THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, May 23, 1995 TAG: 9505230386
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Short : 46 lines
Western Branch's Frankie Graves and Great Bridge's David Bristow set up a rematch of the Southeastern District singles championship Monday by advancing to the final of the Eastern Region boys tennis tournament at Owl Creek Municipal Tennis Center.
Graves, the Southeastern District champion, got through when First Colonial's George Kannarkat had to retire because of leg cramps one game into the third set of a well-played semifinal.
Southeastern District runner-up Bristow won a two-set marathon over Maury retriever Rob Brown in the semifinals, 7-6, 6-3. The first set took nearly two hours.
``I'm a cross country runner,'' Bristow said. ``I just told myself if if he can last out here, so can I.''
The final will be played today at 11 a.m. at Owl Creek. Both players will advance to the Group AAA state tournament beginning June 9 at Douglas Freeman High School.
Graves (18-0) has won both meetings with Bristow this season, including a 6-0, 6-1 whipping in the district tournament final. Bristow was hampered by a bad back then, but said he's 100 percent now.
In the regional tournament's opening round, Bristow got past Menchville's Andy Armstrong, 6-3, 6-4; Graves topped Bethel's Quinn Burns, 6-0, 5-7, 6-2; Kannarkat overpowered Maury's Ross Hoffman, 6-0, 6-0; and Brown surprised Tallwood's Ramel Bautista, 6-1, 7-6.
Bautista played the match despite a stress fracture in his right foot. Hoffman was taking the place of Eastern District runner-up Ben Perry, who sat out after injuring his ankle in Maury's regional team victory over Lafayette Saturday.
Graves lived dangerously in the first round, blowing a 4-1 lead in the second set before taking command in the third.
The match took a toll on the Western Branch senior against Kannarkat, as Graves said he felt himself cramping up midway through the first set. Ultimately, however, cramps did in Kannarkat, who developed pain in both his right calf and left thigh. He took an injury timeout late in the second set, and played the first game of the third at half speed before retiring. by CNB