Jamestown senior Leah Walter enjoyed every minute of playing alongside her younger sister, Anna, and capturing a Region I girls doubles title Wednesday afternoon.
The hard part came roughly 30 minutes after the doubles final, when the sisters took the court again on opposite sides of the net to settle the regional singles crown.
Eagles coach Karen Johnson, who never before experienced two of her own players battling for a region title, called it one of the toughest matches she’s ever had to coach, and rarely offered anything that wasn’t along the lines of “Great point, ladies!”
Ditto for the handful of Jamestown supporters who watched the match, which was just the second official meeting between the two sisters. Leah’s 6-4, 6-3 triumph over Anna in the Bay Rivers District singles tournament final two weeks ago was the first.
After overcoming a grueling first set that consisted mostly of long, hard points, Leah powered through the second before walking off the court – although not before sharing a long hug with her sister – with a 6-3, 6-0 victory- her first region singles title in three tries.
Afterward, Leah joked that the best part of earning her first trip to next week’s Group AA state singles tournament is that she won’t have to go through her sister for the title.
“I’m so glad we don’t have to do this again,” Leah said with a big sigh of relief. “It’s just hard because she’s my sister and playing against her is always so draining, both mentally and physically. I really bought into the whole idea of pretending like you’re playing a shadow, which is something one of my coaches, Hugh Spain, recommended.
“But it’s definitely an awesome feeling to finally get to play singles in states.”
Walter will compete in the state singles semifinal June 6 on Virginia Tech’s courts and will aim to repeat the success of defending Group AA champion Wiktoria Plawska, the former York High standout now playing at Hampton Roads Academy – who defeated Walter in each of the past two Region I finals.
“It’s been the goal since I was a freshman (to compete in the state singles tournament), so I’m very grateful for the opportunity.”
The Walter sisters’ singles title match was originally scheduled for 9 a.m., along with the boys – which pitted Bruton’s Kurt Mittmann against James Monroe’s Fitzhugh Johnson – but was pushed back until later in the afternoon because of Standards of Learning testing.
Mittmann, the reigning Bay Rivers District singles champion, said he “just didn’t have it” after losing to Johnson 6-0, 6-1 in the day’s first match which began at 9 a.m.
The boys and girls doubles semifinals proceeded the boys singles final when the day’s most competitive match was played between Jamestown’s Elizabeth Wallace and Kathy Sharp, the district’s No. 2 seed, and No. 3 Teresa Alvarez/Kristin Dantzler of York.
After dropping the first set 4-6, Alvarez and Dantzler rallied to take the next two, 6-1, 7-5 — although Wallace and Sharp made things interesting with a late push after falling behind 5-2 in the third set.
Alvarez and Dantzler proved to be no match for the Walter sisters in the final, though. The Eagles tandem, who breezed past Grafton’s Kayla Jefferson and Sydney Short 6-0, 6-0 in the other semifinal, won easily 6-1, 6-0, to secure a spot in next week’s state doubles semifinals in Blacksburg.
Mittmann partnered with senior teammate Patrick Riley to breeze past Prince Edward’s Asim Brooks and Kieston France, 6-1, 6-2, before losing in the final to Johnson and teammate Walton Mahon, who ousted Eastern View’s Matt Peacher and Jeb Carroll 6-3, 6-2 previously in the other semifinal.
All of Wednesday’s singles and doubles champions will advance to next week’s Group AA state individual tournament in Blacksburg, which begins Thursday following Tuesday’s team quarterfinals. Leah Walter will make her state singles tournament debut 9 a.m. Thursday against the Region II champion. She and Anna will begin their doubles journey at 3 p.m. Friday against Region III champion Riley/Mood of E.C. Glass.
Region I Tennis
Boys
Singles Quarterfinals
BRD #1 Kurt Mittman (Bruton) def. BF #1 Marcus Mitra (Courtland) 6-0, 6-1
BRD #4 Ethan Buck (York) def. SS No. 1 Asim Brooks (Prince Edward) 6-4, 6-1
BF #1 Fitzhugh Johnson (James Monroe) def. BRD #3 Sam Ross (Jamestown) 6-2, 6-0
BRD #2 Fabian Schleicher (Jamestown) def. BF #2 Matt Peacher (Eastern View) 7-6 (7-4), 5-7, 6-4
Singles Semifinals
Mittman def. Buck 6-4, 6-1
Johnson def. Schleicher 6-0, 6-0
Singles Championship
Johnson def. Mittmann 6-0, 6-1
Doubles Quarterfinals
BRD #1 Kurt Mittman/Patrick Riley (Bruton) def.
BF #3 Marcus Mitra/Miguel Mitra (Prince Edward) 6-1, 6-2
SS #1 Asim Brooks/Kieston France (Prince Edward) def.
BRD #4 Nathan Campbell/Derrick Nielson (Jamestown) 4-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-4
BF #1 Fitzhugh Johnson/Walter Mahon (James Monroe) def.
BRD #3 Ethan Buck/Vraj Gajar (York) 6-1, 6-2
BF #2 Matt Peacher/Jeb Carroll (Eastern View) def.
BRD #2 Sam Ross/Mike Jones (Jamestown) 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (7-5)
Doubles Semifinals
Mittman/Riley def. Brooks/France 6-1, 6-2
Johnson/Mahon def. Peacher/Carroll 6-3, 6-2
Doubles Final
Johnson/Mahon def. Mittmann/Riley 6-1, 6-2
GIRLS
Singles Quarterfinals
BRD #1 Leah Walter (Jamestown) def. BF #3 Alicia Paulose (James Monroe) 6-0, 6-2
BRD #4 Teresa Alvarez (York) def. SS #1 Melia Hill (Southampton) 6-0, 6-0
BRD #3 Gaby Tersigni (York) def. BF #1 AnnaKate Tyler (Eastern View) 6-4, 6-3
BRD #2 Anna Walter (Jamestown) def. BF #2 Bailey Christoforatos (Spotsylvania) 6-0, 6-3
Singles Semifinals
L. Walter def. Alvarez 6-2, 6-3
A. Walter def. Tersigni 6-0, 6-2
Singles Final
L. Walter def. A. Walter 6-3, 6-0
Doubles Quarterfinals
BRD #1 Leah Walter/Anna Walter (Jamestown) def.
BF #2 Ashley Prosser/Brittany Tennant (Chancellor) 6-0, 6-1
BRD #4 Sydney Short/Kayla Jefferson (Grafton) def.
SS #1 Kiana Hancock/Sierra Mitchell (Greensville) 6-1, 6-0
BRD #3 Teresa Alvarez/Kristin Dantzler (York) def.
BF #1 AnnaKate Tyler/Rose Bennett (Eastern View) 5-7, 6-3, 6-1
BRD #2 Elizabeth Wallace/Kathy Sharp (Jamestown) def.
BF #2 Kursten Anderson/Kristen Ramey (Culpeper) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles Semifinals
L. Walter/A. Walter def. Short/Jefferson 6-0, 6-0
Alvarez/Dantzler def. Wallace/Sharp 4-6, 6-1, 7-5
Doubles Final
L. Walter/A. Walter def. Alvarez/Dantzler 6-1, 6-0
