GOSHEN – Tiffany Ren loves playing tennis, and has been doing so since she was 5 years old, but it’s not the end all, be all of her existence.
“I just play it and have fun,” Ren, 14, said. “That’s really all that sports are for me … just a hobby.’’
A freshman at Our Lady of Lourdes, Ren plays like she’s quite serious about it, though. For nearly two-and-a-half hours on Wednesday in her Section 9 tournament singles final with Washingtonville’s Ally Davis, Ren played with a quiet passion, never showing a bit of emotion as she was locked in a very competitive match. There was never more than one break of serve separating the young players but as a potential end neared, Ren’s demeanor started to get fired up.
First, it was a little fist pump as they neared the end of the second set. She shouted, “C’mon!” as she held serve to force a tie-break. And when Davis sprayed her final backhand wide, Ren screamed, “Yeah!” and let herself enjoy the moment.
“I was panicking probably more than anybody panicked in this entire facility, inside of my head,’’ Ren revealed. “I’m just not really used to expressing my anger that much. My excitement … I can’t really say anything about that,’’ she laughed.
Ren beat Davis, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3), in a final that lasted 2:33. It was a glorious match to witness, if you like pounding groundstrokes, maximum court coverage, very few unforced errors and defensive saves.
It was clear by match’s end that Davis had reached a limit of physical stamina – she opened the day with a three-set semifinal win over top-seeded Sasha Henesy of Middletown and allowed only an hour break in between matches. Davis took a fall at 3-3 during the tie-break, allowing an open-court smash by Ren and start of a four-point run to end the match.
“I just ran out of energy (after) my first match playing with Sasha,’’ Davis, 15, said. “My legs were feeling heavy and I was trying to keep it going, keep the energy up. It just wasn’t enough.’’
Davis said she wishes she had drawn Ren to the net more often earlier in the match because she sensed an unsteadiness on the approach shots.
In the first set, Ren and Davis exchanged service breaks to go 4-4 and then each held serve. Davis could not close out serve at 40-30 in game 11, with Ren gaining the critical break with three points. Davis had set point at 15-40 but Ren again rallied. The final two points were both chip shots that clipped the net, with Davis’ bid falling back while Ren’s climbed over and in for an excuse-me clincher.
Henesy, who won last week’s OCIAA championship, joins Ren and Davis at states as the consolation winner, 7-5, 6-4 over Newburgh’s Vivienne Bucci.
In the morning semifinals, Ren beat Bucci 6-0, 7-5, and Davis outlasted Henesy 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.
The state championships return to the fabled National Tennis Center in Flushing next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
kmcmillan@th-record.com
X / Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Lordes’ Tiffany Ren beats Ally Davis for Section 9 singles title
