FAIRMONT — The West Bladen girls tennis team opened the season Monday with a five-hour marathon that produced an 8-1 win over Fairmont, but the victory didn’t impress coach Jeff Atkinson.
“Even though we were able to win, I was very disappointed with our style of play,” Atkinson said. “We had too many unforced errors on our ground strokes and serving was terrible. We’ve got to do a better job than what we showed (Monday) — just too many mistakes and lack of mental toughness.”
For the Lady Knights in singles, No. 1 Alanna Ludlum picked up an 8-1 win; No. 2 Amber Long won 8-4; No. 3 Helen Lopez took an 8-4 victory; No. 4 Conner Brisson earned an 8-0 whitewash win; No. 5 Savannah Lee took an 8-3 win; and No. 6 Autumn Brisson won 8-4.
In doubles, West Bladen’s No. 1 duo of Ludlum and Long won 8-1; and the No. 3 tandem of Autumn Brisson and Alyssa Bell took a hard-fought 8-6 win.
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Volleyball
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— In St. Pauls on Monday, the Lady Knights opened the season with a straight-sets win over the Lady Bulldogs by the scores of 25-21, 25-12 and 25-16.
Kathryn Schultz recorded five kills and two blocks, while Morgan Schumacher had five kills and a block. Raegan Davis chipped in with two kills and 10 assists, while Kassidy Anderson added two kills and two aces, and Jenna Dove had five aces and a kill.
Others who contributed included: Kaylee Stevens with two aces; Patience Parker with two kills and a block; Logan Autry with five kills, eight assists and three aces; and Laikyn pait with two blocks and two aces.
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Soccer
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— In Dublin on Monday, the West Bladen boys soccer team crushed visiting West Columbus in the season opener, 10-1.