OTTAWA — After a tough first-round loss to open the annual Ottawa High School Boys Tennis Invitational, the Pirates braved not only that initial defeat but a healthy dose of cold and blustery weather, showing both physical and mental resiliency to rally and earn fifth place Saturday afternoon at the Henderson-Guenther Tennis Facility within the grounds of King Field.

Throughout the eight team scoring event – which pits No. 1 and No. 2 singles and doubles against one another during four matches to determine a winner – the hosts dropped a match to Normal’s University High School in a tiebreaker, which sent the Pirates into the consolation side of the bracket.

But the Ottawa Pirates claimed the next two matchups with some gritty determination, ending the day on a high note for the locals.

“I think when we got here today it was sleeting, and it wasn’t fun at times, but we were able to get through it and make something out of the day despite a tough start.”

—  Noah Gross, Ottawa boys tennis

Metamora was the eventual champion, besting second place Lincoln-Way East. Dunlap finished third.

“We competed against some very fine teams today and lost a hard-fought matchup with U-High that got us off on an unfortunate note,” Ottawa tennis coach Matt Gross said. “But I was so proud of the way we stayed confident the rest of the day throughout some pretty bad weather conditions, and I couldn’t be happier with the way our guys responded after a rough start.”

That beginning saw Ottawa’s No. 1 doubles duo of brothers Adam and Noah Gross win 6-3, 6-2, while the Pirate’s No. 2 double team of Landen Thorsen and Ethan Cela also was victorious, 6-1, 6-1.

Unfortunately, Ottawa No. 1 singles player Sebastian Cabrera fell 6-1, 6-1 as did No. 2 singles competitor Trevor Mortenson by a final tally of 6-0, 6-3, evening things up with U-High 2-2 before the tiebreaker went the way of the Pioneers.

But the Pirates started their rally from there, sweeping all four matches with the Mundelein High School junior-varsity squad in the consolation semifinals.

In singles, Cabrera won his match 6-4, 6-2, and Mortenson did as well, 6-1, 6-1. Then in doubles, the Gross brothers sweated out a 1-6, 6-1, 10-6 victory that went along with Thorsen and Cela’s 6-3, 6-0 triumph that helped send Ottawa into the consolation final match with Mundelein’s varsity contingent.

“We were very happy to rally back in some tough situations, doing it in some very bad weather,” Ottawa sophomore Noah Gross said. “I think when we got here today it was sleeting, and it wasn’t fun at times, but we were able to get through it and make something out of the day despite a tough start.”

His brother concurred.

“There were very bad crosswinds at times, so you couldn’t do any slices on certain sides, and we really had to narrow things down on what shots we were able to make,” Ottawa senior Adam Gross said. “But it was certainly something that we were able to overcome, and I was proud of the way we performed for the most part.”

The Gross brothers unfortunately fell to the Mundelein varsity tandem in their final match 6-1, 6-2. But Thorsen and Cela earned their last doubles win 6-4, 6-4, as did Mortenson in singles, 6-3, 6-1.

All that was left was for Cabrera to rally back from a one-set deficit to win in scintillating fashion in a three-set thriller - 3-6, 7-5, 10-7 - that secured the fifth-place finish for the Pirates.

“It was cold, snowing at times, but that didn’t stop me, and all I wanted to do was play hard, play my own game and feel free to let loose and not let any nerves get to me,” Cabrera said. “In that final match, I just had a strong mindset even though I lost the first set. I knew I’d be able to fight back for the win, and I was proud that I was able to do it for our team.”