The massage helped. The ice bath did, too. But in the end, it was little more than sheer grit that lifted Minnetonka junior Joey Richards to victory Friday in the Class 2A state singles final.
Richards, playing his fourth three-set match — and seventh overall — in four days, defeated Forest Lake sophomore Toby Boyer in an entertaining match, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, at the University of Minnesota's Baseline Tennis Center.
Richards' slight build — 5-10 and 130 pounds "on a good day," he joked — belied his ability to fight off the best his opponents had to offer.
"One of the amazing things was how he was able to come back and play his best even though he was sore," Minnetonka coach David Stearns said. "We got him stretched out and he came back ready to go."
During a three-set match in the quarterfinals, Richards found rejuvenation in a massage from his father before the final set. Thursday night, he prepared by taking just the second ice bath of his life.
"That wasn't fun," Richards said. "But I did what I had to do."
It paid off in Friday's semifinal as he soundly defeated Edina's Max Olson, the tournament's No. 1 seed, 6-0, 6-1. That set up the championship match against Boyer, brother of four-time recent state champion Dusty Boyer.
Richards and Boyer had never met in a high school match even though they have been friends — and youth tennis foes — for nearly a decade. Friday's match featured two vastly different styles of play. On one side was Boyer, whose powerful forehand and athleticism reminded one of older brother Dusty. On the other side was Richards, with a deliberate, consistent style and a willingness to force the issue by coming to the net.
