BENTONVILLE -- The one area Will McCombs has tried to make improvements on his tennis game during the summer season has been the mental part.
His mental toughness was tested Friday afternoon during the Mattel Summer Junior Open State Championships at Memorial Park. He entered the tournament as the third seed in boys 18s singles, but he suffered a 6-4, 6-4 loss in the opening round to Spencer Kauffman of Hot Springs, who was one half of the Class 5A state championship doubles team last fall for Hot Springs Lakeside.
Mattel Summer Junior Open State Championships
at Pinnacle Country Club, Rogers and Memorial Park, Bentonville
Friday’s results
Boys 18 singles
First round — Walter Simpson, Little Rock def. Montgomery Mathews, Rogers 7-5, 6-3; Jef Simpson, Little Rock def. Robert Terry, Bella Vista 6-1, 6-1; Parker Stearns, Little Rock, def. Adam Breach, Rogers 6-0, 6-1; John Norton, Texarkana, Texas def. Adam Treece, Rogers, 6-1, 6-4; Spencer Kauffman, Hot Springs, def. William McCombs, Fayetteville 6-4, 6-4; Ryan Hargrove, Rogers, def. Marek Swieter, Rogers 6-0, 6-0.
Boys 16 singles
First round — Jack Vaughan, Rogers, def. Jack Ledbetter, Fort Smith 6-4, 6-1; Junius Ross, def. Jonathon Hart, Little Rock 6-2, 6-3; Quinn Sanders, Texarkana, def. Auguste Moisson, Rogers 6-0, 6-0; Anthony Kopek, Fayetteville, def. Jackson Runnels, Fayetteville 6-1, 6-2; Mason Leak, Rogers, def. James Speed, Rogers 6-0, 6-0; Zachary Humphries, Maumelle, def. Davis Foltz, Little Rock 6-0, 6-0; Michael Zheng, Rogers, def. David Abston, Rogers 6-2, 6-0; Jackson Thompson, Rogers, def. Seth Grady, Bentonville 6-3, 7-6; Srikar Chikkala, Bentonville, def. Neil Balasekaran, Rogers 6-3, 6-3; Samuel Niebanck, Lawrenceville, Ga., def. Ethan Nguyen, Rogers 6-1, 6-0; Jake Keefauver, Rogers, def. Mason Lane, Rogers 6-3, 6-3; AJ Rogers, Little Rock, def. Andrew Lei, Fayetteville 6-1, 6-2; Douglas Terry, Bella Vista, def. William Beck, Gamaliel 6-4, 6-3.
Second round — Quinn Sanders def. Junius Ross 6-1, 6-0; Kyle Hudson, Pottsville, def. Samuel Niebanck 6-0, 6-2; AJ Rogers def. Jake Keefauver 6-1, 6-1; Jacob Bridges, Little Rock, def. Douglas Terry 6-1, 6-1.
Boys 14s singles
First round — Jake Swinney, Rogers, def. Tucker Harris, Little Rock 6-0, 6-0; Andrew Schweitzer, Bentonville, def. Daniel Riabuchin, Bentonville 6-3, 6-2; Will Kistler, Rogers, def. Griffin Langford, Cave Springs 6-0, 6-0; Vikram Balasekaran, Rogers, def. Zeb Wilson, Mena 6-2, 6-0; Jack Mason, Fayetteville, def. Nick Fulton, Rogers 6-0, 6-2; Collin Matthews, Rogers, def. Elijah Pierce, Little Rock 4-6, 6-1, 1-0; Savion Phillips, Little Rock, def. Javan Childress, Bella Vista 7-6, 6-1; Hayden Shoemake, Centerton, def. Taylor Brandt, Bentonville 6-1, 6-0.
Boys 12s singles
First round — Cooper Gommel, Rogers, def. Adam Lorio, Benton 6-1, 6-4; Colin Clay, Concord, N.C., def. Graham Dolan, Hot Springs 7-6, 6-2; Nikolas Simpson, Cave Springs, def. Michael Mathias, Fayetteville, 6-1, 6-0; Evan Hart, Fayetteville, def. Neil Chatlani, Rogers 7-5, 4-6, 1-0; Sankalp Pandey, Bentonville, def. Zackary Tappana, Bentonville, 6-0, 6-2; Alexander Brandt, Fayetteville, def. Ian Phillips, Bentonville 6-0, 6-1; Alex Beckstead, Bentonville, def. Myers Hart, Fayetteville 6-0, 6-0; Jason Kusnowo, Bentonville, def. Deandre Ross, Little Rock 3-6, 6-4, 1-0.
Boys 10s singles
First round — Alex Patrick, Fayetteville, def. Konner King, Springdale 4-0, 4-1; Samuel Hardin, Bentonville, def. Henry Brandt, Fayetteville 4-1, 4-2.
Girls 14s singles
First round — Sarah Schneringer, Centerton, def. Gwyneth Gifford, Bentonville 6-3, 6-1; Jeanne Gearity, St. Cloud, Fla., def. Olivia Dolan, Hot Springs 6-0, 6-3; Jessica Hood, Bentonville, def. Kelsey Shiohira, Bentonville 6-3, 6-3; Ashlee Shinabery, Jonesboro, def. Caroline Long, Cave Springs 6-4, 6-0; Kristyn Tappana, Bentonville, def. Katelyn Joubert, Rogers 6-1, 6-2.
Girls 12s singles
First round — Katherine Files, Fort Smith, def. Allison Shinabery, Jonesboro 6-0, 6-1; Ashleigh Darnell, Conway, def. Anasazi Cervantes, Bentonville 6-3, 6-3.
Girls 10s singles
First round — Ashlyn Pursel, Rogers, def. Mary Brandt, Fayetteville 4-2, 4-1; Elizabeth Files, Fort Smith, def. Darby Allison, Bentonville 5-3, 5-3.
"That's always a really big thing for tennis," McCombs said. "When it comes down to it, it's always crunch time. The points that really matter in a match is whenever it comes down to your mental toughness.
"It's probably why I didn't get past the Class 7A state quarterfinals after a successful conference tournament. It's something I've been working on all summer."
McCombs, a senior at Fayetteville, has kept himself busy with the summer tennis circuit. He played in the Arkansas Junior State Qualifying tournament in May and earned a spot in the Southern Closed BG 18s Championships last month in Alabama.
Even though Friday's loss drops him into the consolation round, it will still prove to be a good tuneup for the upcoming high school season -- which is only a month away.
"It turns out that I play a lot more tennis during the offseason," McCombs said. "During high school tennis, you can only play a certain amount of hours, but during the offseason you can play as much as you want -- as long as you have the private coaches.
"This tournament helps because most of the players here, you'll see them again in a couple of months because they play in Class 7A tennis. It's great to play them before the high school season starts so you can pit yourself against them."
McCombs said it won't matter to him if he is used in singles play or in doubles action for Fayetteville. He's also hoping to have enough success this fall that it will help him take his game into the college level.
"My dad and my brother went to the Naval Academy, but we'll see," McCombs said. "I'm in the middle of the application process right now, and it would be awesome to play there."
Sports on 07/18/2015