The Mathews High School girls’ tennis team advanced to the Region 1A East semifinals this week with a 5-1 victory over Stonewall Jackson on Monday.

The team quarterfinal match was played at the William and Mary McCormick-Nagelsen Indoor Tennis Center due to excessive rain in the area. Mathews is the number three seed of the tournament but has a great chance to be the regional team finalist. The MHS girls captured all three Conference 42 titles; winning the team, singles and doubles championships.

In the Region 1A East quarterfinals, top-seeded Lady Devil Maddie Brown started her match off strong, using strong serves and topspin to defeat Emily Ball, 6-0, 6-3. Second seed Madelyn Johnson played well against Katherine Good, using lots of backspin. Both girls battled consistently against the other; however, Johnson lost, 6-4, 7-5. At number three, Chloe Sanderson meant business against her opponent, Lacey Kagey. Sanderson played an outstanding, level-headed match to win, 6-1, 6-0....