The last time Parkland and Freedom met on a tennis court, it was for the District 11 Championship and the Patriots came out on top. This time, their meeting came early in the season, with both teams trying to gain a psychological edge by picking up a win before another potential showdown in the postseason.

A quick look at the score might give the impression that Parkland simply dominated on the courts, as the Trojans earned a 7-0 win. A closer look shows that they had to battle for just about every match, with some key matches going to three full sets before Parkland picked up wins.

At one and two singles, Nick Kshatri and Nate Lyman had to go three sets before picking up wins, with Kshatri winning the final set 7-5 over Aidan Bodeo-Lomicky. Lyman battled back from a 6-2 loss in the opening set to take the final two sets 7-5 and 6-3. Parkland had an easier time in doubles, winning all four matches in straight sets.

“They’re among the best,” said coach Mike Hingston of the team’s opponent. “It was 7-0, but it was a lot closer than that score indicates, especially since there were hard fought three-setters. It’s a quality win when you’re talking about a team that’s the defending district champion. To get this win has to make you feel good.”

In number-three singles, Aneesh Kapoor beat Ronak Desai 6-4, 6-4, with the last set being 4-4 before Kapoor rallied to take the last two games of the set. Kapoor, in his first varsity season as a singles player, is now 3-0 in the early going and is enjoying playing singles.

“All offseason I worked on singles more, but playing doubles definitely improved my volley, so I think that really helped my singles game,” said Kapoor. “I’m pretty confident and it helps tremendously that we have such a deep team, so that even if I were to lose, we could still win the match and that helps.”

As often is the case at Parkland’s home courts, the wind was a definite factor. It blew very hard throughout the afternoon, affecting both teams. The fact that Parkland routinely has to deal with those winds seemed to help at times, but Kapoor says it’s never easy to get completely comfortable.

“I just had to stay consistent,” he said. “The wind kind of evens the playing field between players, so I just kind of worked to keep the ball in and make good shots. It’s kind of hard to get used to the wind up here, because it’s always a little bit different, but you sort of get used to playing in these conditions.”

“He’s got a very good all-court game, playing doubles the last two years helped his net game, so he’s comfortable coming in. A lot of times, at number-three, you’ll see guys who will stay back and just hit from the baseline, but he’s got a nice all-court game where he likes to move in and be aggressive. He’s very athletic and moves around the court well and he has that competitive streak in him that I like.”

The win puts Parkland at 3-0 in the early going, as the Trojans head to a tournament in Phoenixville this week before returning to Eastern Pennsylvania Conference matches next week when they play at Pocono Mountain East and Allen before hosting Stroudsburg next Friday.

“I’m very proud of Nick and Nate and Aneesh,” said Hingston. “Nate in particular lost the first set 6-2 to a high quality opponent and proceeded to play two great sets and I think that’s really going to boost him forward. I told the team that this was a statement win. It sends a message that we’re pretty good.

“Now, we have to see what happens, but you’ve got to feel good about this. We could see them again and shrink it down to a 3-2 format, so you still need to play well.

“They have our attention because it wasn’t like we blew them off the court and it will be easy if we face them again, because nothing could be further from the truth. We respect them as an opponent.”