Harlan County opened its tennis season by splitting with visiting Whitley County on Monday, winning 8-1 in girls action and falling 5-1 in boys action.
“I’m very proud of the effort we produced in tough playing conditions,” Harlan County coach Caleb Bailey said. “Not many matches you will play in that snow is falling. The girls played an all-around great game and hit the shots I asked them to. The 1-6 seeds played as good as you could ask. Our newcomers Riley Witt, Addison Fields, Bani Chaudhary and Saralyn Farley all played really well in their first match and are going to help us this season. We are a young team, so to win with the youth we have is a blessing in itself and a testament to buying into the system we are building here. Extremely excited to see where we are from now to the end of the season.”
“The boys had their hands full tonight being short-handed with a few starters missing from the lineup and others having to play up spots they don’t normally do. We still played a well-rounded match. I was proud of our beginners in Jason Maggard and Grayson Short to get their first win in doubles. Trey (Billy Ball) played up in his position by two spots and put in a great effort. Calan Neely and Garrett Sharp had a battle just like last year, with Garrett coming out on top this time. Calan played great just a few things to work on to get overtop for the win.”
Harlan County returns to action Monday at home against Letcher Central.
Harlan County girls defeated Whitley County, 8-1
Singles
1 Kalista Dunn (HC) def. A. Lawson (WC), 8-3
2 Laura Ball (HC) def. A. Croley (WC), 8-1
3 Kaitlyn Daniels (HC) def. D. Callahan (WC), 8-1
4 Sophie Day (HC) def. M. Smith (WC), 8-1
5 Bailee Jones (HC) def. M. Carr (WC), 8-2
6 Riley Witt (HC) def. S. Walker (WC), 8-1
Extra match
1 K. Parker (WC) def. Saralyn Farley (HC), 6-1
Doubles
1 Ball/Daniels (HC) def. Lawson/Croley (WC), 8-0
2 Dunn/Day (HC) def. Parker/Smith (WC), 6-0
3 Hunt/Elliott (WC) def. Addison Fields/Bani Chaudhari (HC), 6-2
Whitley County boys defeated Harlan County, 5-1
Singles
1 G. Sharp (WC) def. Calan Neely (HC), 6-4, 6-4
2 T. Williams (WC) def. Billy Ball (HC), 8-4
3 W. McLaughlin (WC) def. Jason Maggard (HC), 8-2
4 S. Higginbotham (WC) def. Grayson Short (HC), 8-5
Doubles
1 Sharp/Ridner (WC) def. Neely/Ball (HC), 6-2
2 Maggard/Short (HC) def. Gammon/McLaughlin (WC), 6-4