Marble Falls’ Knight earns bronze medal in boys singles
A decade drought of a Mustang earning a medal at the tennis district tournament ended for Marble Falls High School on March 30-31 thanks to senior Brody Knight.
Knight finished third in boys singles at the District 25-5A tournament and had a shot at advancing to the Class 5A Region IV tournament in a playback match.
Knight, who was seeded No. 4, lost to the eventual district champion but hadn’t faced the players pitted against each other in the other semifinal. So when the player who beat Knight in his semifinal defeated the player from the other semifinal for the district championship, Knight faced the loser for the right to go to regionals and lost 4-6, 2-6.
It was Knight’s fifth match in two days where he earned a 3-1 record in the main draw and 3-2 overall.
“(Tournament officials) were generous and gave an hour between most matches but after four long matches, no amount of break was gonna make much of a difference,” the Mustang said. “We were both really tired. I played all right. It could’ve been closer if I hadn’t played four matches before.”
Brody said the key to his success was believing in his preparation and instincts.
“I actually didn’t practice all that much beforehand,” he said. “I trusted my game and knew any last minutes changes would throw me off, so I stuck with what was working. I knew I had to make the opponents play my game — a slow consistent game — rather than a fast-paced, inconsistent game. I played to my opponents’ weaknesses, and it worked.”
Not a bad finish for a player who contemplated retiring his tennis shoes for spiked golf shoes months earlier. Brody’s district bronze medal in singles is the program’s first since Connor Docherty earned a silver in 2009 as a sophomore.
“It feels pretty good thinking about all I’ve accomplished despite not even wanting to play tennis this year,” he said. “I am proud of myself for pushing through and overcoming the physical and mental obstacles that came with it. I like doing things to get good then I often get bored, which is what happened with tennis. I felt I hit a plateau. I was actually spending most of my time this year playing golf, which cut down on my time playing tennis. (That) is why I’m proud of myself for sticking it out and actually getting better and succeeding, which is ultimately what I was working for the past four years, and I was about to let that slip away.”
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