The Mathews High School girls’ tennis team won all three of its matches during the past week against 1A Northampton, 2A Bruton and 3A New Kent.
To start off on April 15, Mathews hosted Northampton and took a strong win sweeping the Yellow Jackets, 9-0. In singles, playing number one, Morgan Johnson defeated Angela Hood, 8-4. At number two, Ashley Hudgins took an 8-1 win over Sara Gildo. Rachel Stewart, number three, Alexis Wells, four, Maddie Brown, five, and Emma Wood, six, left their opponents Elizabeth Fernandez, Morgan Craivk, Cindy Early and Trenna Orsinger scoreless, winning 8-0 in each match.
In doubles play, the top-seeded team of Johnson and Hudgins won, 8-3, over Hood and Gildo. Number two doubles partners Stewart and Wells defeated Fernandez and Craivk, 8-0. Brown and Wood, at number-three doubles, defeated Early and Orsinger, 8-0. In exhibition doubles matches, Madelyn Johnson and Kathryn Bray defeated Elizabeth Read and Isabella Sayers, 8-1. Johnson and Bray played another doubles match and won, 8-0. Ali Haynes and Katherine Ransone won, 8-0. Chloe Sanderson and Anne Stewart also defeated their opponents, 8-0.
The following day, Mathews traveled to Bruton to score a 7-2 win. In singles, playing number one, Morgan Johnson played a very consistent game to defeat Sydney Wojcieszak, 6-3, 6-1. Next in the lineup, Hudgins played a very strong game against Allison Pratt, winning the first set in a tie-breaker 7-6 (7-3) and then the second set 6-4. Stewart, who had a tough match playing a very consistent Sasha Morris, lost the first set in a tie-breaker 7-6 (7-4).
Stewart suffered a muscle strain in the first game of the match but continued to play. After losing the first set, coach LaDonna Crain made the decision to forfeit Stewart’s match to prevent further injury.
Wells, playing number four, had a tough, long two and a half hour match, winning the first set, 6-1, then losing the second set, 5-7, and finally losing the third set in a 10-point super tie-breaker, 10-8, against Leanne Troutman.
Brown earned another tough victory for the team by outhitting her opponent, Natalie Cross. She cruised through the first set, 6-3, lost the second set, 4-6, and then took the win for the team, 10-4, in the third set 10-point super tiebreaker. Wood, at number six, played strong and had very little trouble defeating Libby Bieri, 6-0, 6-0.
The Devils’ number-one doubles, Johnson and Hudgins played an aggressive net game to take the win over Wojcieszak and Morris, 8-4. In a close match for number-two doubles, Brown, who was bumped up in the lineup to take injured Stewart’s place, teamed up with Wells to win against Pratt and Troutman, 8-6. Number three doubles, Wood and alternate, Madelyn Johnson, teamed up for a dominating win, 8-0. In exhibition play, double team Bray and Haynes won their first and second matches, 8-2. Ransone and Sanderson also played two matches, winning 8-3 and 8-4.
On Friday, Mathews improved its record to 8-0 with a 7-2 win over New Kent. In singles play, at number one, Johnson played a very strong Clare Morris and took a tough loss of 8-1. Number two, Hudgins used lots of topspin and defeated Jessie Gaertner, 8-4. With Stewart still out due to injury, Wells played third-seed singles, Brown four, Wood five and Johnson six.
Wells was the first off the court winning 8-1 against Jemalyn Harvey. Brown and Wood played very strong leaving their opponents Torin Carlson and Reshyra Jacboram scoreless, 8-0. Johnson played very well to earn the fifth singles win 8-3 against Dominique Palermo. In doubles play, number one, Johnson and Hudgins took a loss against the strong team of Morris and Gaertner, 8-4. Wells and Brown, at two, played well to win 8-1 over Harvey and Carlson. Number three, Wood and Johnson played aggressive net to defeat Jacboram and Palermo, 8-0. In exhibition play, Bray and Ransone played strong to win 8-0.
Mathews travels to Middlesex today for the Devils’ first conference match, starting at 4 p.m.