A.C. Flora #1 Toby Cassels hits a backhand against Dreher’s Wesley Lee. Late in the second set, A.C. Flora’s Toby Cassels was camped on the baseline when his opponent launched a drop shot.

Cassels charged the net. Instead of pulling up when it became clear he couldn’t get to the ball in time, the junior dived headlong in a last–gasp move.

The act didn’t save the point and wasn’t born of desperation. He was up a set and the Falcons had already clinched the 5–1 team victory against Dreher on March 18. But it provided a telling glimpse.

“We are competing better than I expected,” Falcons coach John Woods said. “The guys have a lot of desire out there, and I think a lot has to do with our No. 1 (Cassels). He hustles for every single shot and is a fierce competitor. The guys look at him and see how hard he tries; it makes them go out and try even harder, too.”

Dreher’s Wesley Lee While Cassels, who is in his first season with the program, was seizing the No. 1 spot in the preseason, eighth–grader Jon Prince was taking the No. 2 spot.

“It was an eye–opener,” Woods said. “Prince played last year in the singles lineup, so everyone knew he would be a factor. But I think Toby coming in … I think a couple of guys thought they were going to have that spot. That has fueled the competitive fires. I hope they still think they can have it and keep competing with each other.”

That competitive spirit and on–court aggressiveness have helped A.C. Flora to a 2–1 start in addition to a consolation bracket win at Aiken’s preseason tournament. They are the attributes coach Ray Stillwell is seeking from Dreher (1–2).

“We’re loaded with seniors, but most didn’t start playing until last year – and this is a game of experience,” Stillwell said. “The good news is this was a non–region match; Chapin (a shutout on March 17) was a non region match. So while these losses are painful, they aren’t as painful as if they were region. Bottom line, there is no excuse for our team not coming in second in our region this year, based on my understanding of what everyone else has. But we have to come out and play hard and fast from the start of every match.”

Against A.C. Flora, only Michael Sweatt, at No. 5 singles, did so. He earned the Blue Devils’ lone point.

For the Falcons, Cassels, Prince, Beaty Fisher, and Elliot Rose earned victories in singles. Kevin Hoff- man and J.D. Elliott won the doubles point. All of the matches were won in straight sets, except for Cassels, who claimed a 10–7 win in the third–set tiebreaker.