John Breaux Cajun Tennis Classic: Scott wins Cajun Classic title

Bruce Brown, The Advertiser, Sept. 26, 2016

The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns men’s tennis team hosting seven of the top 35 teams in the country in the John Breaux Cajun Tennis Classic at the Culotta Tennis Center. September 23, 2016 (Pictured- Senator John Breaux, Harrison Scott, Coach Bruce Berque and Cajuns Coach Mark Jeffrey)  (Photo: SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY NETWORK)

Harrison Scott’s back wasn’t exactly against the wall, but he could feel it from where he was standing.

Top-seeded William Bushamaka of Kentucky had won the first set 7-6 in Sunday’s singles final of the John Breaux Cajun Tennis Classic, and threatened to finish the task with a 4-0 lead in a second-set tiebreaker.

Alll the fourth-seeded Scott could do was bear down and hope to weather the storm.

The Texas Longhorn did better than that, chipping away at that deficit until he had remarkably won seven points in a row to win the tiebreaker 7-4 and force a third set in front of a capacity throng at UL’s Culotta Tennis Center.

Powered by that enormous momentum swing, Scott then scored a 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-2 victory.

“In that second set, he was serving huge,” said Scott, an accomplished Canadian import. “I had to hold on and be aggressive.”

Bushamaka held serve with aces three times in the set, including to 6-6. But there were also cracks in the armor, as when he sent a groundstroke long to help lift Scott to a 5-4 lead.

“Then when he was up 4-0, I had to hit my returns and take it one shot at a time,” Scott said. “Definitely in the third set, I mentally took over. He wasn’t as confident after losing that 4-0 lead.”

Scott broke serve for a 3-2 lead in the deciding set, went up 4-2 when Bushamaka sent a groundstroke wide, broke serve to 5-2 on his foe’s too-deep shot – both at deuce point – and then completed the day by serving out the win.

“I was surprised,” Bushamaka said. “He didn’t make mistakes. He was consistent. Many of my points I had to work for. Then, it turned around in that second set.”

It was apparent early that Scott had the game to deflect his foe’s power, but also stayed calm when things were tough. UT coach Bruce Berque praised Scott;s patience, composure and competitiveness – all of which were key to the win.

Both finalists gained from the weekend.

“I gained confidence by getting back to the college format and making it to the finals,” Bushamaka said. “I showed I can do well here.”

“This helps my feeling for the game,” Scott said. “I leave for the All-America (in Tulsa) next weekend, so I’ll go home, take a couple of days off, then get back on the court and work on my game.”

The day also featured championship doubles pitting LSU’s No. 1 seeds Jordan Daigle of Lafayette and Justin Busch against Texas Tech’s second-seeded Bjorn Thomson and Alex Sendegeya.

There was high drama in that finale, too, as the Red Raider pair scored a 7-6 (3), 6-7 (5), 6-2 triumph.