championship years to seven.

DeBoard shared a long hug with his father, an assistant coach. Head coach Steve Shockley aided Moore, who won his singles match but had to drop out of the doubles due to heat exhaustion, on a long walk across the searing courts for the trophy presentation.

“What they went through yesterday … for those singles matches to give us extremely important points was fitting,” Shockley said.

Other singles points came from Jordan Owens and J.T. McConnell, who dropped a combined two games against their outmatched opponents. Owens got off the court at love and love against Jeff Brooks.

Radford’s Malik Mubeen, who won the Group A singles title Thursday, dropped a total of two games in singles and doubles triumphs. But Gate City’s better balance was the difference.

Minutes after the trophy presentation, DeBoard predicted a Blue Devil repeat for next year.

“No doubt in my mind, they’re going to be right back here,” he said.   

Group A Boys
Gate City 5, Radford 3
Singles
Malik Mubeen (R) def. Chad Sheppard 6-1, 6-0; Dalton Moore (GC) def. Sanjay Kishore 6-1, 7-6 (7); Tyler DeBoard (GC) def. Jay Desai 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (2); Jordan Owens (GC) def. Jeff Brooks 6-0, 6-0; J.T. McConnell (GC) def. Sean Weston 6-0, 6-2; Chris Wojtera (R) def. Evan DeBoard 7-5, 7-5.
Doubles
Mubeen-Kishore (R) def. T. DeBoard-Samuel Cox 6-1, 6-0; Sheppard-E. DeBoard (GC) def. Weston-Wojtera 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.
Note: The No. 2 doubles match was halted when Gate City clinched the state title.