Pulling off the 5-0 sweep, however, was more of a challenge.

With Fry out, Catino was bumped up from doubles while senior James Kehrer and sophomore Teli Bobotas shifted to singles courts one and two respectively. The result was two difficult matches with varying degrees of back-and-forth.

Against Williamsport’s No. 1 in Shreshth Singh, Kehrer struggled to get much going early. After taking the first game of the match, he would drop his next four, with Singh winning six of the next seven to win the set, 6-2. Nonetheless, the Warrior’s poise went unaffected.

Amidst a back-and-forth second set, the senior would take a 4-3 lead and run with it, claiming the last two games of the set to extend the match. Then, after going down 4-1 in tiebreakers, he took complete control. He’d score nine of the next ten points to seal the deal, displaying great ball placement and a steady motor in the process.

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montoursville's James Kehrer returns a hit from Williamsport's Shreshth Singh at No. 1 singles at Montoursville Thursday.

“I just tried to keep my head in the game. I guess I just overcame it,” said Kehrer after his win. “[In tiebreakers], I just waited until a point where I could take advantage and win the point.”

It was a big win for the senior, with it propelling him one step closer to .500 at 4-5.

“He’s had some tough losses this season, like 5-7 and 4-6,” said Montoursville coach Shawn Gardner on Kehrer. “I’m glad he pulled that out.”

“I’m mostly just trying to keep my head in the game because tennis is a very mental sport,” said Kehrer. “I’m probably the same amount of confident but I’m happy that I won.”

On court two, Bobotas faced the opposite scenario, dominating the first set against Williamsport’s Spencer Sponhouse before his opponent rallied in the second. They’d elect to play a full third set, with Sponhouse heading into it with momentum.

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montoursville's Teli Bobotas returns a hit from Williamsport's Spencer Sponhouse at No. 2 singlesat Montoursville Thursday.

It wouldn’t take long for the script to flip, however.

After trading the first five games with Bobotas sporting the advantage, he’d take the next two to up his lead to 5-2. Sponhouse would take the first and third points of the set’s eighth game to get out to a 30-15 lead, but Bobotas kept responding.

They’d trade points to get to deuce before Bobotas rattled off the final two points to seal the deal. With the victory, the sophomore improved to 7-0 on the season.

“He started last year as a freshman and is coming along really well,” said Gardner on Bobotas. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s my No. 1 next year for sure. He’s got good strokes, and he knows how to win.”

Outside of those two matches, Montoursville effectively controlled the match and displayed its considerable depth in the process.

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montoursville's Teli Bobotas returns a hit from Williamsport's Spencer Sponhouse at No. 2 singles at Montoursville Thursday.

Even with its doubles duos flipped around, they came one game away from a clean slate, with Cullon Pauling and Rain Snyder securing a clean sweep at court two and Josh Wentzer and Ryan Matlack pulling off a gentlemen’s sweep at court one. And in just his third singles match of the season, Gio Catino dominated to secure his first singles win.

“We’ve got a good team overall all the way through the whole lineup, which really helps because we’ve only lost a few doubles matches the whole season,” said Gardner on the team. “I have a pretty deep team and two or three more guys that are almost equal to these guys that started.”

With six matches in the span of a week to cap off the regular season, Montoursville will have its hands full as it continues to try to build up momentum heading into the postseason. It goes into Friday’s road match against South Williamsport rocking a four-match win streak, including a 4-1 win over one of the best teams in the district in Hughesville.

Williamsport (1-8) will see a similar schedule next week as it continues to try to establish momentum. It recently pulled off its first win of the season against Milton on Monday and notably came close to scoring two points against a tough Montoursville squad. Its next action comes against Selinsgrove on Monday.

Montoursville 5,

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Williamsport's Shreshth Singh returns a hit from Montoursville's James Kehrer iat No. 1 singles at Montoursville Thursday.

Williamsport 0

SINGLES

1. James Kehrer (M) def. Shreshth Singh 2-6, 6-3 (10-5). 2. Teli Bobotas (M) def. Spencer Sponhouse 6-1, 4-6, 6-2. 3. Gio Catino (M) def. Joseph Hillman 6-0, 6-2.

DOUBLES

1. Josh Wentzer/Ryan Matlack (M) def. Spencer Kaar/Howard Chen 6-1, 6-0. 2. Cullon Pauling/Rain Snyder (M) def. Ian Sykes/Michiah Nisbet 6-0, 6-0.

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Williamsport's Shreshth Singh returns a hit from Montoursville's James Kehrer at No. 1 singles at Montoursville Thursday.

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Williamsport's Spencer Sponhouse returns a hit from Montoursville's Tele Bobotas at No. 2 singles at Montoursville Thursday.

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Williamsport's Spencer Sponhouse returns a hit from Montoursville's Teli Bobotas at No. 2 singles at Montoursville Thursday.