Coach Stephen Spivey wins 1,000th tennis match; Enloe clinches Cap-8 boys’ tennis title
Enloe sophomore Ethan Saber pumped his fist and the raucous contingent of Eagles’ fans erupted after the sophomore’s winner during doubles play gave them a victory over Millbrook on Tuesday night.
The 5-4 win not only gave the state’s No. 2-ranked Eagles the Cap-8 Conference title, it also delivered veteran coach Stephen Spivey his 1,000th career victory.
“This feels so good,” Saber said after he and freshman Revanth Bobba won 8-3 at No. 3 doubles. “We took ‘em down, just like I knew we could. This game has been what we’ve been thinking about the whole day, the last couple of weeks even. We’ve been preparing for this.”
Saber, who also won 6-2, 7-6 over Josiah Schainblatt in singles, added he felt no pressure, despite the match turning on their doubles result.
“I live for that kind of moment,” he said.
The win gave Enloe (13-1, 12-1) a season sweep of the No. 4 Wildcats (11-2, 10-2).
Spivey, who told his team “This is the beginning of tradition here at Enloe,” knows a little about what he told his charges. As Broughton coach, he racked up 21 boys and girls state championships.
“It’s been three years of building a team concept,” Spivey said. “I don’t think they’ve had someone who eats tennis, breathes tennis, lives tennis like I do. … This team right here is a special one. It ranks up there with some of my best at Broughton. And I do think we’re building for the long haul.”
What worked
Enloe’s getting two big points from Bobba.
He won at No. 6 singles 6-1, 6-0 over Andrew Lopez in a match that took 38 minutes.
He then sat in the 85-degree heat over an hour until doubles play began.
Then, he teamed up with Saber for the clinching point.
“Revanth got wins in singles and doubles that were huge,” Spivey said. “To get two points from a freshman like that, you can’t say how much that means.”
Needs improvement
Millbrook coach Craig Isdahl said his team’s goal of a state championship stays intact.
“We had three in third-set tiebreakers, and we lost two of them,” he said. “You reverse one of those, we win 5-4.
“But we lost today. Our hats are off to Enloe, they are conference champions. But it does not change a thing for us. We’re looking at our match against Wakefield now. Our goal is still a state title, and winning that match helps us get there.”
They said it
“I had to dig deep and fight,” Enloe No. 2 Mike Ogundele said of his 6-3, 3-6, 10-3 win over Austin Cobb. “I knew I just needed 10 more points. I looked at my dad and my teammates and they gave me the courage to do it.”
By the numbers
4-2: Singles match advantage for the Eagles, who lost two of three in doubles.
8-0: Enloe’s home record.
1: Number of losses now for Enloe No. 3 Shantanu Sharma. Millbrook senior Michael Moody beat him 6-2, 6-0.
This story was originally published April 19, 2016 at 9:53 PM with the headline "Coach Stephen Spivey wins 1,000th tennis match; Enloe clinches Cap-8 boys’ tennis title."