Norwalk's McCreary sweeps 18U boys at Bloor/Ortner

PERKINS TWP. — Jeremiah McCreary adjusted well to life back home. McCreary returned from Spain at 1 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday won all four of his matches in the boys 18U category at the Bloor/Ortner Memorial Tennis Classic. The rising sophomore at Norwalk High School defeated Medina Highland junior Sawyer Sulzener 6-3 in the championship match at Perkins High School. He won three one-set matches by scores of 6-1, 6-1 and 6-3 earlier Thursday to advance to the final. It took him awhile to shake off the jet lag. "Definitely tough coming back from Spain yesterday, but I'm glad I pulled through," McCreary said. "I felt it in my first and second match and definitely my third. My ground strokes, my equilibrium felt off. My fourth match, I really focused and it got a lot better." McCreary waited out Sulzener and won four of the last five games to win his second straight title at the Bloor/Ortner. He won the 14U title last year. "At first, I was kinda going to his backhand and I realized he missed a lot of forehands," McCreary said. "His mental game got off and I took advantage of that. He started getting upset, which was good for me." McCreary, 14, spent a week at the Rafa Nadal Academy on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca and also did some site-seeing on Spain's mainland. He made the journey with grandparents Raymond and Peggy and his brother Raymond, who swims for Norwalk High School. The academy McCreary attended was founded by tennis legend Rafael Nadal in 2016. McCreary got an invitation to the camp in Spain after participating in a Nadal camp in Florida last December. "They picked the best kids from there and invited them to Spain," he said. "I think they invited 10 out of 80 or 90. Boys, girls, whatever age." McCreary put some of his recent training to use in Thursday's final match. "Just switching between game styles — between defense, offense, neutral," he said. "Not always being on one type of game. That helped. I just moved him around and that worked really well. I also took a lot off my serves and put a lot of spin right to the backhand." McCreary said he received a well-rounded week of training in Spain. "It was amazing," he said. "They fed us really well; that was something I liked. I love pasta. The coaches were good, the tennis was good. It was kind of everything. We didn't just do tennis." He was asked whether Nadal — the Spaniard who won 22 major titles in his career — was at the camp. "He was, but I didn't get to see him," McCreary said. McCreary, who wants to play college tennis, should be an integral part of Norwalk's team next spring. He said his grandpa got him into the game at a young age. "I started when I was like 8. I barely played," he said. "My cousin started and my grandpa was like, 'Do you want to try tennis?' I was like 'sure' then he set up a lesson. I guess I just fell in love with it and here I am." McCreary isn't done with tennis this summer, either. "I have a couple of camping trips planned with my mom and then I'm going to be a ball boy at the Cincinnati Open," he said. Great turnout The boys and girls 18U brackets were full with 16 players each at the Bloor/Ortner's one-day youth challenge. Tournament co-director Harry Love was happy with the turnout. "One-day tournaments are very hit and miss, especially on a weekday," he said. "This is the best local turnout we've had as far as I can remember. For a one-day tournament in northwest Ohio, over 40 kids is a spectacular result." The Bloor/Ortner will continue Friday, Saturday and Sunday with adult divisions. The men's singles draw is full with 24 players. A total of 61 adults signed up after 43 youths played Thursday. Some of the teenagers plan to challenge themselves by playing in the adult brackets. "We haven't had as many kids playing up in the adult tournament recently," Love said. "It's good to see kids push themselves to play in the open singles and open doubles."