HIGH SCHOOL BOYS' TENNIS: HERO MOMENT FOR MARTINEC AS CORNING CAPTURES FIRST STAC CHAMPIONSHIP (24 PHOTOS) (2024-05-07)

By Brian Fees
Southern Tier Sports Report
CORNING — As Connor Martinec was going through long rally, after long rally the crowd outside the fence started to grow by the minute.

The Hawks third-singles player started to realize everything was coming down to him.

Corning’s hopes of winning a first ever STAC title were on Martinec’s shoulders, and the Hawks senior came up big, winning the set and helping the Hawks cap a perfect 12-0 season.

“Amazing,” Marines said. “Right after that second set I saw everyone coming over and it definitely became real for a moment that it’s make or break right here.

“When the team comes over it’s a whole different experience.”

Marinec capped a wild win for the Hawks, who edged Union-Endicott 4-3 in the STAC Championship. It was the Hawks first ever appearance in the championship match.

Two of the four points the Hawks won came in three sets.

“I’m really excited for these kids,” Corning coach Tim Ball said. “These kids really deserved it. They worked hard all season. We have had a lot of close matches, but it’s been a different person, or team, each time. But, they have all come together to pull through for an undefeated season.”

As Ball told the team right after the match, no one deserved that hero moment more than Martinec, whose teammates mobbed him after the match. Lifted him into the air and chanted that’s our captain.

“This kid, in four years, I have seen has been the most growth both tennis wise and mentally as well, and it showed off today,” Ball said. “It paid off today for him, coming through. He knew the match was down to him and he came through. No one deserves it more than him, because the amount of work he’s put in has been unbelievable.

“It was actually double tough because after the second set I pulled him aside and he was actually upset because of what was happening outside the courts, people were cheering, and you could tell he was upset. So, I had to redirect him, but he composed himself pretty good and played well in that third set.”

Martinec cruised in the first set 6-1, but Andrew Mancini of U-E came back and won the second set 7-6 (7-0). In the third set Martinec came back and won 6-2.

“Some of the longer rallies, it’s just trying to stay in the point as long as possible,” Martinec said.

For the Corning senior his teammates were a big help. But, when things got tough he was able to tune things out and focus on the match.

“My team, them coming over and them sharing some of the pressure helped me,” Martinec said. “I think listening on the points, I need it, the motivation from my team is definitely nice. But, the points where I’m kind of down and out, just kind of tuning it out and staying focused.”

Point after point were long rallies in that third series match and Martinec knew he had to battle through them all.

“I knew it was probably going to be extra long and I had to fight through every single point,” he said.

Martinec had never been in a moment like after the match when his teammates raced over, and lifted him up in the air.

“Definitely not,” Marines said. “I saw them running over and I honestly started to want to run away.”

Corning faced some adversity in the match as first-singles player Denis Khrapko was out of the lineup for the Hawks.

That meant some other players needed to step up and to help the Hawks win the title.

“It was a total team effort,” Ball said. “We lost the first singles subbing somebody in, and we didn’t win some of the points I thought we would win. But, the four came through and it was huge. This team deserves it to finish off that perfect season.”

The players knew they needed to step up without one of their key players.

“We were down at first singles, so everyone had to come out and tough it out,” Martinec said. “But, we pulled it out in the end.”

Union-Endicott won the first singles match as John Herzing topped Kade Brodeur of Corning 6-0, 6-0. U-E also won at second singles as Jacob Conti won 6-1, 7-5 over Alex Peng of Corning.

The Hawks got a straight set win at fourth singles as Sam Maski topped Carter Holland 6-3, 6-2 as the Hawks split the four singles matches.

Corning won at third doubles in straight sets as Derek Guo and Ethan Roloson won 6-0, 7-3 (7-3) over Aden Glover and Rocco Dutcher.

In first doubles U-E rallied to win as Gabe Mancini and Jack Kieran won 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 over James Nishimoto and Jacob Chung of Corning.

The Hawks rallied at second doubles in another key matchup as Djordje Marjanovic and Cole Hawkins dropped the first set 6-7 (3-7) to Henry Baird and Noah Elliott. The Hawks pair came back to win the second set 6-4 and took the third set 6-2. Tha twin even the match at three points each at the time, setting up the big moment for Martinec.

“They played really timid in the first set, real tight,” Ball said. “I tried to get them to loosen up a little bit and play well and they just started to have fun a little bit more and you could see that’s why they played well in that second and third set.”

In that second and third the Corning pair got more and more fired up as the energy increased as the match went on.

“It’s weird,” Ball said. “Sometimes I just put kids together for some odd reason and I put them two together out of nowhere, but after the first match I couldn’t split them up, because they feed off each other. They have great energy, they play well together. It’s just been a great pairing.”
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PHOTOS BY BRIAN FEES.

PHOTO GALLERY FROM THE MATCH: