Waynesville Tennis got their first win of the season tonight against Willow Springs, 6-3. The Tigers came out strong, taking a 2-1 lead in doubles.  Lauren DeMalade (jr.) and Heather Emerson (jr.) took the first win of the night.  Both players on the JV team last year, these girls have returned determined to improve and make the best of every match.  Lauren is walking into a tough spot as the #1 Varsity player.  Having never competed at the Varsity level, much less the top seed, she has worked her way to competing against the greatest players in our area.  Where some would play in fear and allow their mind to get the best of them, Lauren remains positive…always.  She knows what she’s up against.  She’s played tennis all summer, pushed herself to her limits, and she’s now leading her teammates to become the most positive, tightknit team they could be.  Her strokes are improving daily, and between her and partner Heather, they kicked off tonight on the right foot.  Blaire Smith (soph.) and Tiffany Bell (soph.) also pulled out a doubles victory before moving into Singles play.

DeMalade ended her match 0-8 in a tough loss against her Senior opponent.  Despite the score, these girls played long rallies and finished games with close scores.  Unfortunately, Willow always pulled out ahead.  Emerson broke the team tie, however, winning her match in a tiebreaker, 9-8 (7-3), pulling us ahead 3-2.  The score went back and forth like this all night as Klementyna Cichocki (sr.) lost her singles match, 5-8, tying the team score at 3-3.  Blaire Smith (soph.) won a quick match tonight, 8-2, taking the team lead.  Needing only one more win for the overall team victory, Chloe Trusty (sr.) made a comeback at #3, finishing 9-8 (10-8) in a tiebreaker after being behind most of her match.  With the pressure now off of the Tigers to take the win, Tiffany won 8-4, bringing us to 6-3 overall. 

The Tiger have one more match this week, taking on Richland Friday.

Singles

Lauren DeMalade vs. Kianna Rothermich, 0-8

Klementyna Cichocki vs. Riley Pool, 5-8

Chloe Trusy vs. Taylor Reese, 9-8 (10-8)

Heather Emerson vs. Kaitee Wheeler, 9-8 (7-3)

Blaire Smith vs. Jessie Clarkston, 8-2

Tiffany Bell vs. Olga Dudko, 8-4

Doubles

Cichocki/Trusty vs. Rothermich/Reese, 3-8

DeMalade/Emerson vs. Pool/Wheeler, 8-4

Smith/Bell vs. Clarkston/Dudko, 9-7