VINDICATOR ALL-STARS Time heals wounds of Ursuline doubles team

By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Brian Meek and Donald Person spent this past tennis season refusing to accept second place.
Then they had to accept second place.
"It was a little tough at first," Person said. "But now that it's been a couple weeks, it's not as bad."
The Ursuline seniors capped their stellar high school careers with a second-place finish in the Division II state doubles tournament in May to earn Vindicator co-players of the year.
Now that the disappointment has (mostly) worn off, they can appreciate what they've accomplished.
"At the time I wasn't too awfully thrilled about being state runner-up," Meek said. "I really wanted to win and people thought I was nuts when I told them I wasn't too happy.
"It just took some time to get over that. Everyone was telling me that we did such a good job and I started to realize they were right," Meek said.
Title streak
Person, who played No. 1 singles during the season, went 21-2 to earn first team all-Ohio honors and lead the Irish to their fourth straight Steel Valley Conference title.
"It was a really good season," Person said. "I had a lot of fun with the other people on the team. I can't complain."
Person, who qualified for the state singles tournament as a sophomore, will play tennis this fall at DePaul University in Chicago, double-majoring in economics and political science.
"It's a good tennis school and it's a nice place," he said. "It had everything I was looking for."
Including distance.
"I'm just looking forward to getting away from home," he said. "Not so much because I don't like Youngstown. But it's time for a change.
"I want some new experiences, some different experiences. I think it will be cool to be on my own for an extended period of time and meet a lot of new interesting people," Person said.
But to do that, he'll have to leave his good friend behind.
"I still see Brian and he still calls me sweetheart, same as it's always been," Person said with a laugh. "I guess maybe when we leave we'll have a teary-eyed moment."
OK, maybe not.
"Yeah, I don't think that will happen," Meek said.
Prior experience
Meek, who went 28-2 playing mostly No. 2 singles, finished fourth as a sophomore in the state doubles tournament with Todd Wojtkowski.
He'll play tennis at YSU this fall and major in mechanical engineering.
"I'm excited to play with a new bunch of kids," he said. "It'll be a nice change of scenery."
Isn't it about 50 feet from Ursuline's campus?
"OK, so it's not that far away," he said with a laugh.
Even though the season didn't end as well as they hoped, Meek and Person finished their careers with no regrets and plenty of good memories.
"I think it shows that hard work and dedication pays off," Meek said. "When you put your mind to something, like Donald and I did, you can accomplish your goals. You just have to try hard and stay dedicated.
"And even though we didn't win the state finals, we still played pretty good."
scalzo@vindy.com