War Eagle tennis wins critical match
Published 9:14 am Thursday, September 20, 2018
The Davie tennis powerhouse keeps humming along, remaining undefeated and in position for its third regular-season championship in a row.
The War Eagles demolished Glenn and East Forsyth. Sandwiched between those was one of the most critical matchups of the season, a road test against Reynolds. Davie let out a big exhale when it survived at Hanes Park.
As expected, the War Eagles crushed Glenn 9-0 in Kernersville on Sept. 10. They beat the Bobcats by that score for the fourth time in three seasons. The winners in singles were Laura Becker (6-0, 6-0), Sierra Foster (6-0, 6-0), Amanda Ngo (6-0, 6-0), Emery Rosenbaum (6-0, 6-0), Aisulu Ball (6-0, 6-0) and Ava Montebello (6-0, 6-0). The doubles winners were Ball/Montebello (8-3), Taylor Threadgill/Abigail Fletcher (8-1) and Lauren Warlick/Whitney DeLoach (8-0).
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There was a huge step up in competition when Davie traveled to Hanes Park on Sept. 11.
Reynolds had endured 5-4 losses to Page and Reagan. Page is always strong and Reagan is 6-0. Davie kept pace with CPC rival Reagan by outlasting the Demons 5-4.
The one and three seeds for Reynolds were no match for Becker (6-0, 6-0) and Ngo (6-0, 6-2). Becker’s scores looked familiar; she has won all 62 games as a senior, giving her a 6-0 record. Ngo moved to 7-0.
The pivotal matchup was No. 2 Foster against fellow senior Elizabeth Youssef of Reynolds. They would battle in a make-or-break doubles match as well. In their singles, Foster rolled 6-1 in the first set. Youssef pulled a serious reversal in the second set, taking a 4-0 lead. Foster fought back and forced a set tiebreaker. There, Foster erased a 3-2 deficit with five unanswered points. She won the second set 7-6 (7-3) to maintain her spotless record at 7-0.
“She won the first set pretty easily,” coach Collin Ferebee said. “She couldn’t make it easy on herself. She got down and she clawed back.”
The score was 3-3 after singles. Becker/Rosenbaum took care of business at No. 1 doubles, winning 8-3 to run their season record to 3-0. Davie lost at No. 3 doubles, so everything hinged on No. 2 doubles (Foster/Ngo).
It was a 5-4 barnburner – in Reynolds’ favor – at one point. Foster and Ngo kept their poise, scratched and clawed, and ran off four straight games to win 8-5 – and put Reynolds to bed. They’re 3-0 on the season.
“I was pretty nervous for a little bit,” Ferebee said. “They turned that switch on.”
Davie-Reynolds has been a compelling rivalry in recent years. In 2015, Reynolds finished first in the regular season with Davie second. But Davie won the CPC Tournament. In 2016, Davie won the regular season with Reynolds second. Davie added a CPC Tournament title. In 2017, they split 5-4 decisions and shared the regular-season title. But Davie got the last laugh, beating the Demons 5-2 in a playoff for the No. 1 seed and winning the CPC Tournament for the third year in a row.
Now Davie has won five of the past six meetings.
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The War Eagles feasted on a lesser opponent on Sept. 12, winning 7-2 over visiting East Forsyth.
Becker (6-0, 6-0), Foster (6-0, 6-0), Ngo (6-0, 6-0), Rosenbaum (6-1, 7-6, 7-4), Ball (6-4, 6-2) and Montebello (6-1, 6-1) clinched in singles as Davie (4-0 CPC) reached 8-0 for the third straight year.
At No. 3 doubles, Allison Plott/Jasie Hollar cruised 8-1.