Hall returns from injury to play at Weldon

By JOHN VERSER
Glasgow Daily Times

June 28, 2008 04:16 pm

— The last time Bowling Green’s Robert Hall played competitive tennis, it was at the Fourth Region tennis tournament at Barren County High School.
By a stroke of fate, his first match back after an injury, he was right there again.
Rain forced the opening round singles matches at the W.A. Weldon Open Tennis Tournament to be moved from Gorin Park over to Barren.
Hall was back at the site of his injury, about a month and a half after it occurred.
“The goal since I’ve been injured was to be back by this time,” Hall said. “I’m not sure if I’ll be playing tomorrow (Saturday). I got cleared last Thursday to start playing again. So I was really wanting to play.”
The tournament continued Saturday in both singles and doubles. The finals are set for Sunday.
The tournament was due to get under way at 4 p.m. at Gorin. Sporadic showers postponed the tournament briefly before it was moved to the courts at BCHS.
Hall, who tore a muscle in his left abdomen in first day of play during the regional tournament there, said he didn’t mind the return to the location of his injury.
“I just hoped I got to play. It didn’t bother me at all,” Hall said.
Hall said rest and physical therapy have been the keys to being able to make a speedy recovery.
“First thing is rest,” Hall said. “Then I’ve been going to physical therapy in Lexington. There’s a specialist there, for about three times a week. I’ve just been trying to regain strength and flexibility.”
Hall lost his opening round match to Jeremy Clark, 6-3, 6-2. Clark played collegiately at the University of Louisville, where Hall will begin play in the fall.
“I felt pretty good,” said Hall. “I still don’t have much flexibility, so it was really good to get out there and play again. I’m sort of happy.”
The Bowling Green High School graduate said his goal is to continue rehabilitation during the summer before he reports to UL this fall.
“That’s the whole goal is to try to be 100 percent by the time I walk in there,” Hall said.
In other opening round matches, #4 seed Colin Purcell, a former University of Georgia standout, defeated Western Kentucky University’s Allan Gomes; WKU’s Chad True defeated the University of Kentucky’s Chris Leeper; Tyler Davis, who plays collegiately at the University of Notre Dame, topped former UK All-American and two-time Weldon singles champ Rich Benson; and WKU’s Andy True defeated former Georgetown College standout Michael Cunningham.
The finals are slated to begin at 11 a.m. Sunday.

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