Boys tennis: Brunswick sweeps Medina in GCC matchup

MEDINA — Brunswick boys tennis player Ben Kraft knows what it feels like to win an individual title at the Greater Cleveland Conference Tournament. Now he wants to experience winning a team championship. The defending second singles champion, Kraft downed Medina's Christiaan Basson 6-4, 6-0 at that position Monday to lead the Blue Devils to a 5-0 GCC sweep of the Bees. Brunswick improved to 4-1, 2-0, while inexperienced Medina, which played much better than the team score indicates, fell to 1-3, 0-2. "Winning the GCC definitely makes it a lot easier for me," said Kraft, a senior who improved to 4-1 on the season. "I have a whole year under my belt, so I know what to expect. "(GCC favorite) Shaker Heights is very talented, but if we're playing really well I think we can give them a run for their money." On a day where a strong wind was blowing across the court and sometimes from behind the north baseline, it took the 5-foot-11, 160-pound Kraft awhile to figure out the conditions and the left-handed Basson. "His serve had a lot of spin, and it exaggerated into the wind," Kraft said. "He won almost every game on his serve in the first set, but the wind died down in the second set and I was able to get his serve under control. "The wind was much higher in the first set. Balls would come across your body and it was hard to make solid contact." Medina had its chances at third singles and both doubles spots, but couldn't win points — or games — when it mattered most. Bees No. 3 man Ryan Pierce led 4-1 in the first set before falling 6-4, 6-4 to Brunswick's Sam Dalessandro, while the Medina second doubles team of Austin Krahe and Ryan Harrison led 5-2 in the second set before falling 6-3, 7-5 to the Blue Devils' Ben Watkins and Sebastian Kotar. The Medina first doubles team of Jake Krahe and Noah Welsh also played well at times but fell 6-1, 7-6 (4) to Andrej Devic and Cotton Meade. In the marquee match at first singles, where great sportsmanship was evident throughout, Brunswick's Tyler Berg downed the Bees' Wyatt McRitchie 6-1, 6-4. "Tennis is full of a lot of rude players," said Berg, a junior and returning All-Gazette pick. "I'm trying to get better at being polite. Today was a fun match." When action ended on Court 1 and the players shook hands at the net, McRitchie, a senior making the difficult jump from first doubles to No. 1 singles, told Berg, "That was the most fun I've had all season." "It was fun to stay competitive," said McRitchie, who fell to 1-3. "We kept hitting the ball back and forth and had some good points." Like in every other match, the wind was a factor in the first singles meeting. "Normally my serve is a weapon, but the wind took that away from me," Berg said after improving to 2-3. "(On groundstrokes), a tennis ball is so light, the more height you get on it the more it will get into your opponent's body. The first set I prioritized that, but the second set I stopped doing it and he took control." Down 5-2 in the second set, McRitchie won a pair of games to make the match interesting but couldn't force a third set. "I just tried to keep it to his backhand and be more aggressive," McRitchie said. "If I had pushed it a little sooner, I might have been able to get more points." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on X. Brunswick 5, Medina 0 Singles: Tyler Berg (B) d. Wyatt McRitchie, 6-1, 6-4; Ben Kraft (B) d. Christiaan Basson, 6-4, 6-0; Sam Dalessandro (B) d. Ryan Pierce, 6-4, 6-4. Doubles: Andrej Devic/Cotton Meade (B) d. Jake Krahe/Noah Welsh, 6-1, 7-6 (4); Ben Watkins/Sebastian Kotar (B) d. Austin Krahe/Ryan Harrison, 6-3, 7-5. Records: Brunswick (4-1, 2-0), Medina (1-3, 0-2).