The Avery girls tennis team continues to grow together as a group and gain experience against a host of tough opponents in the Western Highlands Conference.
Last Tuesday, September 28, the Lady Vikings hosted the Polk Lady Wolverines on the outdoor courts at Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk. The team failed to win a single match in the first encounter with Polk in Columbus earlier this season, but this time around the Lady Vikings played hard, winning a pair of matches but falling short in the overall match score, as Polk won seven of nine matches on the day.
In singles competition, the lone winner for the Big Red with no. 5 player Michelle Cuthbertson, who picked up a 10-8 victory over her opponent. She then teamed up with Kota Turbyfill in no. 3 doubles competition to win by an 8-4 match score.
This past Monday the Lady Vikings returned to the court to take on the Owen Warlassies. Owen proved a tough foe to tame as they swept the Big Red by a 9-0 score.
“I attribute a lot of the difficulty to a lot of our girls still being new players, as well as Homecoming distractions and really not having any practice time due to the weather,” Avery tennis coach Pat Daniels said of the result.“
In spite of the tough week, Daniels sees the team members getting better with experience and becoming more competitive as time goes by.
“I think all the girls are improving but it has been tough, especially the past week with the weather we’ve been having and you can tell it hurts the players,” Daniels said following the week’s matches. “We practiced only one day since the Polk match, and I could tell it when we came out for the Owen match.”
With Lees-McRae College resurfacing their hardcourts this week, the Lady Vikings are unable to host another match until next week, when Avery will host matches on Monday, October 11 against Hendersonville, on Tuesday, October 12 against Thomas Jefferson, and the team’s final home match on Thursday afternoon, October 14 against Mountain Heritage.
The Lady Vikings did receive some good news this week, however, as the team’s No. 1 player Haley Shell, who has been nursing a tendon injury in her wrist, is scheduled to return to action when the Big Red next take the court next week.
“Haley will be a big help for us. I want to make sure she is completely healed up before getting back on the court, and I told her she should take it easy and gradually get back into the swing of things the next couple of days,” Daniels stated.
Last Tuesday, September 28, the Lady Vikings hosted the Polk Lady Wolverines on the outdoor courts at Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk. The team failed to win a single match in the first encounter with Polk in Columbus earlier this season, but this time around the Lady Vikings played hard, winning a pair of matches but falling short in the overall match score, as Polk won seven of nine matches on the day.
In singles competition, the lone winner for the Big Red with no. 5 player Michelle Cuthbertson, who picked up a 10-8 victory over her opponent. She then teamed up with Kota Turbyfill in no. 3 doubles competition to win by an 8-4 match score.
This past Monday the Lady Vikings returned to the court to take on the Owen Warlassies. Owen proved a tough foe to tame as they swept the Big Red by a 9-0 score.
“I attribute a lot of the difficulty to a lot of our girls still being new players, as well as Homecoming distractions and really not having any practice time due to the weather,” Avery tennis coach Pat Daniels said of the result.“
In spite of the tough week, Daniels sees the team members getting better with experience and becoming more competitive as time goes by.
“I think all the girls are improving but it has been tough, especially the past week with the weather we’ve been having and you can tell it hurts the players,” Daniels said following the week’s matches. “We practiced only one day since the Polk match, and I could tell it when we came out for the Owen match.”
With Lees-McRae College resurfacing their hardcourts this week, the Lady Vikings are unable to host another match until next week, when Avery will host matches on Monday, October 11 against Hendersonville, on Tuesday, October 12 against Thomas Jefferson, and the team’s final home match on Thursday afternoon, October 14 against Mountain Heritage.
The Lady Vikings did receive some good news this week, however, as the team’s No. 1 player Haley Shell, who has been nursing a tendon injury in her wrist, is scheduled to return to action when the Big Red next take the court next week.
“Haley will be a big help for us. I want to make sure she is completely healed up before getting back on the court, and I told her she should take it easy and gradually get back into the swing of things the next couple of days,” Daniels stated.
