Nickel leads Free State tennis in big victory

FSHS junior Seamus Ryan meets a ball at the net during a doubles match against LHS on Tuesday at FSHS.

More than two hours after the start of the boys tennis City Showdown dual, Free State High freshman Sawyer Nickel was locked into a tight battle against Lawrence High senior Elliott Abromeit at center court.

The two have played against each other plenty of times during the summer, but this was the first time with their high school teams.

Nickel survived a match point and fought back for an 8-7 (6) victory in a tiebreaker at No. 1 singles. Nickel’s win completed Free State’s 9-0 victory against LHS, continuing the Firebirds’ undefeated win streak in the City Showdown dual.

“Elliott is a really good player,” FSHS coach Keith Pipkin said. “For Sawyer to get a win over him is huge. The sweep is huge but that just topped it off. For us to finish with that, and the whole team to watch him, and it goes to a tiebreaker to pull it off … that’s a testament to how good of a player he is as just a freshman.”

Nickel, who has strong touch with slice and drop shots, used his athleticism to keep rallies alive throughout the match. He led by a game midway through the match before Abromeit broke his serve.

Needing to break Abromeit’s serve to force a tiebreaker, Nickel caught a break when Abromeit misfired on an overhead shot. Given another chance, he won a lengthy deuce to keep the match alive, winning 8-6 in the tiebreaker.

“It felt really good,” Nickel said. “I was nervous. I thought he was going to pull it out. We’re close and it was a good match.”

Nickel and Abromeit provided the final match of the dual and the closest match. Free State’s Cooper Rasmussen rolled to an 8-2 victory at No. 2 singles, Seamus Ryan won 8-2 at No. 5 singles and Garrett Luinstra didn’t drop a game in an 8-0 win at No. 6 singles.

At No. 1 doubles, Ian Pultz-Earle and Erik Czapinski, who combined for 12th place at last season’s Class 6A state tournament, cruised to an 8-0 victory over Lawrence’s Sam Allen and Brendan Connor. Pultz-Earle and Czapinski both won 8-1 in their matches in singles, but during doubles, they were working on their net play.

“My coach is constantly on me not to split and go back (to the baseline),” Czapinski said. “I got hit in the face in practice a few days ago so I’m a little bit (hesitant).”

Despite any pressure of continuing the winning streak in the City Showdown dual, the Firebirds said they approached it as any other match.

“I guess it’s been a long series of Free State winning, but they are a good team and they have some really good players,” Nickel said.

The Lions walked away knowing they didn’t play their best.

“I don’t know if you call it disappointed,” LHS coach Chris Marshall said. “We don’t play well in this type of situation. It is what it is.”

Free State 9, Lawrence 0

Tuesday at FSHS

Singles

No. 1 — Sawyer Nickel, FS, def. Elliott Abromeit, LHS, 8-7 (6).

No. 2 — Cooper Rasmussen, FS, def. Zach Bowie, LHS, 8-2.

No. 3 — Ian Pultz-Earle, FS, def. Sam Allen, LHS, 8-1.

No. 4 — Erik Czapinski, FS, def. Brendan Connor, LHS, 8-1.

No. 5 — Seamus Ryan, FS, def. Cooper Wright, LHS, 8-2.

No. 6 — Garrett Luinstra, FS, def. Austin Butell, LHS, 8-0.

Doubles

No. 1 — Pultz-Earle/Czapinski, FS, def. Allen/Connor, LHS, 8-0.

No. 2 — Luinstra/Ryan, FS, def. Kinder/Butell, LHS, 8-3.

No. 3 — Nickel/Rasmussen, FS, def. Abromeit/Bowie, LHS, 8-3.