East Fairmont's Bragg, Dudash win Big X boys tennis doubles
Apr. 23—FAIRMONT — Tennis teams in the Big X Conference came together this past weekend for the conference tournament. Student athletes competed in bracketed tournaments to crown boys and girls singles and doubles champions.
The East Fairmont duo of Hunter Bragg and Haydyn Dudash finished the best out of any Marion County team, winning the boy's doubles championship.
"It means a lot to me because I always wanted to be one of those guys," Bragg said. "The past two years I've went to Big X, I've seen people win, and I've always wanted to be that guy that would win it all. Winning it all as a junior is special to me because I still have one more year to go, and I think I'll only improve from where I'm at now, and so will my partner."
For Head Coach Scott Reed, it's a moment he's been waiting to see happen.
"We all knew they could do it, but they finally put it all together and finished the deal," Reed said via text message. "These guys are extremely coachable and close friends off the court, and their bond on the court is undeniable."
Bragg and Dudash entered the tournament as the fourth seed. According to Reed, they beat two different teams from Bridgeport, including the No. 1 seed, 8-0 to reach the championship match against Robert C. Byrd's Jacob Brannon and Jaydon Spurlock.
Brannon and Spurlock had the edge at first over Bragg and Dudash, but the latter pair came back from 5-2 and 7-6 deficits to win it all 9-7.
"Hats off to Barry Calef and the entire RCB tennis program," Reed said. "I think they were represented in every championship match and won all of them but boy's doubles. You know it's always going to be a battle when you face them, but fortunately, we came out on top today."
The North Marion boys double of Jordan Cox and Quinton Currey reached the quarterfinals, according to Head Coach Dean Brown. Unfortunately for the Huskies, no one else made it that far for the North Marion boys.
Fairmont Senior had two boys teams in the doubles bracket make it past the first round but no further: Parker Ellison and teammate Noah Hose were one, and David Heston and Robert Deskins were the other.
In the girls doubles, North Marion's Megan Darrah and Shiloh Carr made it to the semifinals before being eliminated. As Brown said, they had the best showing of all the Huskies at the tournament.
"They beat a team to make it there that beat them 8-0 during the regular season," Brown said. "That was probably the highlight of the weekend. Those were two of the best performances we had. We definitely got some things to work on before Regionals, but that's what Big X's for, it's kind of a warmup for Regionals."
Fairmont Senior didn't have its top girls team in the tournament, unfortunately. According to Head Coach Duaine Heston, the girls scratched because they couldn't get out of work obligations.
For singles, Cox and Bragg had the most success of Marion County players. Both members reached the boys semifinals to tie for third place in the tournament. Fairmont Senior's Hose and Rhett Ward got wins in the first round but fell in the second.
Multiple East Fairmont boys faced each other in the singles bracket. Bragg beat teammates Kollin Maxey and Dudash, both undefeated before then, to reach the semis. According to Reed, Dudash felt down on himself after his first loss of the season but pulled it together before winning the doubles title with Bragg.
In girls singles, Darrah had the longest match of the day. Her quarterfinal matchup lasted around two hours, according to Brown. Brown also said Darrah gave everything she had but couldn't get the win.
Fairmont Senior's girls singles only got one win, according to Duaine Heston. Brenalin Carpenter beat a girl who defeated her earlier in the season, and Heston called it a "good win."
"They're young, and they're learning," Heston said. "They're progressing, but it was tough competition, and we took some losses. But they are learning and getting better every week."
It should be noted that there was no official Big X team championship in tennis this year. According to Reed, the conference did not award a team championship because "the by-laws were not followed." Reed declined to elaborate and said it was a "touchy subject."
With the Big X Tournament done and over with, teams look forward to the start of Regionals at the end of the month. According to Bragg, he and Dudash could meet up with Cox and Currey for an in-county regional doubles final.
"We could definitely win it all in the region because nobody is better than those guys at Big X in the region," Bragg said. "There's only one team I've got my eye on a little bit, and that's North Marion's 1-2 doubles. But we could definitely beat them because they didn't even make it to the finals in Big X."
Reach Colin C. Rhodes at 304-367-2548
