Younes, Barton a part of championship Tigers team
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By John Hartsock
jhartsock@altoonamirror.com
Thursday was an historic and memorable day for the Hollidaysburg Area High School boys tennis team in so many ways.
For the first time in school history, the Golden Tigers boasted two boys doubles teams in the district finals, and Thursday's District 6 Class 3A championship match was a very hard-fought affair, with the top-seeded team of seniors Nate Barton and Jadd Younes logging a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 three-set victory over the squad of senior Haddy Obeid and junior Ben Johnson.
Barton became the first Hollidaysburg boys player in program history to become a three-time district champion in either doubles or singles competition, winning the district doubles title with Younes for the second straight year after teaming with Brian Johnson for the district doubles crown two years ago.
"It feels surreal in a way,'' Barton said. "I always wanted to win just one district title, and now to be part of a doubles team that has won three is a great accomplishment.''
Younes had an equal hand in that accomplishment.
"We play as a team and encourage each other,'' said Barton, who has also been a two-time District 6 singles runner-up during his high school career.
"We showed a lot of teamwork today,'' Barton said of his cohesiveness with Younes. "We started off a bit slow, but once we found our rhythm, things went well.''
The match, which was originally scheduled for the Hollidaysburg tennis facility, was moved inside to the Summit Tennis and Athletic Club because of mid-afternoon rain, and all four players felt right at home on the court where they have practiced and played many times.
"All four of us are friends, and because of that, the pressure of playing in a championship match was off,'' Younes said. "Everybody on our team has one another's backs, and we all push each other to become the best players that we can be.''
Obeid and Johnson became a great story in their own right this week. Entering the doubles tournament as an unseeded team, the duo knocked off the second-seeded State College team in the first round and third-seeded Altoona in the semifinals this past Tuesday to punch their ticket into the championship match.
"We surprised a lot of people,'' Johnson said. "We kept our momentum going right into this championship match.
"They were better than us baseline to baseline, and we were trying to avoid (getting into that style of play),'' Johnson said of the winning team. "In the first set, we were able to do that, but in the next two sets, not as much.''
Obeid appreciated becoming part of school tennis history.
"I thought it was awesome for our two teams to meet in the finals -- the first time in school history that two boys tennis teams were able to do that,'' Obeid said.
Both teams acquitted themselves well.
"For both our teams to make it to the district doubles final is phenomenal for our program,'' Denis said. "This is a special day for our program, and both teams played a very competitive, athletic match today.
"Ben and Haddy had an incredible run knocking off the second and third-seeded teams in the district, and Nathan and Jadd had a big target on their backs coming into this tournament as the defending champions and the top seed, but they took care of business today,'' Denis added.
Barton and Younes will now move on to the PIAA Class 3A doubles tournament against the District 1 runner-up team from the Philadelphia area in a first-round match that will be contested on May 25 at the Hershey Racquet Club.
"We lost in the first round of state doubles last year in a close match,'' Younes said of Barton and himself. "We're confident that we can go further this year.''
The entire Hollidaysburg team will enter the District 6 team tournament next week. The second-seeded Golden Tigers will host third-seeded Altoona next Tuesday, with the winner moving on to visit top-seeded defending team champion State College in the championship match next Wednesday.
"The team tournament is our focus now,'' Denis said.