Wesleyan bounces back for big win
Oct 20
GREENSBORO – As the sun dipped behind the trees and the cool night air drifted across the courts, Wesleyan Christian kept winning match after match.
The unseeded Trojans, falling behind in doubles and early in singles, won all four of their final matches to beat fourth-seeded Greensboro Day 5-4 on Tuesday at Greensboro Day in the first round of the NCISAA 4A East girls tennis playoffs.
“Oh my gosh, I’m just so proud of them,” Wesleyan coach Ginny Carpenter said.
Brooke Tsuei and Alexis Cruz gave the Trojans (7-2) their lone win in doubles. Then the Bengals (10-1) – who won the teams’ meeting earlier this season 5-4 – quickly won at No. 1 and 2 singles to lead 4-1.
But Wesleyan kept chipping away.
Brooke Tsuei played well at No. 3 and Kendall Bullins won her hard-fought No. 6 match to pull the Trojans within 4-3. Lauren Hale then prevailed in her lengthy third-set tiebreaker to tie the match and all attention shifted to Cruz.
“I kind of had a feeling,” said Cruz, a sophomore, with a laugh. “One of my teammates was smiling, so I figured she’d won her court. And the other was nervous. So, I was like, ‘Oh, goodness. I think it’s up to me.’”
Cruz, after winning her first set but dropping her second, jumped ahead in her third-set tiebreaker. As players and coaches from both teams watched from nearby and parents watched from their cars, she steadily pulled away.
“In my head, I just kept telling myself what my coach (Pat Williams at Grandover) says all the time,” she said. “It’s one ball at a time, all you have to do is get one more back. Just stick with your shot and don’t try to do anything you know you can’t do, and just feel confident in what you can do.
“It felt so good,” she said, describing winning the final point. “It was so relieving – no more stress.”
Wesleyan will next play either top-seeded Cary Academy (8-0) or unseeded Wake Christian (1-8) in the quarterfinals, which are scheduled for Friday but can be played Thursday.
“We’ve really tried to work hard in practice on confidence and consistency,” Carpenter said, “and moving the ball around and what to do in game situations. I see our kids doing things we’ve worked on in practice. They’ve just really worked hard in practice.
“They have the desire. I can help with that, but really some of that is innate. They really are competitors and they want to win. Everything about this season has just been perfect. We’re not undefeated, but the girls couldn’t be any better and the team has worked together so well.
“I give them all the credit – they’re great girls and they’ve worked really hard.”
mlindsay@hpenews.com | 336-888-3526 | @HPEmichael
WESLEYAN CHRISTIAN 5, GREENSBORO DAY 4
Kendall Parr (GDS) def. Gracie LeFever 6-0, 6-1; Tenley Parr (GDS) def. Katie Bullins 6-0, 6-0; Brooke Tsuei (WCA) def. Mary Marshall Rankin 6-2, 6-2; Alexis Cruz (WCA) def. Ellie Johnson 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (6); Lauren Hale (WCA) def. Lucie Noone 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (12); Kendall Bullins (WCA) def. Caroline Rainosek 7-5, 7-5
K. Parr-T. Parr (GDS) def. LeFever-Ka. Bullins 8-0; Tsuei-Cruz (WCA) def. Rankin-Johnson 8-2; Noone-Celia Funderburk (GDS) def. Hale-Ke. Bullins 8-0
Oct 20
GREENSBORO – As the sun dipped behind the trees and the cool night air drifted across the courts, Wesleyan Christian kept winning match after match.
The unseeded Trojans, falling behind in doubles and early in singles, won all four of their final matches to beat fourth-seeded Greensboro Day 5-4 on Tuesday at Greensboro Day in the first round of the NCISAA 4A East girls tennis playoffs.
“Oh my gosh, I’m just so proud of them,” Wesleyan coach Ginny Carpenter said.
Brooke Tsuei and Alexis Cruz gave the Trojans (7-2) their lone win in doubles. Then the Bengals (10-1) – who won the teams’ meeting earlier this season 5-4 – quickly won at No. 1 and 2 singles to lead 4-1.
But Wesleyan kept chipping away.
Brooke Tsuei played well at No. 3 and Kendall Bullins won her hard-fought No. 6 match to pull the Trojans within 4-3. Lauren Hale then prevailed in her lengthy third-set tiebreaker to tie the match and all attention shifted to Cruz.
“I kind of had a feeling,” said Cruz, a sophomore, with a laugh. “One of my teammates was smiling, so I figured she’d won her court. And the other was nervous. So, I was like, ‘Oh, goodness. I think it’s up to me.’”
Cruz, after winning her first set but dropping her second, jumped ahead in her third-set tiebreaker. As players and coaches from both teams watched from nearby and parents watched from their cars, she steadily pulled away.
“In my head, I just kept telling myself what my coach (Pat Williams at Grandover) says all the time,” she said. “It’s one ball at a time, all you have to do is get one more back. Just stick with your shot and don’t try to do anything you know you can’t do, and just feel confident in what you can do.
“It felt so good,” she said, describing winning the final point. “It was so relieving – no more stress.”
Wesleyan will next play either top-seeded Cary Academy (8-0) or unseeded Wake Christian (1-8) in the quarterfinals, which are scheduled for Friday but can be played Thursday.
“We’ve really tried to work hard in practice on confidence and consistency,” Carpenter said, “and moving the ball around and what to do in game situations. I see our kids doing things we’ve worked on in practice. They’ve just really worked hard in practice.
“They have the desire. I can help with that, but really some of that is innate. They really are competitors and they want to win. Everything about this season has just been perfect. We’re not undefeated, but the girls couldn’t be any better and the team has worked together so well.
“I give them all the credit – they’re great girls and they’ve worked really hard.”
mlindsay@hpenews.com | 336-888-3526 | @HPEmichael
WESLEYAN CHRISTIAN 5, GREENSBORO DAY 4
Kendall Parr (GDS) def. Gracie LeFever 6-0, 6-1; Tenley Parr (GDS) def. Katie Bullins 6-0, 6-0; Brooke Tsuei (WCA) def. Mary Marshall Rankin 6-2, 6-2; Alexis Cruz (WCA) def. Ellie Johnson 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (6); Lauren Hale (WCA) def. Lucie Noone 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (12); Kendall Bullins (WCA) def. Caroline Rainosek 7-5, 7-5
K. Parr-T. Parr (GDS) def. LeFever-Ka. Bullins 8-0; Tsuei-Cruz (WCA) def. Rankin-Johnson 8-2; Noone-Celia Funderburk (GDS) def. Hale-Ke. Bullins 8-0
