Cornett upset by Cyclones' Reece

By Matt Hill
STAR STAFF
mhill@starhq.com

   Having to face one of the state's top Class AA boys tennis players on Thursday, Elizabethton's David Reece didn't back down from the challenge.
   Reece played quite possibly the match of his life in a 6-4, 6-0 upset of Johnson County's Adam Cornett at the Elizabethton High School Tennis Center.
   Overall, the Cyclone boys won the match 8-1, while the EHS girls pitched a 9-0 shutout.
   The shocking win came just two days after Reece was upset himself by Sullivan Central's Brad Huber.
   Despite being the underdog, Reece had enough confidence to know he could win the match.
   "I'm pleased with my performance today," Reece said. "I knew I could pull it out as long as I played my game and stuck to my game plan."
   Reece and Cornett battled back and forth in the first set, producing some great rallies.
   The two players were on serve at 5-4, but Reece stepped his game up to break Cornett and win the first set.
   Reece didn't lose a game after that, as his serve and his strokes were clicking on all cylinders.
   "I really stepped it up today," Reece said. "I'm happy with how I played. I had a rough day out here Tuesday, and I just wanted to come out and get some momentum going into the rest of the season."
   Cornett was considered the favorite to win the District Tournament coming up in a few weeks, so Reece couldn't be happier beating a player that he has a ton of respect for.
   "Adam's a class act guy," Reece said. "I'm really glad I got a quality win over him today."
   Cornett didn't feel good about the way he played, but credited Reece for giving his best shot.
   "He played very well," Cornett said. "I'm used to playing indoors, and he's been playing outdoors, and he used that to his advantage today. He played better than me, and I accept that."
   "I'll learn from this. I've already beaten the guy from Unicoi. I've just got to suck this one up, come back out, and try to beat him next time."
   The match of the day might have been played between Johnson County's Justin Genaille and Elizabethton's Jamis Gouge.
   Gouge had to make a furious rally, but ended up defeating Genaille 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
   Gouge thought the Cyclones' conditioning program helped him win the match.
   "I enjoyed it," Gouge said. "I'm just glad Coach (Danny) O'Quinn has stressed conditioning this year, because I was able to stay with it the whole match. I'm just glad all that running that I've done this year paid off. I didn't enjoy it at first, but I see why we did it now."
   Curtis Brumit, Devin Johnson and Jordan Peters all won for the Cyclones. Sean Snyder took a victory by default.
   The Longhorns' only win came in doubles with a victory by James Cox and Harrison Hutchinson.
   "It was good for those two," Johnson County head coach Ryan Arnold said. "It will help their confidence, because they need it. They're both first year players. It may prove that they're going to win some matches this year."
   Amanda Pike, Liz Dove, Allison Parlier, Abby Bremer, Erin Rogers and Ashley Street all combined to lose only three games in singles. Kayla Culler joined them in the win column by teaming up with Street for a doubles victory.
   The win was very special for Street, who is a first-year player for the Lady Cyclones.
   Street feels like she's getting better every match.
   "I think I've progressed a lot since my first match," Street said.
   Overall, the Lady Cyclones lost just five games in nine matches.