SPARTANBURG -- Forest Weir had his senior medal hanging around his neck when he walked off the tennis courts for the final time on Tuesday. He and his team left as winners.
Weir won 6-1, 7-6 as Spartanburg beat Fort Mill 6-0 in the third round of the AAAA Upper State playoffs at Spartanburg High.
"It feels pretty good to win my final home match," said Weir. "I've had a great time here with the Vikings, and I'm going to be sad to go. We came real close (to winning it all) two years ago ... I feel like this is our year and we have a solid shot at it."
Weir has been a member of the team since the seventh grade and a starter for four years.
In No. 1 singles, Alex Holland beat William Reigel 6-7, 7-5 (10-8), in a battle that lasted two hours and 10 minutes.
Holland was down 5-2 in the second set, but rallied to win the next five games and force the tiebreaker. Then he found himself down 5-2 in the tiebreak before eventually taking the match.
"Even when I was down 5-2 (in the second), I felt like there was a comeback in there somewhere," Holland said. "It's real easy to get behind in a tiebreak, but it's also real easy to comeback."
Holland won the final point of the match after he hit a hard forehand down the line that couldn't be returned.
No. 2 Ben Barnette, No. 4 Ben Bramhall, and No. 5 Jonathan Allsbrook each won in straight sets for Spartanburg (19-1). Barnette improved to 20-0.
"I knew during my match that if I won the team would, too," said Allsbrook, a junior. "It felt real good to be able to get it."
"I'm just glad to see everybody win today, because that gives us some confidence going into Thursday," Spartanburg coach Roy Shelton said. "Whether it's Lexington or Greenwood, we're going to have to play the best we can."
