Ludovic Walter rode his booming serve to both the singles and doubles championships at the ITA Region II Championships in Chapel Hill, N.C. Sunday afternoon.
"It's pretty good because last year I lost in the quarterfinals," Walter said. "Last year I played three matches that [all went into] three sets, so I was really tired at the end of the tournament. The difference is that [now] I'm more fit."
Walter's stamina paid huge dividends, as he was able to overpower Wake Forest's heavy hitter, Derrick Spice, in the semifinals, 6-4, 7-6. Spice was the 2002 ACC Rookie of the Year, and was a two-time Division I state tennis champion in Ohio.
The duo exchanged games in the opening set until Walter broke Spice's serve and claimed the set. Spice raced to a 3-0 lead in the second set, but Walter rallied to take a 5-3 advantage. But the Demon Deacon fought back all the way into a tiebreaker, where Spice took a 6-4 lead.
"I saved the two set points and he had one more at 7-6," Walter said. "On my serve, I hit two really good serves and I was up 8-7, and on the match point, he hit a really good serve, and I hit a really good passing shot."
In the final, both players were drained, but Walter persevered and cruised to a 6-4, 6-2 victory over William & Mary's Jeff Kader.
Jason Zimmerman--a Division II Ohio state champion--teamed with Walter to take the doubles title with an 8-5 win over Clemson's duo of Jarmaine Jenkins and Nathan Thompson.
The duo has been formidable this fall.
"Our only loss since [the season began] was against the No. 2 team in the country," Walter said.
The duo from Clemson had ousted Duke's Peter Rodrigues and Jonathan Stokke 9-7 in the semifinals the previous day.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.