Old opponents keep it close

Rock Bridge senior Stefan Nosic played a familiar opponent Thursday. Nosic said he has known Hickman senior Justin Guevera, whom Nosic played at No. 2 singles, a long time.

“We’ve played each other since we were 12 years old.” Nosic said.

Their match was the closest of the night in Rock Bridge’s 9-0 victory at Hickman. Nosic won the first set 6-2, but Guevera rallied in the second, coming back to win 7-6. The third set ended in a tiebreaker, which Nosic won 11-9.

Nosic said the close match against Guevera surprised him.

“I had to stay composed,” Nosic said. “Justin has definitely improved.”

Guevera also said the match was surprising.

“During the match, I kept thinking that I had never played this well against Rock Bridge before,” Guevera said. “It felt pretty good, especially after having leg cramps against Helias.”

Nosic played Guevera again at No. 1 doubles, but he and junior partner Jay Kinderknecht stayed composed in an 8-6 victory over Guevera and senior Dan Fine.

Rock Bridge coach Ben Loeb said he was pleased his team won the close matches.

“It’s part of their character,” Loeb said. “They take pride in competing to the best of their ability.”

Hickman coach Andy Materer said he saw improvement from his team’s loss to Helias on Monday.

“I like the way we fought,” Materer said. “I still see where we really need to work on a few things.”

At No. 1 singles, Hickman senior Dan Fine led the second set before making mental errors in a 6-3, 6-4 loss to Rock Bridge junior Aron Franck. Fine said he learned from the match.

“I got overconfident,” Fine said. “I’ve got to get the clutch point.”