The Mathews High School girls’ tennis team dropped its opener last Tuesday against AAA Glen Allen, but came back strong to defeat AA Grafton last Thursday and AAA Gloucester on Monday.

Glen Allen won with a team score of 5-1. The match was called due to darkness. The only win against Glen Allen was Amy Collins who defeated Julie Jackson, 8-3, in second-seed singles action. Collins played consistently, mixing topspin and slice to defeat her opponent.

Two days later, Mathews edged Grafton, 5-4. Lamar Saunders was substituted in the number one position because Aly Collins was sick. "In tennis, you can sub a position or you can move your players up in the ladder. Strategically, I felt it was better to sub that position and it worked," coach LaDonna Crain said. Saunders, the number seven player, was substituted in the number one position and was defeated by Sydney Short, 0-8. At number two, Amy Collins lost, 4-8, to Kayla Jefferson. Mercedes Wells at number three also took a loss of 3-8 to Trilby Brush. The bottom of the lineup then came out strong for Mathews to pull out the win.

At number four, Leanne Moughon won, 8-5, against April Keith. Kate van Emmerik, at number five, defeated Emily Wong, 8-1. Number six Carlyn Tillage won, 8-5, over Alex Dixon. Going into doubles play, the score was 3-3. The number-one doubles, with Saunders substituting for Aly Collins, played with Amy Collins and lost to Short and Jefferson, 0-8. Wells and Moughon pulled a great win for the number-two doubles, defeating Brush and Keith, 8-3. Number three doubles, van Emmerik and Tillage scored an 8-4 win over Wang and Dixon to pull off the win for the team.

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