So close: Cramps end Scheller's title bid
Nicolas Scheller was one set away from capping an incredibly dominant season with a state championship.
North Catholic's junior had prevailed in the first set of the Class 2A boys tennis state singles final on a tiebreaker against Lancaster Country Day's Nile Abadir at Hershey Racquet Club last Saturday.
“In the postseason tournaments, coaches are allowed to speak with their players only between sets,” said Trojans' coach Eric Solverson. “His spirits were up and we were both excited about him winning that first set. In a match that important, that was big.”
Soon after taking the court for the second set, however, Solverson could sense something was wrong.
“I could tell in his gait and he kept trying to stretch his legs out,” he said.
It was cramps, first in Scheller's left calf, then the right. He took several medical timeouts until he was asked if he wanted to withdraw from the match.
“That wasn't going to happen,” Scheller said. “There was never a point when I thought I couldn't play the rest of the match and I fought through it.”
Abadir went on to win the state championship with a 6-7(2), 6-1, 6-4 decision.
Scheller, who has played tennis at a very high level since his days as a young kid in New Mexico, said he never had to deal with cramps until last weekend.
“It was dehydration,” he said. “It was very humid in there and I didn't have enough electrolytes in my system.”
Prior to the third set, Scheller drank Gatorade and the cramps began to let up a few games in.
“But it was too late,” he said. “He (Abadir) had already gotten a break on me.
“If not for the cramps, I think the chances of me winning were very high,” Scheller said. “Having a state title at my fingertips and losing like I did, it's very disappointing, but Nile is an awesome player.”
Scheller breezed past his first three opponents at states, defeating Pequea Valley's Brady Burns (6-0, 6-1), Bethlehem Catholic's Curtis Gruber (6-1, 6-1) and Windber's Matt Kozar (6-3, 6-0).
The loss in the final was Scheller's first of the season and he finished the spring with a WPIAL title and a record of 24-1.
“Nobody came close to beating him during the season,” said Solverson. “Most high school tennis players play not to lose, just keep the ball in play. Nicolas is able to overpower people with big serves and big ground strokes.
“In the entire state tournament, there were only two players who were able to do that, Nicolas and the kid he lost to.”
It had been over 30 years since North Catholic sponsored a boys tennis program. Scheller, who moved to Pennsylvania in 2019, helped bring the Trojans back in a big way.
He hopes to play collegiately at the Division I level and will compete in several high-profile tournaments over the next few months.
“It's not set in stone yet, but I may be training this summer in Florida,” Scheller said.
