Vixens Doubled Down: Three Singles, One Short in Loss
EMORY, Va. --- The Sweet Briar tennis team continued the league portion of the 2012 spring season at Emory & Henry College on Friday afternoon. Although the contest start time moved up an hour (3:30 p.m.) to hopefully avoid the threat of area thunderstorms, lightning forced a delay during singles match play. First-years Allie Raifsnider (Concord, N.C./Jay M. Robinson) and Rachel Byrd (Hartfield, Va./Matthews) teamed up for an exciting 8-4 win in doubles action. The #2 duo picked up the lone doubles point for the Vixens.
SBC, down 2-1 against Emory & Henry heading into singles play, mounted a serious comeback in an effort to pick up the team's first Old Dominion Athletic Conference win of the year. While the Vixens claimed victory on courts 3, 4, and 5, the Wasps used the two point cushion in doubles play to secure the ODAC match win with singles victories at the #1, #2 and #6 spots.
The Vixens trailed the Wasps 3-1 when the courts were cleared for a lightning delay. The SBC team sat through the break with reaching 5 points on their minds. Sarah Manter's (Brunswick, Maine/Brunswick) match wrapped up before time was called, the junior fell in court 1 action, 6-1, 6-3. Raifsnider was down 3-0 after dropping her first set. Emma Merrit-Cuneo (Pacifica, Calif./Oceana) appeared on her way to cruising to a court 3 win, On court 4, which would later turn into and epic battle, Rachel Byrd found her self up a set, but down in the second. Courtney Todd (Sterling, Va./Dominion) played to a first set win and was battling in the midst of the second set while Lauren Morgan (Lexington, S.C./Lexington) stepped in on court 6.
Once play resumed, the SBC squad set to task. Raifsnider ended up losing her match, while Merritt-Cuneo tallied a solid win on court 3. Byrd and Emory and Henry's Sheyenne Cleveland (Rural Retreat, Va./Rural Retreat) went point for point a match that ultimately was decided by a tie-breaker. With Byrd winning the first set, Cleveland claiming the second, and inclement weather looming, the players headed into a tie breaker. Byrd soared to a 5-1 lead in the tie-breaker, then Cleveland clawed her way back. At 6-6 in over-time tennis, Byrd dug in. The tally pushed 9-7 and match point in favor of the home team, but Byrd was not done. The SBC first-year pieced together a tremendous rally and scored four straight to take the win and push the team total 3 points. The Vixens trailed the Wasps by just one point.
Courts 5 and 6 ended nearly at the same time. Todd secured the win on court 5 and Morgan was upended on court 6. The final scores recorded and SBC fell just short, losing 5-4 to Emory & Henry.
The Vixens travel from Emory, Va. to Greensboro, N.C. on Friday night and will face Guilford College on Saturday afternoon for another ODAC contest.
2012 Sweet Briar Tennis
Sweet Briar vs Emory & Henry (Mar 30, 2012)
Emory & Henry 5, Sweet Briar 4
Mar 30, 2012 at Emory, Va.
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