Men's Tennis
The Royals men's tennis team took the courts on last Thursday and Friday for a pair of matches against Ohio Christian University and Ferrum College. After the two days of play, the Royals found themselves splitting the weekend with a handful of Royals getting individual wins.
The opening match against Ohio Christian University saw the Royals get on the board early with a doubles win from junior Caleb Weaver and freshman Aaron Murphy. Going into the singles matches with a 2-1 lead, the Royals were able to dominate at the bottom scoring wins from junior Joe Tempest at the 3 spot and freshman Daniel Orahood in the 4 spot. The top two spots would be tightly contested matches with sophomore Malachi Carr dropping a three set thriller at the one spot while junior Riley Reinhardt pulled off the win at the two spot. The Royals would walk away with the win 7-2.
The Royals went down the wire at two doubles but eventually fell behind 3-0. Playing from behind, the Royals continued to struggle at singles until Daniel Orahood was able to pull off a victory at the six spot. Daniel’s win helped the Royals avoid the sweep as they dropped the match 1-8.
Coach Hale summed up the weekend saying, “I liked how we competed in all of these matches. Despite being on the losing end against Ferrum, we played well and fought hard which is the best you can ask for against a good team. I’m proud of how we have grown and the progress we have made with a young team. They are a team that is full of heart and have been a pleasure to coach.”
Women's Tennis
The Royals women’s tennis teams were too much for both teams as the Royals emerged with two team victories and numerous individual wins.
The opening match Thursday saw the Royals overmatch the Blazers of Ohio Christian on every court. The winning started on the top doubles court with the pair of Iris Loveday and Olive Anderson taking the opening match 8-0. With a comfortable lead after doubles, Annalise McDonald, Keisha McIntyre, and Emily Allen continued to solidify the win in singles. The Royals would walk away 9-0 winners.
Friday would prove to be more difficult after the Royals found themselves down 2-0 after dropping the top doubles courts. Trying to avoid the doubles sweep, the pair of Brooke Hilemon and Maggie Franklin teamed up to attack the net and steal the close win at the number three position. After dropping the two singles spot, sophomore Iris Loveday picked up the win at the three spot and eyes turned to senior Hannah Ridenour on the top court in a third set tie-breaker. Hannah would play her best tennis in the breaker to knot the match at 3-3. With the match hanging in the balance, Olive Anderson, Keisha McIntyre, and Emily Allen would take the court at the four, five, and six spots. Despite only needing two of the three for the win, all three players would rise to the occasion easily winning their matches in straight sets. The final tally would be 6-3 for Johnson.
After the match, Coach Hale said the following, “I am very proud of how some players rose up to get the team wins over the last few days. The Ferrum match was particularly exciting with seniors Hannah Ridenour and Keisha McIntyre leading the way. It is always exciting when you get different wins from eight different players in two matches. This shows the strength and depth of our team which bodes very well for the future!”