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The Parry McCluer High School girls tennis team won both of its matches last week to improve to 4-0, while the Rockbridge County girls suffered a pair of home losses and fell to 2-4.
In the Pioneer District opener and their first home match of the season on Thursday, the Fighting Blues dealt Bath County (4-1 overall, 0-1 district) its first loss of the season. PM battled to a 5-4 win against the Chargers, who had lost to the Blues in the Pioneer District finals last year.
The Blues, who were coming off a 6-3 road win over Nelson County on Tuesday, started Thursday’s action by winning both of their doubles matches. However, the Blues had to forfeit the No. 3 doubles match because they were short a player.
PM head coach Alyssa Sewell was especially proud of the No. 1 doubles team of Addisen Roberts and Sadie Mays, which won 8-5. Waching them endure a tough match, Sewell said Roberts and Mays “ were a ctive at t he net. We were able to put away those floater balls, which really helped us gain that confidence going into singles.”
PM also had to forfeit at No. 6 singles, so the score was 2-2 before the rest of the singles matches got going.
In addition to the win by forfeit, the Chargers won two singles matches, but PM’s Macy Shafer cruised to an 8-1 win at No. 4 singles, and Mays earned an 8-4 victory over Abbey Phillips at No. 2 singles. At No. 3 singles, PM’s Olive King gained a large lead before BC’s Brooke Hess battled back, but King held on for an 8-6 win to clinch the match.
Praising her players, Sewell said, “It was hot, we were tired, but the girls fought, and we were able to end up winning that fight.”
In Lexington, RC s suffered a 9-0 loss to Harrisonburg last Tuesday to fall to 1-1 in the Valley District before coming up short 5-4 against Lord Botetourt last Wednesday.
Lord Botetourt (1-4) avenged a 5-4 loss to RC on March 22. The rematch came down to No. 1 singles, where RC’s Sophia Fafatas took nearly every game to deuce before falling 8-5.
Two of the Wildcats’ top six singles players were missing, and one of the girls who stepped up, freshman Ava Crocker, earned a 9-8 (7-5 tiebreak) win at No. 6 singles in her first match. “She gritted out a nice comeback and really showed a lot of progress and promise,” said RC head coach Andrew Bellairs.
The Wildcats were scheduled to play at Spotswood yesterday and will play at Staunton today, Wednesday, before returning to district action at home against Turner Ashby on Friday and playing at TA on Monday and at Broadway on Tuesday. All matches are scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
The Blues will continue district action at home against Narrows on Thursday at 5 p.m. at the SVU courts.
PM 6, NC 3
SINGLES – Addisen Roberts (PM) d. Rebecca Marden (NC) 8-0; Sadie Mays (PM) d. Cadie Marus (NC) 8-1; Olive King (PM) d. Olivia Harris (NC) 8-1; Macy Shafer (PM) d. Emma Craig (NC) 8-4; Claire Price (NC) d. Pierra Conner (PM) 9-7; NC won by forfeit.
DOUBLES – Roberts and Mays (PM) d. Marden and Marus (NC) 8-0; King and Shafer (P) d. Nadine Wilson and Naomi Bartley (NC) 8-0; NC won by forfeit.
PM 5, BC 4
SINGLES – Sadie Alphin (BC) d. Roberts (PM) 8-1; Mays (PM) d. Abbey Phillips (BC) 8-4; King (PM) d. Brooke Hess (BC) 8-6; Shafer (PM) d. Jess Ingram (BC) 8-1; Allison Hess (BC) d. Conner (PM) 8-2; BC won by forfeit.
DOUBLES – Roberts and Mays (PM) d. Alphin and Brooke Hess (BC) 8-5; Shafer and King (PM) d. Phillips and Allison Hess (BC) 8-3; BC won by forfeit.
HHS 9, RC 0
SINGLES – Leslie Yang (H) d. Sophia Fafatas (RC) 8-4; Sophia Yoder (H) d. Sara Topasna (RC) 8-0; Clare Kirwan (H) d. Corinna Allen (RC) 8-4; Caryanne Shaw (H) d. Eleanor Goodhart (RC) 8-0; Olivia Eberly (H) d. Sydney Remington (RC) 8-3; Veronica Gutierrez (H) d. Katherine Lotts (RC) 8-1.
DOUBLES – Yoder and Kirwan (H) d. Fafatas and Allen (RC) 8-2; Yang and Shaw (H) d. Topasna and Goodhart (RC) 8-4; Eberly and Gutierrez (H) d. Remington and Lotts (RC) 8-1.
LB 5, RC 4
SINGLES –Reagan Meade (LB) d. Fafatas (RC) 8-5; Allen (RC) d. Meredith Claterbaugh (LB) 8-3; Goodhart d. Raimee Sykes (LB) 8-2; Zoe Brown (LB) d. Remington (RC) 8-3; Emmy Sprouse (LB) d. Lotts (RC) 8-1; Ava Crocker (RC) d. Kennedy Dorsey (LB) 9-8 (7-5 tiebreak).
DOUBLES – Fafatas and Allen (RC) d. Meade and Claterbaugh (LB) 8-6; Sykes and Karis Hambrick (LB) d. Goodhart and Crocker (RC) 8-1; Sprouse and Dorsey (LB) d. Remington and Lotts (RC) 8-2.
