Lily Abdoo, left, and Gillian Gallagher.
Courtesy Lisa Wolfe
TOLEDO – Despite winning four matches in a row with nearly an identical lineup, the Ross girls tennis team had to switch things up for its Three Rivers Athletic Conference opener at Whitmer.
And while the lineup may have changed, the results remained the same.
The Lady Giants defeated the Panthers 5-0, the third sweep in their last four matches, and improved their overall record to 6-1, starting the TRAC season 1-0.
Several factors went into the Lady Giants’ personnel moves, but the Sept. 22 TRAC tournament loomed the largest, with Ross looking to secure the best possible seedings for its singles and doubles teams. Ross knows doubles partner Natalie Brown will be at a wedding and not available for the tournament, so she’ll likely be playing JV in TRAC matches so others can play for TRAC seeding.
Gillian Gallagher and Lily Abdoo, who are a combined 11-1 in singles play this year, have been district qualifiers as a doubles team in the past and will look to do so once again, and will likely be reunited for TRAC matches.
Olivia Henry, undefeated this season at No. 2 singles, will move up to No. 1 in the TRAC. Henry won her season debut at No. 1, winning 6-3, 6-0.
“She had a great attitude tonight,” coach Lisa Wolfe said. “I’m not worried at all about her playing No. 1. She is a good fill-in to play No. 1 at any moment.”
But regardless of who plays where, one constant has remained this season: The Lady Giants win.
Mallory Hutton made her season debut due to an early-season family vacation. Hutton opened her year in fine style at No. 2 singles, winning 6-1, 6-1.
Berlin Swaisgood won at No. 3 singles, 6-2, 6-4.
In doubles, Gallagher and Abdoo won easily, 6-0, 6-0 and No. 2 doubles Jurni Kidd and Sophia Biggins won 6-0, 6-0.
“These two girls teamed up to play at the end of the season in sectionals and both years were district qualifiers,” Wolfe said of Gallagher and Abdoo. “They have that in the back of their mind, they’re going to do that again. These matches that I can put them together is good for them to practice playing together.”
Junior varsity results:
Natalie Brown/Lillie Swinhart (FR) def. Kaylee Deering/Rachel LaFerriere, 8-0
Emma Jahns/Taylor Sachs (FR) def. Realynn Tackett/Mackenzie Givens, 8-1
Vivyanna Esquivel/Izzy Atkinson (FR) def. Kylie Burgess/Paige Rohloff, 8-3.
The JV team is 6-0 this season.