Kim Niethammer had a strong run through the Stockton Cup draw earning him a spot in Monday's final. He fell short in that match to Arsene Pougault, but it was an impressive weekend of matches earning him the runner-up result.
The junior from Gardner-Webb entered the tournament as an 8-seed, and impressively worked his way through the draw. He showed true grit during his matches, and that mentality served him well, particularly at key times when the momentum had shifted to his opponent. This was evident in his quarterfinal match against top-seeded Thomas Brown, where he came from behind and forced a third-set tiebreaker. There, he took control early, and fought off an inevitable run by Brown winning the tiebreaker, and the match to advance to the semis.
In the semifinals against Ivan Dreycopp, he got off to a fast start but let the second set get away from him. But he bounced back, fighting to take the third-set tiebreak 10-4.
Niethammer impressed many in attendance by his ability to battle back, even when things appeared to not be going his way. It was a well-earned runner-up result for the native of Germany.
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