Leesville Road girls tennis
Leesville Road senior Bailey Wilson scored a 7-5, 6-2 victory in her final home match Wednesday.
Pride defeats Wakefield in tennis finale
Although the Broughton and Wakefield tennis teams already secured the Cap-7 Conferences' two automatic bids into the state tennis playoffs, Leesville Road didn't go down without a fight in its regular-season finale with the Lady Wolverines Wednesday afternoon.
On the strength of its excellent singles play, winning five of six contests, the Pride recorded a 6-3 victory.
And in their last career home match, seniors Amy Weischedel, Julianne Dragan and Bailey Wilson finished on a high note, posting three wins.
It's a deserving conclusion to their careers, explained Pride coach Melissa Bowman, adding the trio were "integral to our winning season."
"All three are tenacious and hardworking. They never give up without a fight!" the coach said in an e-mail.
Check out our photo gallery from the Oct. 7 tennis match.
After Wakefield's Ally Prior scored a 6-3, 6-1 win over Alicia Busch in No. 1 singles, the Pride rolled, taking the next five matches.
Weischedel knocked off Shani Ervin 6-0, 6-2, Dragan bested Taylor Orlando 6-4, 6-0, Wilson defeated Alanna Albrecht 7-5, 6-2, Jessica Kenny beat Jenna Martin 6-1, 6-0 and Kate Medynskaya took out Nicki Wenick 4-6, 6-4, 10-8.
Wakefield head coach Ken Stewart lauded the Medynskaya/Wencik match as the contest's most competitive battle.
"Nicki played unbelievable," the coach said. "She was down 4-1, and won 6-4. She was down 5-2, tied it up only to lose 7-5. And the tiebreaker, she was down 6-1, but lost 10-8.
"She put herself in a position to win, and that's all you can ask."
In doubles action, the Lady Wolverines rebounded to take two of three matches. The tandem of Prior/Ervin defeated Weischedel/Wilson 8-3. Kellie wenick/Donna Yeung prevailed 8-4 over Emily Foulke/Ellie Cain.
Kenny and Connor Grant scored the Pride's lone doubles win, defeating Kristen Cochran/Nicki Wenick 8-6.
Bowman lauded her team's effort, which continued through the last day of the regular season. (The Cap-7 Conference tournament kicks off Tuesday at Millbrook Exchange Park in Raleigh — next to Millbrook High.)
"This year I was most proud of my team's attitude and behavior," the coach said. "If we suffered a defeat, the feelings were left on the court and never made it onto the bus. If we won, the girls were gracious towards their opponents."
Bowman, who took over the program this fall, called her first year "fantastic."
"I was lucky to be working with such a wonderful group of young ladies," she said. "I'm sad the season is almost over and will miss spending my afternoons with them."
Barring a wild-card invitation into the state playoffs — which are difficult to receive — the Pride's team season is likely over. (Though it should be noted, Leesville received one last year, and won its first two postseason match-ups.)
Wakefield senior Shani Ervin scored a win in doubles play with teammate Ally Prior Wednesday.
The Lady Wolverines, on the other hand, look to avenge last year's first-round playoff loss.
Though the defeat came to the eventual state champion East Chapel Hill.
"The contest with East Chapel Hill was a really good match for us," Stewart said. "We actually took more points from them than anyone expect for the final match."
The coach added his squad should be unfazed with the level of competition at the state level, having played Broughton — the state champion frontrunner — twice as well as Green Hope.
"We might have lost our last match to Broughton, and the score might not have looked good, but we felt like we belonged," he said.
The state playoffs do not kick off until Tuesday, Oct. 20. Wakefield's opponent has not been determined.
