Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Washington’s Peele and Stancill set for run at state title
By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
Tennis by nature is a quiet sport. There is no crack of the bat, no crunching hit from a linebacker and no last-second shot that swishes in the net right before the buzzer blares. So why is there so much racket coming from the Washington High School tennis courts?
The answer: Kevin Stancill and Ben Peele. As doubles partners on the Washington tennis team, Stancill and Peele have made plenty of noise this year. The Pam Pack pair has gone 20-5 this season, earned its second consecutive regional doubles crown and is poised to make its second straight appearance in the state tournament Friday at the Burlington Tennis Center.
After failing to earn a seed in last year’s state tournament, despite winning the regional title, the Pack duo was forced to pick out of a hat to see which team they would face in the first round. Unfortunately, the Pack drew the number one seed. After playing a well-contested match, Stancill and Peele were bounced by the eventual state champions.
Now in their second year as doubles partners, the two say they feel more prepared for the upcoming challenge.
“We have gotten a whole lot better,” Stancill said. “We’ve gotten better at serving, we’re communicating better and our whole game has just gotten better since last year. Last year when we started out we weren’t - we didn’t...”
“We weren’t all that good,” Peele chimed in.
Faster than you can say Andre Agassi, they exhibit what makes them excellent doubles partners. Where one stumbles, the other one is quickly there to back him up. While this practice works well during interviews, it’s even better on the court.
“At the net he is a whole lot better than I am,” Stancill said. “I usually hang back and let him work his magic at the net.”
“When he’s serving I like to be at the net jumping ready to dominate,” Peele said.
While their comments may be confident and up-front, Pam Pack coach Dale Peele said she would like to see them more up front, literally.
“Ben’s six feet tall and Kevin is six-foot-five, so if they are both at the net, it’s almost impossible to get the ball by them,” Dale Peele said. “However, getting them both at the net together is a task. If they could just get to the net together, there is not much anyone could do to beat them.”
Armed with strong serves and solid net play, it’s not opponents the two are worried about.
“If we play our hardest, we have the game to win it,” Stancill said. “We just have to have our mental game and stay focused.”
While Stancill and Peele have had an outstanding season, if they have one knock it’s that they both get too easily frustrated. That holds more so for Peele.
The Pack’s number two seed has all the tools that are valued in a young tennis player. Peele has lightning quick feet and a strong serve with the net game to match. However, when the ball isn’t bouncing his way, frustration clings to him like humidity on a 100 degree day in July — he just can’t shake it off.
Peele is infamous for on-court blowups, and totes a racket that has been beaten more times on the court than Anna Kournikova. Stancill is not above the occasional meltdown either, though his are more like firecrackers — medium size fuse, some noise, and then it’s over.
“I try and talk to them,” (Dale) Peele said. “I tell them if they are upset because they missed a shot, or if they are upset because they think it’s a bad call, that they can’t do anything about it. Tennis is such a mental game, so when the point’s over, it’s done. There is nothing you can do to get that point back. I try and encourage them to play every point like it’s the first one of the match.”
Peele said that if the two can stay focused, they have the capability to walk away from Burlington as state champions.
“If they play smart tennis, they have a chance to win it,” Peele said. “The competition is always good. There will be some great players but, if they play good tennis, they are certainly capable of doing it.”
If the Pack pair can play up to its potential, all the racket surrounding Washington tennis might be a celebration.
The answer: Kevin Stancill and Ben Peele. As doubles partners on the Washington tennis team, Stancill and Peele have made plenty of noise this year. The Pam Pack pair has gone 20-5 this season, earned its second consecutive regional doubles crown and is poised to make its second straight appearance in the state tournament Friday at the Burlington Tennis Center.
After failing to earn a seed in last year’s state tournament, despite winning the regional title, the Pack duo was forced to pick out of a hat to see which team they would face in the first round. Unfortunately, the Pack drew the number one seed. After playing a well-contested match, Stancill and Peele were bounced by the eventual state champions.
Now in their second year as doubles partners, the two say they feel more prepared for the upcoming challenge.
“We have gotten a whole lot better,” Stancill said. “We’ve gotten better at serving, we’re communicating better and our whole game has just gotten better since last year. Last year when we started out we weren’t - we didn’t...”
“We weren’t all that good,” Peele chimed in.
Faster than you can say Andre Agassi, they exhibit what makes them excellent doubles partners. Where one stumbles, the other one is quickly there to back him up. While this practice works well during interviews, it’s even better on the court.
“At the net he is a whole lot better than I am,” Stancill said. “I usually hang back and let him work his magic at the net.”
“When he’s serving I like to be at the net jumping ready to dominate,” Peele said.
While their comments may be confident and up-front, Pam Pack coach Dale Peele said she would like to see them more up front, literally.
“Ben’s six feet tall and Kevin is six-foot-five, so if they are both at the net, it’s almost impossible to get the ball by them,” Dale Peele said. “However, getting them both at the net together is a task. If they could just get to the net together, there is not much anyone could do to beat them.”
Armed with strong serves and solid net play, it’s not opponents the two are worried about.
“If we play our hardest, we have the game to win it,” Stancill said. “We just have to have our mental game and stay focused.”
While Stancill and Peele have had an outstanding season, if they have one knock it’s that they both get too easily frustrated. That holds more so for Peele.
The Pack’s number two seed has all the tools that are valued in a young tennis player. Peele has lightning quick feet and a strong serve with the net game to match. However, when the ball isn’t bouncing his way, frustration clings to him like humidity on a 100 degree day in July — he just can’t shake it off.
Peele is infamous for on-court blowups, and totes a racket that has been beaten more times on the court than Anna Kournikova. Stancill is not above the occasional meltdown either, though his are more like firecrackers — medium size fuse, some noise, and then it’s over.
“I try and talk to them,” (Dale) Peele said. “I tell them if they are upset because they missed a shot, or if they are upset because they think it’s a bad call, that they can’t do anything about it. Tennis is such a mental game, so when the point’s over, it’s done. There is nothing you can do to get that point back. I try and encourage them to play every point like it’s the first one of the match.”
Peele said that if the two can stay focused, they have the capability to walk away from Burlington as state champions.
“If they play smart tennis, they have a chance to win it,” Peele said. “The competition is always good. There will be some great players but, if they play good tennis, they are certainly capable of doing it.”
If the Pack pair can play up to its potential, all the racket surrounding Washington tennis might be a celebration.
 |
||
| Mother Nature ‘reigns’ on Pam Pack |
