Albemarle High’s girls tennis team had to fight off a pesky Riverbend team Thursday night — the Bears weren’t willing to give the Patriots anything.
“They hit everything back…I mean everything,” said freshman Caroline Chisholm.
The Patriots got the 7-2 win, but just as importantly, it marked the final regular season home match for Albemarle’s four seniors. Led by Tori Kuhn who holds the No. 3 seed, the Patriots had Eva Ng up a seed at No. 4, and got Yvonne Zhang and Vicky Zarate a chance to get into the action at No. 5 and No. 6.
For the first time all season long in district play, the Patriots needed a point for the win after singles, and they rose to the occasion.
“That’s the best doubles we’ve played all year hands down,” said Albemarle coach Rich Lindsay. “It’s a long season and with our travel, it’s really tough on the kids. To say I’ve been unhappy with our doubles would be putting it gently. I challenged the girls a lot lately to do better, and to end the district playing this well is great.”
That senior group has pieced together an impressive resume. They captured a Northwest Region title, four-straight Commonwealth District titles and two state quarterfinal appearances and have an incredible 73-5 overall record.
Albemarle stands at 14-1 now on the season.
AHS vs Riverbend (at AHS) 7-2
Singles
1. Napolitano(A) d. D. Nichols 10-2
2. Lesnoff(A) d. Leonarkis 10-0
3. Kuhn(A) d. Edwards 10-4
4. Klarzynski(R) d. Ng 11-10(7-5)
5. Zhang(A) d. Lasica 10-7
6. Walthall(R) d. Zarate 10-6
Doubles
1. Naploitano/Lesnoff (A) d. Nichols/Leonarkis 10-2
2. Kuhn/Lord(A) d. Edwards/Klarzynski 10-2
3. Ng/Haines(A) d. A. Lasica/Walthall 10-2
