DUBLIN — There were multiple reasons for the Lady Knights to celebrate on Thursday afternoon.
The West Bladen girl tennis team captured another Four County Conference championship with an 8-1 win over cross-county rival East Bladen on Senior Day.
“The girls played very well today,” West Bladen coach Jeff Atkinson said. “East has a good team with some great athletes and I thought our girls made the adjustments — especially with the wind blowing pretty hard this evening.”
West Bladen’s Alanna Ludlum remained perfect this season at No. 1 singles with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Justyna Gargala and the Lady Knights’ Amber Long took out Cassie Hill at No. 2 by the scores of 6-1, 6-1.
Ludlum and Long were each honored after the match for setting new school records for wins.
East Bladen picked up its lone win when No. 3 Trinity Carroll earned a hard-fought marathon over Helen Lopez by the scores of 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 1-0 (15-13).
Conner Brisson got the Lady Knights back on track with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Maddie West at No. 4 singles; Savannah Lee earned a 6-2, 6-1 win over East’s Ting Lin at No. 5; and Alyssa Bell got a 6-1, 6-1 win over Jayme LeeAnn Frady at No. 6.
West Bladen’s dominance in the doubles competition put an exclamation mark on the match, as the Lady Knights didn’t give up a game in sweeping the doubles matches by a combined 24-0 margin.
Ludlum and Long posted an 8-0 win at No. 1 over Hill and Lin; Brisson and Lee teamed for an 8-0 win at No. 2 over Carroll and West; and Hannah Arnett worked with Autumn Brisson for an 8-0 win over Frady and Bailee Davis at No. 3.
“I’m very pleased with all of the girls and their effort and performance on the courts today,” Atkinson said. “This is very sweet for our seniors … being able to bring home a conference championship. What a way to go out by being on top.”
West Bladen improved to 15-0 overall and 7-0 in the conference, while East Bladen fell to 5-3 and 3-3.
W. Curt Vincent can be reached by calling 910-862-4163.
