The Mathews High School tennis team suffered its first loss of the season to the Lady Raiders of Rappahannock who were last year’s state team finalist and did not lose any players.

MHS battled throughout the match but fell short with a combined score of 8-1 on March 26 in the final game before spring break.

In singles, number one for Mathews, Sarah Brown, had to forfeit due to an injury to her knee midway through her match, when she was down, 6-3, against Laura Ambrose. Number two for Mathews, Avery Betz, made consistent shots against Mackenzie Straughan and fell short with 8-4 match score. Number three Caroline Evans played an evenly matched Regan White during singles and tied with an 8-8 score, but Evans fell short during the set tie-breaker with a score of 7-4, giving Rappahannock a lead of 3.

Number four Connie Johnson gave Mathews its only win, beating Taylor Vaughn, 8-6. Fifth seed Alex Mills played a consistent match against Rachel Hall but fell short, 8-4. MHS number s...