RC Girls Down Rivals

Wildcats Sweep Season Tennis Series With Blues

In the second and final showdown between local rivals, the Rockbridge County High School girls tennis team earned a 6-3 road win over local rival Parry McCluer on Thursday evening at the Southern Virginia University courts.

When the teams met on March 12 in the season opener at the Lexington Country Club courts, RC (4-8) eked out a 5-4 win over the Fighting Blues (83).

In the rematch, the Wildcats were missing their top player, sophomore Corinna Allen, due to a dance obligation, but they managed to win four of six singles matches and two of three doubles matches.

The Wildcats were also missing their head coach, Mark Sholes last week, but former RC boys tennis coach and current RC golf coach David Miller stepped in to coach the team for the week.

After last Thursday’s win, Miller said, “Very proud of how hard the girls played on such a hot day. Everyone stepped up against a strong PM team and played their best tennis. Great to see the two seniors lead the team, and they were all a joy to be around for a few days.”

The seniors Miller was referring to are Katherine Lotts and Addie Wright, who won at No. 4 and 5 singles, respectively, and also won their doubles matches. Lotts teamed up with junior Sydney Remington to earn an 8-6 win at No. 2 doubles, while Wright teamed up with sophomore Ava Crocker to capture an 8-1 victory at No. 3 doubles.

For PM, senior Addisen Roberts and junior Macy Shafer earned 8-2 wins at No. 1 and 2 singles, respectively, and they joined forces to capture an 8-3 win at No. 1 doubles. Stepping up to play at No. 1 singles for RC was junior Julia Newhall, while junior Eleanor Goodhart moved up to play at No. 2 doubles.

The closest match of the day was at No. 3 singles, with Remington holding off a comeback to defeat PM junior Peira Conner 9-8 (7-6 tiebreak). Conner was down 6-3 earlier in the match. “Proud of the fight,” said PM head coach Alyssa Sewell.

Sewell said it was a “tough loss” for the Blues, but it should prepare them for the upcoming postseason.

Last Wednesday, the Wildcats suffered a 9-0 home loss to Valley District rival Spotswood to fall to 0-8 in the district. Before the match, their final home match of the regular season, the Wildcats honored Lotts and Wright as their two seniors.

PM suffered a 6-3 road loss to Pioneer District rival Bath County on Monday of last week to fall to 3-1 in the district. Last year, Bath County beat PM 5-4 for the Pioneer District title. PM bounced back with an 8-1 home win over Nelson County last Wednesday.

The Wildcats were scheduled to visit Turner Ashby yesterday and will conclude the regular season today, Wednesday, when they play at Harrisonburg at 4:30 p.m.

The Blues were slated to play host to Alleghany on Monday before concluding the regular season at home against Bath County yesterday, completing a match that was stopped on April 9 due to rain.

For the postseason schedule and updates, visit www. thenews-gazette.com.

RC 6, PM 3

SINGLES – Addisen Roberts (PM) d. Julia Newhall (RC) 8-2; Macy Shafer (PM) d. Eleanor Goodhart (RC) 8-2; Sydney Remington (RC) d. Peira Conner (PM) 9-8 (7-0 tiebreak); Katherine Lotts (RC) d. McKenna Hickman (PM) 8-2; Addie Wright (RC) d. Keely Mahaffey (PM) 8-6; Ava Crocker (RC) d. Elizabeth Truslow (PM) 8-0.

DOUBLES – Roberts and Shafer (PM) d. Newhall and Goodhart (RC) 8-3; Remington and Lotts (RC) d. Conner and Mahaffey (PM) 8-6; Wright and Crocker (RC) d. Hickman and Truslow (PM) 8-1.

SHS 9, RC 0

SINGLES – Raygan Wade (S) d. Newhall (RC) 8-0; Ella Li (S) d. Goodhart (RC) 8-0; Emerson Knight (S) d. Remington (RC) 8-0; Rennie Shaffer (S) d. Lotts (RC) 8-1; Olivia Davis (S) d. Wright (RC) 8-1; Charlotte Jesteadt (S) d. Crocker (RC) 8-0.

DOUBLES – Wade and Li (S) d. Newhall and Campbell Bond (RC) 8-0; Knight and Shaffer (S) d. Remington and Lotts (RC) 8-0; Davis and Jesteadt (S) d. Wright and Crocker (RC) 7-6 (8-5 tiebreak).

Bath 6, PM 3

SINGLES – Roberts (PM) d. Sadie Alphin (BC) 8-1; Abbey Phillips (BC) d. Shafer (PM) 8-5; Broke Hess (BC) d. Conner (PM) 8-6; Alyssa DePoppe (BC) d. Hickman (PM) 9-8 (7-3 tiebreak); Mahaffey (PM) d. Adrianna Miller (BC) 8-0; Sophie Ailstock (BC) d. Truslow (PM) 8-1.

DOUBLES – Alphin and Phillips (BC) d. Roberts and Shafer (PM) 8-5; Conner and Mahaffey (PM) d. Hess and DePoppe (BC) 8-6; Ailstock and Kelsey Eaton (BC) d. Hickman and Truslow (PM) 8-2.

PM 8, Nelson 1

SINGLES – Roberts (PM) d. Emma Craig (NC) 8-4; Shafer (PM) d. Cady Marrs (NC) 8-3; Conner (PM) d. Rebecca Marden (NC) 8-0; Hickman (PM) d. Olivia Harris (NC) 8-4; Mahaffey (PM) d. Claire Price (NC) 9-7; Nadine Wilson (NC) d. Mille Glick (PM) 8-0.

DOUBLES – Roberts and Shafer (PM) d. Craig and Price (NC) 8-1; Conner and Mahaffey (PM) d. Marden and Harris (NC) 8-2; Hickman and Truslow (PM) d. Marrs and Iatziry Agustin-Gonzelez (NC) 8-5.