BY RYAN O’CONNOR
He was expecting the call, but he still had his fingers
crossed it wouldn’t come.
It did.
CJ Beck picked up the phone.
“Remember that bet you made,” said the voice on the other line. “We didn’t forget.”
So Beck paid up.
West High School’s No. 2 boys tennis player shaved his legs.
Well, sort of. He cropped a lined pattern in his legs that’s more reminiscent of a Dr. Suess character’s socks than a smooth wax.
The phone call originated from West’s No. 1, Rob Heestand, who remembered the promise made by his fellow Bedford resident two contests into the season.
“We just came off a 5-4 win against (Class L cellar dweller) Winnacunnet and we had a 0- 9 loss to (undefeated) Salem,” said Beck. “I was pretty much down in the dumps and not feeling very good about the season, so I told the guys if we made the playoffs I’d shave my legs. It’s kind of funny because I didn’t even think we’d make the tournament, and we had only one loss and earned second place.”
Indeed, the Blue Knights turned in a largely successful year. They even finished 6-0 in contests decided by one point during the regular season.
But in the postseason, they were 0-1 in one-point battles. After taking a 12-1 record into the playoffs and winning a quarterfinal-round matchup against Pinkerton Academy of Derry, 6-3, the West boys tennis team fell in a semifinal duel with upstart Londonderry, 5-4.
West beat the Lancers by the same score less than two weeks earlier, but first-year head coach Dan Gorman said Londonderry proved the better playoff team.
“We finally met our match,” said Gorman. “Nobody likes losing, but I told my boys afterward I don’t mind losing to a coaching staff like that. In my opinion, that’s a class program.”
Gorman’s admiration for his team’s opponents came when Londonderry’s coach yanked a player after a mid-match dispute that resulted in the player swearing at Gorman.
Jack Daly, West’s No. 6, was well ahead and likely to win the match anyway, but earned the W via default.
Danny Gorman, the coach’s nephew, won his No. 3 singles match, 8-4, and No. 5 Ken Nutter triumphed, 8-5. Heestand lost, 8- 0; Beck was edged, 9-7; and Tyler Laszewski fell, 8-3.
In doubles, Beck and Gorman were beaten, 8-2, and Nutter and Daly took an 8-4 victory. The contest came down to No. 2 doubles, where Heestand and Laszewski lost in a tiebreaker, 9-8. Though Gorman’s squad played Pinkerton the night before because of a rainout while Londonderry rested, he refused to blame his squad’s loss on short rest.
“Losing teams tend to make excuses, and I’m not about to do that,” he said. “Londonderry wanted it a little bit more than we did, and they fought a little harder than we did. It’s as simple as that.” Despite the tough ending, Gorman said the memories of the season will last a lifetime.
“I wasn’t sure what I was getting into, and I only did it for love of my nephew,” said Gorman, who took the reins one week prior to West’s first tennis match when Dan Gorman, the student, informed his uncle the team was minus a coach.
“It was an awesome season in which we exceeded everyone’s expectations,” said West’s mentor. “I’m proud of the boys. They grew over the season, and not only was I able to share the experience with my nephew, but I was also able to bond with the rest of the team as well.”