Waynesville Tennis had a rough start to the season tonight against the strong Lebanon Yellowjackets. Falling 0-9, the Tigers were faced with a tough test of strengths and weaknesses. We were able to learn a lot about ourselves tonight, which is good. Matches are the best way to challenge us and give us opportunities to play girls of different levels.  With a squad of 19 total, the Lady Tigers only have seven returners this year.  We have a lot of new faces and a lot of young players stepping up take on a leadership role. We’ve been stretched, and now we have a better idea of what we need to do to get better and see improvement throughout the rest of the season. I thought the girls did pretty well handling the first match jitters, as many competed on a tennis court for the first time ever tonight. Although the score doesn’t reflect it, we saw many matches go to deuce tonight. We just need to work on the mental side of the game to pull out the win in the future. 

One of the best matches of the night was played on court 1 as Seniors Heather Emerson and Lauren DeMalade took on the top two Lady Yellowjackets. The communication between these two was just amazing. They never stopped talking to one another and knew exactly where each other were at all times. They displayed the perfect picture of teamwork out on court tonight. 

Blaire Smith and Kristen Sneed also made a great duo tonight at 2 doubles. Having never played together before, these two played a great offensive match, attacking the net as much as possible. Unfortunately, their consistent opponents kept the lead. 

The Tigers will host their first match of the season tomorrow night against Willow Springs before taking on the Richland Bears on Friday.

Singles

Heather Emerson vs. Zephanie White, 1-8

Lauren DeMalade vs. Addison Myler, 0-8

Kristen Sneed vs. Skyler Maynor, 0-8

Blaire Smith vs. Ashton Arthur, 1-8

Vashti Hernandez vs. Olivia Pruitt, 1-8

Alexuz Pesantemercado vs. Emma Miller, 2-8

Doubles

Emerson/DeMalade vs. White/Myler, 0-8

Sneed/Smith vs. Maynor/Arthur, 1-8

Hernandez/Pesantemercado vs. Pruitt/Miller, 2-8