While the rest of her team cruised to victories against their respective Colonial Heights opponents, Lafayette junior Tawni Hatcher found herself in dogfights during her singles and doubles matches on Wednesday.
The Rams shut out a fellow Conference 25 program, Colonial Heights, 9-0 — but not without some struggles from their No. 1 player.
As Lafayette’s singles players exited the courts after convincing two-set victories, the top-seeded Hatcher continued her duel against Hwejean Jeong of Colonial Heights.
The match was going smoothly for Hatcher in the first set as she scored an easy 6-2 victory. In the second set, Hatcher began committing unforced errors that allowed Jeong to secure crucial games.
“I was a little off my game today,” Hatcher said. “I wasn’t hitting my ground strokes right. I pulled it together and got it in the tiebreaker.”
With the tiebreaker set tied 5-5, Hatcher reeled off five of the last seven points to secure the 10-7 victory.
The Lafayette singles players finished a perfect 6-0 against Colonial Heights.
In the doubles matches, Hatcher and her partner Abby Johnson found themselves behind 6-7 to the Colonial Heights duo of Jeong and Michelle Moran.
Following advice from Lafayette coach Pat Thompson between sets, the Hatcher and Johnson won three consecutive games to earn a 9-7 win.
“The doubles needs a lot of work,” Thompson joked after the match.
Despite her frustrations with her doubles performances, Thompson thought the day was successful for her team.
“[Colonial Heights is] in Conference 25 and is one of the better teams,” she said. “We’re off to a good start.”
The Rams have not dropped a match during their first three victories. Lafayette will look to keep that momentum going into Friday’s showdown against Woodside, which will be played at home at 3:30 p.m.
Lafayette 9, Colonial Heights 0
Singles
Tawni Hatcher (L) d. Hwejean Jeong 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (10-7)
Haley Quarles (L) d. Michelle Moran 6-2, 6-0
Robin Rosewelsh (L) d. Campbell Steele 6-1, 6-1
Maggie Dwyer (L) d. Minh Nguyen 6-2, 6-3
Abby Johnson (L) d. Mansi Patel 6-1, 6-0
Natalie Wood d. Sonali Luthar 6-2, 6-1
Doubles
Hatcher/Johnson (L) d. Jeong/Moran 9-7
Quarles/Rosewelsh (L) d. Patel/Nguyen 8-1
Dwyer/Wood (L) d. Steele/Luthar 8-4
Maggie Walker Shuts Out Bruton
The Bruton girls tennis team struggled against Maggie Walker, dropping every match during Wednesday’s 9-0 road loss.
The loss drops the Panthers to 1-1 on the season with a home match against Bay Rivers District opponent Lafayette up next at 4 p.m. Monday.
Maggie Walker 9, Bruton 0
Singles
Anna Soffin (MW) d. Allison Pratt 8-0
Anna Kuno (MW) d. Sydney Wojcieszak 8-2
Julia Ball (MW) d. Sasha Morris 8-2
Katie Wood (MW) d. Leanne Troutman 8-1
Darby Anderson (MW) d. Natalie Cross 8-2
Elizabeth Benos (MW) d. Libby Bieri 8-3
Doubles
Soffin/Ball (MW) d. Wojcieszak/Pratt 8-0
Kuno/Anderson (MW) d. Morris/Troutman 8-1
Wood/Benos (MW) d. Cross/Bieri 8-1
