Moenter, Rovner win Lima City singles championships

LIMA — The Lima City Singles Tennis Tournament hasn’t gotten any easier for veteran Jerome Moenter.

At age 42, Moenter said he tries to keep the match as short as possible.

In Thursday’s championship match of the Lima City Singles Tennis Tournament at the Collett St. Courts, Moenter was taken to the limit in the second set against 19-year-old Evan Neuman.

However, Moenter had just enough in the reserve tank to slip out with a hard-fought 6-1, 6-4 victory over Neuman.

In the women’s championship match, two high school rivals went at it for the title.

Shawnee junior Lauren Rovner took control of the match early on, en route to a 6-1, 6-1 win over Elida senior Jessie Adkins.

Moenter said his goal each time he plays is to make the match as short as possible.

“It seems like I have about an hour of tennis in me these days,” Moenter said with a smile. “I either have to start winning quicker or getting in better shape.”

Moenter, who has played in the City Singles Tournament for many years, said he has learned to adjust his style of play.

“This was the first singles tournament that I have played since last year,” Moenter said. “It’s different. I like doubles, since you cover half the court.

“My game is all about serve, volley and return. So, if all I have to do are those two things, then I’m still pretty hard to beat.”

After cruising through the first set with relative ease, Moenter struggled in the second set as Neuman had him on the run for the most part.

“I was getting first serves in pretty good in that first set,” Moenter said. “I wasn’t trying for too much. We both seemed to be a little off in that first set.

“I figured if I could get my first serves in and hopefully make him hit some shots, then I’d be OK. It seemed to work there until about midway through the second set. About midway through (the second set), I think he settled down and started to make some better returns.”

Neuman, who just finished up his freshman season on the Wright State University tennis team, said Moenter came out and played the way he thought he would.

“He came out like a freak in the first game, like I knew he would,” Neuman said. “He was playing his game. Toward the end there, we had one long game on his serve, which I think took a lot out of him.”

Moenter admitted that despite the many years of competitive tennis, he still gets a little nervous before each match.

“It’s still fun. I still have the competitive bug. And I still get some butterflies,” Moenter said. “To be in the city finals all these years, it’s nice to know that they (the butterflies) are still there.”

In the women’s championship, Rovner lost just two games in the two sets against Adkins.

Rovner said she came into the finals with a simple game plan.

“I just knew I had to be consistent against her,” Rovner said. “I had to wait until she made more mistakes than I did.”

In other finals played on Thursday; in the Men’s Championship Consolations, Alex Swick outlasted Jameel Brenneman in a tough three-set match, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. In the Men’s A-Division Championship match, Ryan Barton defeated Andrew Frankhart, 6-2, 6-2. In the Men’s A-Division Back draw, Andy Joseph defeated Timothy Rutter, 6-2, 6-1.