Former Bristol Eastern boys tennis standout Eric Henne has made a name for himself at the nearby Wayton Open in Southington.
Henne outlasted Saurabh Kumar in five sets on Sunday at Southington High School to win his second straight Men’s A Singles championship. It’s the fourth overall title in singles for Henne, who earned all-conference honors in high school and at Springfield College. Henne also won the singles title in 2014 and 2015.
Henne didn’t lose a set in his first two matches of the 2018 Wayton Open. In the semifinal on Saturday against Matt Balaoing, Henne won 6-4, 2-6, 6-0.
Henne hadn’t lost a set in the best-of-five set finals in three previous appearances, but the first-time finalist Kumar changed all that by winning the first two sets on Sunday, 7-6(6) and 6-4. Henne needed to dig deep, and he did on a hot Sunday morning that turned into afternoon. Henne won the third set 6-1, then took the fourth set 6-3. The fifth set was tied 4-4, but Henne claimed the final two games, won the fifth set by a score of 6-4, and secured the championship. The five-set thriller lasted four hours.
Henne is also an excellent doubles player. He and Mark Habek have dominated Men’s A Doubles, and they added a fifth straight championship on Sunday at Southington High. Henne and Habek knocked off Brandon Sanford and Alex Schade in straight sets, 6-3 and 6-4.
