West Florence tennis players chase individual titles

FLORENCE — The individual state tennis championships begin today at the Caughman Road Tennis Center, marking the end of the season.

And for the West Florence Knights, it also marks the end of an era.

Pruitt Williams and Bobby Browning each joined the varsity team as seventh graders, a year apart. In Williams’ six years and Browning’s five, the Knights have won six region titles and back-to-back state championships, both in dramatic fashion.

“That’s pretty much the best way you could finish your senior year,” Williams said. “I enjoy competing as an individual, and would like to win the (individual) title, but nothing beats winning it as a team.”

Williams has won more than 100 matches in his career at West. He and Browning have earned all-state honors during the past two individual state championships. The duo has also combined to be a stellar doubles team, losing just a handful of matches over the years.

And they’re each a big reason why the Knights have enjoyed so much recent success.

From rivals to champions

Browning and Williams each won their singles matches in the ’07 and ’08 state championships against Lexington, and then combined on the doubles win that gave the Knights the title each time.

“We started out really more as rivals, competing for that No. 1 spot on the team,” Williams said. “In recent years, though, we’ve stopped competing against each other and starting competing with each other.”

“I think we’ve both pushed ourselves to become better,” Browning said. “When you have someone you practice with who constantly forces you to stay on top of your game, and that makes you and the team better.”

The third set in this year’s title match showed how much the two have improved since they started, West Florence coach Charles Nelson said.

Falling behind 4-1, Williams and Browning battled back to take a 9-6 lead, only to watch it dwindle away to a 9-9 tie.

“That was the third match we’d gone to a third-set tiebreaker in,” Nelson said. “You usually hope to win two out of the three, but we managed to get them all. Everyone might have wondered why I didn’t split Bobby and Pruitt up in doubles, but they had won it for us before, and I knew they could do it again.”

The duo won the next two points for the win and the title. According to Williams and Browning, the second win was even better than the first.

“I don’t really know if we entered into this season with as many expectations as we did last year,” Browning said. “People thought that even though we beat them once, we couldn’t do it again.”

“Definitely more satisfying the second time,” Williams said. “Lexington really wanted us, and no one thought we stood a chance. It’s nice to able to prove them wrong.”

The energy man

While Browning and Williams were always a solid one-two punch, the Knights really came into their own with the addition of freshman Matthew Canelon last season.

Canelon provided crucial singles win in each state championship, both of which went to third-set tiebreakers.

“It was kind of nerve-wracking last year as a freshman, but I didn’t really feel too much pressure this time,” Canelon said. “I knew I had to be one of the guys to step up and help the team. That was my only goal last year and it’s carried over into this year.”

Nelson described Canelon as being “not your typical tennis player.”

“He’s very emotional and excitable,” Nelson said. “When he wins a point, he yells and gets excited. That kind of energy is something he feeds off of, and so do the other players.”

Canelon’s play improved so much as a sophomore, he was named the third-best player in the region, earning a trip to the individual state tournament.
“It’s a great honor, and I hope to earn all-state and be back here again,” Canelon said.

West vs. West?

With the format of the individual tournament, it’s possible Browning could wind up facing Williams in the quarterfinals. Or, Canelon could wind up facing another of his teammates should the cards fall right. None of them know their opponents until the draw is held today.

But none of them are concerned with that.

“We all know it’s a possibility,” Browning said. “But you just go there and have fun and try your best to win the match.“

“It would be a good match,” Williams said of his potential draw against Browning. “We both know each other’s games pretty well. But whoever wins will move on and that will be the end of it. We’re not going to hate each other for losing a match.“

For Nelson, who will also be the coach in the upcoming North-South match, having three players compete for the individual title is simply icing on the cake.

“A lot of coaches and players never even get to play in a state championship, let alone win two in a row,” West Florence coach Charles Nelson said. “It’s been a roller coaster of a year, but probably one of the most satisfying I’ve had as a coach. We’ve had a lot of good teams here, including the ones that won back-to-back titles in ’85 and ’86.

“These guys remind me a lot of them because of the way they play. They never give up. They’re all heart.”