Murphy, Kanipe win singles matches as Radford falls to Bruton in Class 2 state tennis final

Then the heavens opened up, dumping several inches of rain onto the blue and red courts and prompting a suspension in play that lasted nearly two and a half hours as players waited for the weather to clear up and the courts to dry.

When they did, Kanipe returned to action and needed only a handful of strokes to knock off Bruton’s Leon Strain, winning the two points needed to earn a 6-3, 6-3 victory for Radford.

“I was a little worried because, for one it’s a break for me but it’s also a break for him,” Kanipe said of the weather delay. “I feel like I had the advantage the more tired I could make him, but at the end of the day it’s just what happens. I came out and took care of business.”

The victory for Kanipe, an All-Timesland football first-team wide receiver, proved critical as it kept the Bobcats in contention for the state team title. It cut Radford’s deficit to two with the upcoming trio of doubles matches. Without it, the title would’ve already been captured by Bruton.

“The situation overall is 4-1, so I just knew I had to finish that game out. That way we could stay in it as a team,” Kanipe said. “That was really my mindset; just play the best I can play and whatever happens happens.”

It didn’t take long for the Panthers to seize the state crown, however, as Christoph Schweitzer and Max De Winter picked up a straight-sets victory over Adam McGregor and Jeremy Gilmore to put the championship out of reach and give their squad a 5-2 win over the Bobcats.

“They’re very good. They’re very talented. They’ve been in this position for a couple of years now,” Radford coach John Ferguson said. “I’ve got three first-year players on my team, so I’m very proud of our effort. I think if you look at some of the scores, some of the singles matches may not have been close, but that’s not indicative of how hard Bruton had to work in each individual game.”

The Bobcats earned their other individual win in the form of Mason Murphy, a junior who had never played tennis before this spring, save for a few open court sessions last fall. He split his afternoons and evenings between the Radford High tennis courts and the Radford baseball field, having also served as a pitcher for the Bobcats.

Murphy, donning a black and white Roger Federer RF hat that Ferguson gave him, took down Simphiwe Matibini 6-4, 6-2 using an authoritative first serve well beyond that of a rookie.

“I think it was pretty good. I made a few mistakes, my game against John Battle was better, but it was definitely really fun,” Murphy said. “I think everyone’s played pretty well. [Bruton] is definitely a good team though.”

Radford’s postseason success, which included winning the Region 2C championship and getting over a long-awaited hump that was John Battle in the state semifinals, came to an end after the squad dropped its remaining singles matches.

McGregor fell to Schweitzer 6-1, 6-2 at No. 1, while Justyn Gilmore, Jeremy’s twin brother, lost 6-0, 6-2 to De Winter at No. 2. Jeremy Gilmore himself was bested 6-2, 6-1 by Talien Barnes at No. 5, and Eli Blackwell dropped a 6-1, 6-2 result to Nick Felsman.

The No. 2 doubles match, featuring Kanipe and Blackwell vs. Matibini and Strain, as well as the No. 3 doubles match pitting Murphy and Conner Young against Barnes and Felsman, did not finish after Schweitzer and Max De Winter’s No. 1 doubles victory sealed the team win for the Williamsburg-based Panthers.