Godwin boys oust Robinson, reach state semifinals

For three years in a row, Mills Godwin boys tennis coach Tom Hoy and the Eagles have walked across the court at the close of a Virginia High School League state match against James Robinson of Fairfax to congratulate the Rams on a victory.

The handshake came twice after state finals in 2006 and 2008. The Eagles lost in the semifinals in 2007.

" Too many times we had to congratulate them. Today, I was going to strut over there," Hoy said.

Senior Kevin McMillen's point in the No. 2 singles gave the Eagles a 4-2 lead, and the No. 3 doubles team of Arjun Karthikeyan and David Caravati earned the clinching point in two tiebreaker sets for a 5-2 victory yesterday at Mills Godwin.

Godwin, the Central Region champion, advanced to the semifinals Friday at noon at Huntington Park in Newport News. Central Region runnerup Deep Run will be there too after eliminating Northern Region champion Thomas Jefferson Science & Technology by the same 5-2 score.

The Eagles and Rams met in yesterday's quarterfinals because of preset pairings that matched the Northern and Central regions. The Rams traveled to western Henrico as the Northern runner-up.

"Realistically, the Northern and Central regions are the strongest," Hoy said. "Winning this round was key."

Robinson won the No. 1 and No. 3 singles in straight sets. Mills Godwin won Nos. 4-6 in straight sets. McMillen was up early in the first set against David Castellow, hit a lull, then closed it out. He was up again in the second set, hit a lull and wound up losing it. Castellow went up 2-1 in the third set.

"Eddie Parker [assistant coach] gave me some good coaching," McMillen said. "He told me to hold your serve, just try to do the best you can to find an opportunity to break him. I just tried to focus on that, stay calm in the moment as much as everyone was cheering; it makes you really nervous, but I managed to pull it out. A few points here or there could have made a difference."

A 4-2 lead instead of tied at 3-3 after the singles proved decisive.

"We're very confident in our doubles lineup. We feel like we could have won all three, but knowing you only have to win one is a big difference," Hoy said.

Karthikeyan, who has been dealing with a shoulder injury, and Caravati fell behind 2-5 in the opening set while the McMillen-Castellow match was still playing out. The Eagles duo rallied to square the match and won the first-set tiebreaker 7-4.

They held a 5-3 lead with the serve in the second set before the Rams rallied to force another tiebreaker, which the Eagles won 7-4. Karthikeyan provided the winning volley.

"It felt good. I kind of felt like David deserved to get it, but I had to redeem myself for all the shots I'd missed," Karthikeyan said.

Beating Robinson has been the goal all season.

"Oh, my God. To win against Robinson is a plus to progress in the state tournament," McMillen said. "With Godwin tennis, you have to win a state championship almost every other year. We have gone three years without winning because of Robinson."

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS

Mills Godwin 5, James Robinson 2

Singles: Steven Hardy (R) d. Kyle Parker 6-4, 6-4; Kevin McMillen (MG) d. Kevin Castellow 7-5, 3-6, 6-2; Sam Coster (R) d. Michael Baxter 6-2, 6-2; Michael Holt (MG) d. Dakota Holloway 6-1, 6-2; Zack King (MG) d. David Smiley 6-4, 6-1; Anthony Pelesis (MG) d. David Eackloff 6-1, 6-3.

Doubles: Arjun Karthikeyan-David Caravati (MG) d. Holloway-Smiley 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4).