Tigers put up fight in defeat

05/01/24 Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski /
Hollidaysburg’s Garrett Bouchard (right) flips his racquet after a set against top-seeded Mark Sandow and Peter Novikov of State College in the District 4-6 Class 3A Boys Doubles Tennis Championship.

By John Hartsock

jhartsock@altoonamirror.com

A Hollidaysburg Area High School team had won the previous three District 4-6 Class 3A boys doubles championships prior to Wednesday’s championship match at Mansion Park.

But although the Golden Tigers’ second-seeded squad of senior Ben Johnson and sophomore Garret Bouchard came up a bit short in their bid to extend their school’s streak of doubles titles, their effort and spirit certainly left nothing to be desired.

Both teams left it all on the court on a beautiful afternoon under radiant sunshine, as State College’s top-seeded tandem of juniors Mark Sandow and Peter Novikov held off the Johnson-Bouchard duo, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

Wednesday’s victory advances Sandow and Novikov into the PIAA Class 3A state doubles championships May 24-25 at Hershey’s Racquet Club.

Perhaps State College coach Jane Borden’s assessment summed up Wednesday’s matchup best.

“Today was an exciting doubles match, and all four players played very well,” Borden said. “It was a very tough final, and I am actually proud of all four of the guys for playing the way that they did.”

Hollidaysburg coach Brian Denis was pleased with his team’s effort as well.

“Today is somewhat bittersweet, because we would have liked to have won four straight district titles,” Denis said. “But I’m really proud of the way that our guys played. It was a nip-and-tuck match the whole way. I’m really happy for Ben and Garret. They’ve both had outstanding seasons, with only one loss between the two of them.”

State College broke out of a 4-4 tie in the first set to win, 6-4, before Hollidaysburg returned the favor by posting a 6-4 victory in the second set.

“I thought that we played very smoothly while winning three matches on Tuesday, and I was pretty confident that we could carry that into today’s championship match,” said Johnson, who was also on a second-place doubles team last year that lost to another Hollidaysburg squad in the district championship match.

“We managed to pull together and win the second set after losing the first, before, unfortunately, (State College) came roaring back to win the final set,” Johnson added. “I was really proud of the way my doubles teammate Garret Bouchard played today in what was his first career championship match. He played very well today.”

Bouchard admitted to having to overcome some early jitters.

“I was nervous at the beginning, but the nerves faded in the second and third sets,” Bouchard said. “It was a good match, and I thought that we played well, but we just couldn’t win it at the end.”

State College never trailed in the third set, building a 4-1 lead before Hollidaysburg narrowed the margin to 4-3. State College responded by closing strong to close out the decisive 6-3 victory.

“I am so happy,” Novikov said. “This is the first district championship that I’ve ever won, and I really enjoyed it. But it was also a very tough match, and (Hollidaysburg) gave us a good match. It was really stressful, with a lot of ups and downs.”

Sandow agreed.

“It was a really stressful, close match,” Sandow said. “I was somewhat worried during the second set, but we’ve been improving as a doubles team as the season has progressed.”

The intensity and competitiveness of Wednesday’s matchup came as no surprise to Denis, whose entire Hollidaysburg team will enter the District 4-6 Class 3A team tournament next week. Hollidaysburg is the second-seeded team in that event, while State College will be the top-seeded team.

“Today was a very competitive match that featured really good quality doubles play,” Denis said. “State College is always a very good, well-coached program, and we had won the last three doubles championships. So this is what you get and this is what you expect when two good teams play each other.”

Mark Sandow, SC, def. Ben Johnson-Garret Bouchard, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.