Thursday’s Bay Rivers District girls tennis match between neighboring rivals Grafton and York was so competitive that play had to be suspended due to darkness before a victor could be decided.
Nobody can attest to how exhausting a match it was more than Grafton’s Emily Wang and York’s Courtney Jenkins, who spent roughly four hours on the court before the decreased visibility became hazardous around 8:15 p.m.
The two players’ afternoon began with a grueling two-hour match at No. 5 singles where Wang eked out a 7-5, 3-6, 10-8 win.
“That was big for us because if [Wang] lost, we would have needed to sweep all three doubles matches to win,” Grafton coach Zach Minor said.
After Wang’s victory gave the two teams a 3-3 split in singles, she and Jenkins joined their teammates, Grace Yi (York) and Winnie Zhang (Grafton), to begin No. 3 doubles.
By that time, York’s tandem of Teresa Alvarez and Gabi Tersigni and Grafton’s April Keith and Alex Dixon had all but wrapped their victories at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles as the score remain tied at 4-4 with only No. 3 doubles remaining.
Wang and Jenkins would continue their marathon day alongside their teammates No. 3 doubles, a match that played out as competitive as their singles’ bout.
The back-and-forth battle was tied 7-7 as the time surpassed 8 p.m.
“They were saying during the match, ‘I can’t see, I can’t see!’” York coach Steve Fisher said. “I expected it to be a dog fight, and it doesn’t get much closer than that.”
The No. 3 doubles teams will return to Grafton’s courts at 3 p.m. Friday afternoon to play out the final few games that will decide the winner of the match.
York has yet to lose this season while Grafton has lost once against Lafayette.
Other girls tennis scores from Thursday:
Jamestown 9 Bruton 0
Singles
Anna Walter def. Sydney Wojcieszak 6-0, 6-0
Katie Hunt def. Alexis Ferebee 7-5, 6-4
Emily Gray def. Sasha Morris 6-4, 6-4
Mairin Shea def. Natalie Cross 7-5, 6-0
Alisha Kohli def. Libby Bieri 6-0, 6-0
Morgan Heard def. Jessica Holmes 6-0, 6-1
Doubles
Walter/Shea def. Wojcieszak/Ferebee 8-0
Hunt/Gray def. Morris/Cross 8-0
Kohli/Allred def. Bieri/Zacharias 8-2
Lafayette 9 Poquoson 0
Singles
Bland def. Kumar 6-1, 6-2
Trueblood def. Siu 6-0, 6-0
Hatcher def. Reyes 6-1, 6-2
Quarles def. Yi 6-0, 6-0
R. Rosewelsh def. Rogers 6-2, 6-0
Dwyer def. Hunt 6-1, 6-2
Doubles
Bland/Trueblood def. Kumar/Siu 8-0
M. Rosewelsh/Hatcher def. Reyes/Yi 8-1
Quarles/R. Rosewelsh def. Rogers/Hunt 8-1
Record: Lafayette 8-0, 5-0 BRD
BOYS TENNIS
Grafton 7 York 2
Singles
Allen Tang(G) def. Alec Liang 5-7, 6-1 (10-4)
Youngbin Kim(G) def David Mollenkamp 1-6, 7-5 (10-6)
Josh McFadden(Y) def Daniel Kang 6-4, 7-6 (8-6)
Nir Diskin(G) def Jonathan Moulton 6-7(7), 6-2, (11-9)
Dennis Liu (Y)def Kevin Peng 6-2,6-2
Zeke Tal (G)def Mohammed Ahmed 2-6, 6-4,(10-8)
Doubles
A.Tang/Kim(G) def Patterson/Hill 8-2
Kang/Peng (G) def Mollenkamp/Moulton 8-5
Diskin/Tal(G) def McFadden/Liu 9-7
Records: Grafton 4-1, 3-1 BRD; York 4-2 BRD
Jamestown 8 Bruton 1
Singles
Mittmann (B) def. Neilson 6-2, 6-1
Reddy (J) def. Condra 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-6)
Mahaffey (J) def. McLaughlin 6-1, 6-0
Kohli (J) def. Mitchell 6-0, 6-0
Campbell (J) def. Legaspi 6-1, 6-0
DeBerry (J) def. Ian Sadler 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
Neilson/DeBerry def. Mittmann/McLaughlin 8-3
Kohli-Mahaffey def. Condra/Mitchell 8-4
Campbell/Hubbard def. Legaspi/Jack Sadler 8-3
Records: Jamestown 4-3, 4-0 BRD; Bruton 5-2, 3-2 BRD
