Tennis team seals second with sixth straight win
Published 9:49 am Thursday, October 15, 2015
The Davie tennis team has a lot to smile about. With one senior, two juniors and three freshmen in the top six, the War Eagles have surpassed all expectations during a season in which they’ve won 13 of 15 matches, including a 10-2 mark in the Central Piedmont Conference.
Reynolds captured the league at 12-0. Davie finished second, while Mt. Tabor was third at 8-4. Look at what the War Eagles have accomplished:
• They closed the regular season with a six-match winning streak.
• They notched the most CPC wins in 28 years. The 1987 team went 11-3 to finish second.
• They have the most overall wins in eight years. The 2007 team went 16-4.
• After finishing fifth, fourth and third in the CPC the past three years, they achieved the highest CPC finish in four years. The 2011 team was runner-up.
“This win (over Mt. Tabor to end the regular season) allowed us to clinch a berth in the dual team state playoffs,” coach John Bullins said. “All of the girls have improved – not only the six starters, but all the girls. They’ve worked hard to improve everyday.”
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Hosting North Davidson on Oct. 6 at North Davie Middle, the War Eagles rolled 7-2 for their 30th consecutive victory over the Black Knights.
Freshman Laura Becker, freshman Sierra Foster, junior Jennifer Ngo, freshman Amanda Ngo, senior Emma Etter and junior Claire Myers – the order of the top six seeds – swept singles. Foster/Myers added a win in doubles.
The next match – against Parkland at Mt. Tabor – was basically a gimme as the War Eagles cruised 6-0 over the winless Mustangs (0-9). The winners in singles were Foster, A. Ngo, Aubree Privat and freshman Emery Rosenbaum, who won in her debut as a starter. Etter/Molly Hartness and Grace Nixon/Macie Latham won in doubles.
The next day at Mt. Tabor, the War Eagles put a big exclamation point on the regular season, dismantling the Spartans 7-2. Becker, Foster, J. Ngo, A. Ngo and Myers won in singles, while J. Ngo/A. Ngo and Etter/Myers won in doubles.
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Bullins had plenty of things to say about his players.
On Etter, a senior who is 7-6: “She has definitely improved. She has really worked on her ground strokes. She’s had some really close matches. (Tabor) was another one of them. She was the only one that lost in singles, but it was a really close match and she was playing well.”
On Myers, who is 12-1: “She battles from start to finish. She was down (against Tabor), kept battling, went ahead and took the match over.”
On Becker, who is 12-2: “First of all, it’s natural athletic ability. I would say Laura would be a great cross country runner. She probably would be a great volleyball player. She probably would be a great basketball player. Laura is the type of athlete that probably could pick up any sport and be very good at it. When you combine that with all of the lessons, the clinics, the academy and the tournaments that she has played in over all these years, you’re going to get a very solid player. And combine that with her work ethic, her positive attitude and her sportsmanship and you have a game-changer that has been a blessing addition to our program.”
On Foster, who is 11-2: “Sierra is very smooth. She’s another freshman who has contributed so much to the team. She is also a fighter. She is going to battle you.”
J. Ngo is 11-3. A. Ngo is 15-0. And they are 5-1 in doubles.
“They had a big doubles match (against Tabor). They won in a tiebreaker and they battled hard. It was an intense game and they were fighting for every point. You could tell that sisterly bond was present throughout the match, that they were going to find a way to win.”
Bullins added that Privat, who is 3-0, and Rosenbaum “have improved so much from the beginning of the season to now.”