One particular father on the scene Wednesday at Burns Park Tennis Center in North Little Rock seemed a bit more at ease than usual.
As Little Rock Catholic junior Parker Stearns worked his way past Greenwood senior Andrew Anderson to a 6-2, 6-3 victory in the quarterfinal round of the state high school Overall Tennis Tournament, his father, Chip Stearns, watched from a nearby sidewalk.
Parker Stearns is scheduled to play Jake Bridges of Pulaski Academy in the semifinal round at 10 a.m. today. Bridges advanced with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Seth Hernandez of Baptist Prep. Hunter Harrison of Pulaski Academy and Harrison Janes of Episcopal Collegiate are also scheduled for a semifinal match at 10 a.m. today, with the final scheduled for 1 p.m.
Harrison, the defending Overall champion, advanced with a 6-2, 6-2 quarterfinal victory over Kyle Hudson of Pottsville. Janes defeated Jack Vaughn of Rogers, 6-0, 6-1.
Chip Stearns, facility manager at Little Rock's Rebsamen Park Tennis Center, conversed with other parents and coaches as the match unfolded. He occasionally grimaced but otherwise seemed composed as his son's momentum surged or faltered. Part of Stearns' even keel, he said, was that results of high school tournaments do not bear as heavily on his son's tennis future as events on the United States Tennis Association schedule.
"High school is important, don't get me wrong, but for the most part, there are only a couple of college coaches who are even looking at this," Stearns said. "This has nothing to do with your ranking, but I still had a tough time watching the conference and state tournaments because he was expected to win. Expectations make it hard for me."
Stearns said that if his son and Harrison make the final, he could watch in comfort.
"I could watch and laugh the whole time," Stearns said. "Parker would be the underdog, no doubt. Hunter has established himself as being a little bit better than everyone else. That takes a lot of pressure off."
After the quarterfinal, Parker Stearns said it was the best he had seen Anderson play. After the match, Anderson seemed delighted to have kept it as close as he had.
"I thought I played really well, actually," Anderson said. "You know, he's one of the best players in the state. He's really good."
"His serve was really hard to break," Parker Stearns said. "I missed too many backhand returns, which I don't usually do, but he put it where I couldn't really hit it too well. He served well."
Chip Stearns' lone breach in a performance that otherwise demonstrated no more than typical parental concern occurred after his son misfired on a routine overhead slam that would have broken Anderson's serve and given Parker Stearns a 3-0 second-set lead. Instead, Anderson held serve and won the next game to tie 2-2.
"He will have trouble getting over that," Chip Stearns said. "It's hard for him to let things like that go. Now it's 2-1 instead of 3-1 against a kid with a pretty good serve."
"That was a big game," Anderson said. "That put me where I thought I might have a chance."
Parker Stearns said his father was probably correct.
"I was just being lazy there," he said. "I just kind of sat there and took it for granted. I said, 'Aw, this is easy.' ''
Anderson said Stern's game should serve him well in today's play.
"He's tough mentally," Anderson said. "He's a fighter. He's a great grinder. He's got a great forehand, a solid backhand, a solid serve, just an overall solid game."
Regardless, Chip Stearns said he hopes to maintain his relatively passive composure today.
"I probably shouldn't even watch," he said.
Sports on 10/27/2016