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The Parry McCluer High School girls tennis team, in dramatic fashion, won all three of its matches last week to improve to 10-0, while the Rockbridge County girls split a pair of matches.
After capturing a 6-3 home win over Nelson County on Monday of last week, the Fighting Blues earned a pair of 5-4 victories, defeating Alleghany in Buena Vista last Tuesday and winning at Narrows on Thursday.
With the win over Pioneer District rival Narrows (6-7 overall, 1-2 district), the Blues improved to 3-0 in the district. PM had also beaten Narrows on April 20 in Buena Vista.
After the Blues won two of three doubles matches and the top two singles matches, Olive King clinched the team victory with her 8-6 win at No. 3 singles. Addisen Roberts won 8-3 at No. 1 singles, while Sadie Mays won 8-5 at No. 2. Proud of her whole team, PM head coach Alyssa Sewell said it was a “great grind by all the members.”
In the match against Alleghany, Sewell praised Roberts for snagging “a huge win” at No. 1 singles, enduring a challenging match to beat Alleghany’s Olivia Groves 9-8 (7-5 tiebreak).
With the team win, the Blues completed a sweep of the season series with the Mountaineers. When the two teams met on April 4 at Alleghany, PM won 6-3.
Against Nelson County, the Blues won four of six singles matches and two of three doubles matches.
In Lexington, the Wildcats (3-11, 1-7) broke an eightmatch losing streak by earning at 5-4 home win over Stuarts Draft on Tuesday of last week.
RC head coach Andrew Bellairs said the Wildcats could have played a lot better, but he was pleased with how freshman Corinna Allen stepped up with an 8-5 win at No. 3 singles to clinch the win. “She played great, especially under the pressure of needing a win.”
Also winning singles matches for the Wildcats were Sophia Fafatas at No. 1 and Sara Topasna at No. 2.
In their final home match of the season, the Wildcats suffered an 8-1 loss to Valley District rival Spotswood (141, 7-1) on Friday.
Junior Katherine Lotts earned the lone win for RC, serving up impressive aces in a 9-7 victory at No. 6 singles. When the two teams met at Spotswood on April 18, the Trailblazers won 9-0.
Before the match, the Wildcats honored their two seniors, Fafatas and Topasna. Bellairs, in his second year as their head coach, said both girls played great. “They have meant so much to this team, both dedicating the last four years to it,” he said. “They consistently work on their games in the offseason, and they are outstanding leaders on the court as well as magnificent students and citizens off of it.
“They are both going to do amazing things in their futures, and that is even more exciting for a coach to see than their wins on the court.”
Fafatas was scheduled to play in the Valley District singles tournament yesterday at Turner Ashby, and she’ll team up with Allen in the doubles tournament at TA on Thursday, starting at 11 a.m.
The Wildcats and Blues were scheduled to face each other at the Southern Virginia University courts on Monday. The Blues were slated to conclude the regular season with a road match at Bath County yesterday.
For the postseason schedule and updates, visit www. thenews-gazette.com, and see next week’s newspaper for full coverage of this week’s action.
PM 6, NC 3
SINGLES – Addisen Roberts (PM) d. Rebecca Marden (NC) 8-0; Emma Craig (NC) d. Sadie Mays (PM) 8-6; Olive King (PM) d. Olivia Harris (NC) 8-0; Macy Shafer (PM) d. Claire Price (NC) 8-1; Peira Conner (PM) d. Jaidyn Smith (NC); Nadine Wilson (NC) d. Peyton Chittum (PM) 8-0.
DOUBLES – Roberts and Mays (PM) d. Craig and Harris (NC) 8-1; King and Shafer (PM) d. Price and Naomi Bartley (NC) 8-0; Adison Stewart and Blalyn McFadden (NC) d. Conner and Chittum (PM) 8-1.
PM 5, Alleghany 4
SINGLES – Roberts (PM) d. Groves (A) 9-8 (7-5 tiebreak); Jayden Ryan (A) d. Mays (PM) 8-5; King (PM) d. Rachel Nicely (A) 8-2; Shafer (PM) d. Madilen Nicely (A) 8-2; Alivia Hoover (A) d. Conner (PM) 9-8; DOUBLES – Roberts and Mays (PM) d. Groves and Ryan (A) 8-0; King and Shafer (PM) d. Rachel and Emma Nicely (A); Madilen Nicely and Lainie McCormick (A) d. Conner and Marley Convers (PM) 8-1.
PM 5, Narrows 4
SINGLES – Roberts (PM) d. Emily Jackson (N) 8-3; Mays (PM) d. Ginna Bowles (N) 8-5; King (PM) d. Kaylee Ludwig (PM) 8-6; Raigen Clark (N) d. Shafer (PM) 8-5; Spencer (N) d. Conner (PM) 8-1; Abbie Brooks (N) d. Chittum (PM) 8-1.
DOUBLES – Roberts and Mays (PM) d. Jackson and Bowles (N) 8-1; King and Shafer (PM) d. Ludwig and Clark (N) 8-5; Spencer and Brooks (N) d. Conner and Convers (PM) 8-0.
RC 5, SD 4
SINGLES – Sophia Fafatas (RC) d. Rachel Liu (SD) 8-2; Sara Topasna (RC) d. Bethany Stevens (SD) 8-4; Corinna Allen (RC) d. Abby Piner (SD) 8-5; Chloe Truslow (SD) d. Eleanor Goodhart (RC) 8-1; Kali McHaffa (SD) d. Sydney Remington (RC) 9-8 (7-5 tiebreak); Julia Newhall (RC) d. Becca Stude (SD) 8-2.
DOUBLES – Fafatas and Allen (RC) d. Liu and Zoa Burns (RC) 8-2; Stevens and Truslow (SD) d. Goodhart and Katherine Lotts (RC) 8-4.
Spotswood 8, RC 1
SINGLES – Raygan Wade (S) d. Fafatas (RC) 8-1; Ella Li (S) d. Topasna (RC) 8-1; Emerson Knight (S) d. Goodhart (RC) 8-0; Allie Hoffman (S) d. Remington (RC) 8-1; Charlie Jesteadt (S) d. Newhall (RC) 8-2; Lotts (RC) d. Augustina Infante (S) 9-7.
DOUBLES – Wade and Li (S) d. Fafatas and Topasna (RC) 8-1; Knight and Hoffman (S) d. Goodhart and Newhall (RC) 8-1; Jesteadt and Infante (S) d. Lotts and Remington (RC) 8-4.
