All Jonathan Roman had to do was have a little faith.
After dropping his first two matches of Saturday’s Emporia High Invitational, Roman took some time to figure out exactly what it was that was holding him back.
He serve was shaky and his forehand — his best shot — wasn’t right.
But there was something else.
“I think it was a case of nerves,” he said. “I was forcing things the first two matches.”
With that knowledge, Roman went back out on the court determined to trust his shot and armed with the mindset that he was going not into a tournament match, but into practice.
It paid off, as he finished his day by winning his final two matches — an 8-1 victory over Andover Central’s Brendan Young and an 8-3 win over Salina South’s Bret Higgins — giving Roman a fifth-place finish at the No. 2 singles spot.
“The last two matches, I just let it go and had faith that they (my shots) were going to go in, and they did,” Roman said. “It was basically like being at practice and not caring whether it goes in or not, but then hoping it does.
“If I would have played the first two matches like I played the last two, I would have gotten better than fifth.”
Emporia as a team finished fifth in the eight-team field. Blue Valley North’s No. 1 squad took the team title.
The top finish of the day for EHS went to the No. 2 doubles tandem of David Nasrazadani and Chase Miller, as the pair finished 2-1 in pool play before dropping the third-place match to Salina South’s Chris Arpin and Jordan Robl in a tiebreaker, 8-7(7-4).
“We could have done better in that last match, but overall, it was a good performance,” Nasrazadani said. “We started off a little rocky, and then we progressed and got better and had a pretty solid day.”
At No. 1 singles, Chris Reimer placed sixth with a 1-3 record on the day, with his lone victory coming in pool play against Valley Center’s David Alley, 8-5. Reimer dropped his fifth-place match to Robert Tung of Blue Valley North’s second team, 8-5.
Emporia also got a sixth-place finish out of its No. 1 doubles team of Mark DeDonder and Sergio Segura, as the pair also ended with a 1-3 record. DeDonder and Segura defeated Valley Center’s Braiden Fiene and Ryan Fluker in pool play to record their only victory.
The Emporia High boys are back in action Tuesday when they travel to the Arkansas City Tournament.
Emporia High Invitational
EHS Individual Results
No. 1 Singles
Shawn Khosla, BVN1, def. Chris Reimer, Emp, 8-6; Reimer def. David Alley, VC, 8-5; Richard Lee, And, def. Reimer, 8-0; Robert Tung, BVN2, def. Reimer, 8-5.
No. 2 Singles
Sam Wolock, BVN1, def. Jonathan Roman, Emp, 8-3; Brett Seidl, VC, def. Roman, 8-4; Roman def. Brendan Young, And, 8-1; Roman def. Bret Higgins, SS, 8-3.
No. 1 Doubles
Mitch Cain/Camoron Daniels, BVN1, def. Mark DeDonder/Sergio Segura, Emp, 8-4; DeDonder/Segura def. Braiden Fiene/Ryan Fluker, VC, 8-2; Trent Carter/Doug Padzensky, And, def. DeDonder/Segura, 8-7(7-3); Chris Arpin/Jordan Robl, SS, def. DeDonder/Segura, 8-7(7-4).
No. 2 Doubles
Adam Loving/John Hagen, BVN1, def. David Nasrazadani/Chase Miller, Emp, 8-1; Nasrazadani/Miller def. Jeremy Goering/Micheal Williams, VC, 8-6; Nasrazadani/Miller def. Daniel Lee/Aaron Wegner, And, 8-1; Kevin Frantz/Adam Cassady, LFS, def. Nasrazadani/Miller, 8-7(7-1).