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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels April 23, 2004 Chang leads Grizz past Panthers By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Jer-Wei Chang has state tournament aspirations. If he keeps playing like he did Thursday, he may just get there. Satsuki Doi | Ashland Daily Tidings Ashland No. 2 singles player Jer-Wei Chang rips a backhand back to South Medford's Brent Swanson Thursday at Hunter Park in Ashland. Chang, Ashland High's No. 2 singles player, uncorked winner after powerful winner en route to another dominating Southern Oregon Conference tennis victory. This time, his victim was South Medford's Brett Swanson, who was promptly dismissed 6-2, 6-1, under a cloudless sky at Hunter Park. Chang's victory helped the Grizzlies topple the Panthers 5-3 and improve to 6-2-1 overall. Swanson took advantage of three Chang unforced errors to break his serve at love in the third game of the second set and make it 2-1. But it was all Chang from that point on, as Swanson struggled to keep the ball in play against an array of heavy groundstrokes and sharp volleys. "I felt like I played good," said Chang, who improved to 3-1 in league matches. "I missed some volleys I could have made, but overall I was pretty happy with how I played." In other singles matches: Ashland No. 1 Evan Schleining destroyed Craig Johnson 6-0, 6-1; Ashland No. 3 Kyle Lachmund downed Cameron Guthrie 6-1, 6-3; and at No. 4, Gabe Hoxmeier of Ashland beat Jordan Wright, 6-1, 7-5. South won three of four doubles matches, including pair of three setters. South Medford's No. 1 team of Ben Works and Justin Stevens defeated Ross Mather and Corey Lescher, 6-4, 6-1; at No. 3 doubles, South's Matthew White-Hoppe and Sean Rotbart beat Jack Turner and Rayl Smith, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2; and at fourth doubles, Loren Woodley and Jaron Ableson of Ashland toppled Luke Snelling and Jason Folda, 6-3, 7-5. In the most competitive match of the day, Nate Atkinson and Nekoda Dietz, South Medford's No. 2 doubles team, charged back after losing the first set to edge Nick Spurlock and Brenden Curry, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5). Atkinson and Dietz won five of six games in the third set to turn a 4-1 deficit into a 6-5 lead. Ashland held on Spurlock's serve to force a tie-breaker. There, Ashland took a 5-4 lead on Curry's forehand winner, then watched South win the next three points to clinch the match. Atkinson's hard first serve to Spurlock's backhand on match point proved too difficult to handle, as his return fell short of the net. Points were much easier to come by for Chang, who was constantly on the attack, especially against Swanson's second serve. With his first serve nowhere to be found, Swanson spent most of the afternoon relying on a dink second serve. Those short, soft serves proved easy prey for Chang, who pounced from close range to keep Swanson off balance. "I killed his confidence by, when he missed his first serve, I'd go in and step up really far," Chang said. "So, that's why he missed pretty much all of his first serves in the second set, so that helped me out a lot." Ashland next faces Klamath Union, Saturday at Klamath Falls. The Grizzlies' next home match is a big one: Tuesday against conference rival North Medford. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams