That is, until it became apparent that Hendersonville's Tyler Grove would be playing doubles this post-season.
Grove won the state 1A singles championship last season and his presence certainly disturbed the balance of power in the doubles bracket at this past weekend's 1A West Region tournament.
Grove and teammate Robert Beal defeated Callaway and Lyon in the doubles semifinals and then cruised past Roberson and John in the title match. That now makes the Hendersonville duo the team to beat from the West in this weekend's state individual championships in Cary.
"They were as good a doubles team as I've ever seen," East Wilkes coach Aaron Simmons said. "It was the toughest doubles draw I've ever seen since I've been around the program, even as a player. It was an extremely loaded field."
The East Wilkes and Mount Airy duos still will get their chance at playing for a state crown. All of the semifinalists in doubles advance to the eight-team event.
Lyon and Callaway punched their ticket with a couple of wins in Friday's early rounds. They beat Taylor Jones and Josh Caspar of Gray Stone Day 6-2, 6-2 in their opener, then came back in the quarterfinals to fell J.J. Horner and Mitchell Cagle of East Montgomery 6-2, 6-4.
The East Montgomery tandem was 15-2 until Friday's loss. The Cardinals played to their strengths most of that match, with Lyon dominating on the baseline and Callaway a menace at the net. Callaway also had six or seven big service aces at key times, Simmons said.
Callaway and Lyon actually had a 4-2 lead on Grove and Beal in the first set of the semifinals and were playing "very high quality tennis," Simmons said. But the Cardinals lost a back and forth game, barely missing out on a chance to get ahead 5-2. Then when Hendersonville broke Houston's serve for a 4-4 tie, the momentum shifted.
The East Wilkes pair didn't win another game, falling 6-0 in the second set. Grove and Beal needed little time in beating John and Roberson in the title match 6-1, 6-0.
"It doesn't show it in the score but every game minus two or three went to deuce," Simmons said of his players' match against Grove and Beal.
After the frustrating loss, Callaway and Lyon had to turn around and play a seeding match against familiar rivals Logan Oliver and Cody Miller of Alleghany. The two teams met in the semifinals of the conference tournament as well as twice in the regular season.
The East Wilkes players overcame a sluggish to start to take the all-important victory 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 -- giving them the West's No. 3 seed for the state tournament. They'll play the East's No. 2 team in Friday's opener. The Alleghany pair will play the East's top seed.
Taylor Ward of East Wilkes qualified for the regionals in singles but was not able to play this weekend because of AP testing. Elkin's Sarang Shah and Tyler Smith lost their regional doubles opener to East Montgomery pair.
The state 1A tournament is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. on Friday at the Cary Tennis Center. Simmons has looked ahead and noticed rain in the forecast for Friday. He said wouldn't mind if matches get moved to NC State's indoor facility, since his top girls doubles team of Jessie Elmore and Brianna Fulp finished second in the state on the Wolfpack's indoor courts in the fall.
"Maybe I'm sentimental but I wouldn't mind if we played inside," Simmons said.
1A West Region Tennis Tournament
Friday & Saturday * at Gastonia
First Round: Ethan Lyon/Houston Callaway d. Taylor Jones/Josh Casper (Gray Stone Day) 6-2, 6-2
Quarterfinals (State Qualifying Match): Lyon/Callaway d. J.J. Horner/Mitchell Cagle (East Montgomery) 6-2, 6-4
Semifinals: #2 Seed Tyler Grove/Robert Beal (Hendersonville) d. Lyon/Callaway 6-4, 6-0
Third-Place Match: Lyon/Callaway d. Logan Oliver/Cody Miller (Alleghany) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
Finals: Grove/Beal (Hendersonville) d. #1 Seed Nicholas John/Dusty Roberson (Mount Airy) 6-0, 6-1
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