LYNCHBURG — York’s girls tennis team ended its season with a loss Saturday afternoon, but lifting the program to heights it has never been before was a victory in its own right.
Facing a talented and hungry Western Albemarle team that lost to Jamestown in last year’s Group AA state final, the Falcons fought admirably before falling 5-1 in the 3A state championship match held on Liberty University’s courts in Lynchburg.
Western Albemarle’s players flooded the courts after their teammate, Stephanie Barton, outlasted York’s Ashley Gailey in the day’s most competitive and entertaining match at singles line No. 4 to clinch the victory.
Gailey’s effort exemplified York’s persistent fight on this day. After narrowly dropping the first set 6-7 (4-7), Gailey fell behind five games to four in the second before Barton served her way to a 40-love lead in the potentially match-clinching 10th game. Gailey battled all the way back, though, overcoming seven match points before bowing out with a 5-7 loss in the second set.
“Ever since the end of last season, we have worked diligently to get here because York High has never been this far,” said Gailey, one of two seniors on York’s team. “It’s not ideal to go out like this, but we fought as hard as we could. It’s been an amazing experience to enjoy this with a team that has such great sportsmanship and supportive coaches.”
Things started well for York, as the first player off the court was sophomore Kristin Dantzler, who breezed past her opponent, Lauren Kearns, 6-0, 6-2.
The victory capped off a perfect season for Dantzler, who finished the season unbeaten in dual matches as York’s No. 3 singles player.
“It’s a great accomplishment, but the team is most important,” Dantzler said. “I go out with a positive attitude and just try to do my best.”
The next three matches to end were all in favor of Western Albemarle, which returned each of its top three and four players overall from last year’s state-runner up team.
York’s No. 1 Teresa Alvarez played a strong match against Western’s talented lefty Emily Kochard, who won 6-1, 6-4. Alvarez made York fans roar when she produced the point of the match with a remarkable individual effort during the competitive second set. After Kochard impressively returned two tough drop shots, Alvarez charged the net in a full sprint, lunged ahead and sliced a shot to the further point across court that Kochard had no chance of reaching.
After Casey Jutras and Gabi Tersigni each lost in straight sets, Gailey and Courtney Jenkins were York’s last hope of forcing doubles.
Jenkins, playing at No. 5 singles, took the first set from Western’s Maggie Roesch 6-2, but fell apart after Roesch edged her in the second 6-7 (0-7).
Gailey, meanwhile, continued to labor through a hip injury. She said she heard a pop early in the first set, and after one of Liberty’s trainers tended to her on the court for roughly five minutes before she continued playing.
She prolonged the match long enough for the No. 1 doubles teams to take the court and begin the first game of their match, but Barton put the finishing touches on things with a nice forehand shot that drew an errant return from Gailey.
Before receiving the first state runner-up medals in the history of York High girls tennis, York Coach Steve Fisher brought his team together and told them how proud he was for all they had accomplished this season.
They won the inaugural Colonial Rivers Conference 25 and 3A East Region titles for the first time before making a historical appearance at states.
“We would have liked to been a little more competitive today, but to hang our heads after this season would be crazy,” Fisher said.
Fisher talked more about his team’s fight on Saturday and their historic season in the video above.
