Four-time ECC champ Eastern Wayne dominates Pats
By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on October 20, 2010 1:47 PM
A dominant start.
A quick finish.
Eastern Wayne opened the 2010 N.C. High School Athletic Association 3-A dual-team, girls' tennis playoffs with a 6-0 thrashing of West Carteret on Tuesday afternoon.
The Warriors, the four-time Eastern Carolina Conference champions, needed just 97 minutes to eliminate the Patriots and earn their 16th postseason victory in program history.
Eastern Wayne (18-4 overall) entertains state-ranked Wilson Fike (15-5) in the second round next Tuesday. The Golden Demons swept the regular-season series.
"I was really happy with the girls," said Warriors head coach Kelly Hoff. "I think they came out there and had an agenda. They never really let West Carteret get into the match. They stayed focused."
Senior Janielle Daniel supplied the Warriors' first single point with a crisp 6-2, 6-0 triumph over Mary Ann Varner. It was Daniel's 17th victory of the season against just four defeats.
Third-seeded Grace Delbridge dispatched the Pats' Reid Getty 6-0, 6-0 and fifth-seeded Amber Miller dumped Isabell Herring 6-1, 6-1. Sixth-seeded Jackie Johnson held a slim one-game lead in the second set before knocking off Kelli Carter 6-1, 6-3.
Warrior seniors Miller Delbridge and Joann Talton trotted to the net and shook hands with their respective opponents at nearly the same time. Delbridge polished off Hali Vradelis 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 1 slot. The fourth-seeded Talton, now 19-2 in singles play this season, cruised past Kelly Metcalf 6-2, 6-2.
The doubles matches were not contested.
Hoff couldn't generate a scouting report on West Carteret, which finished second in the Coastal Conference. She reminded the players to take care of business once they stepped onto the court.
"No matter how good a player is, if you don't keep your head in there, the match can slip away from you," said Hoff. "You have to have heart and fight. It comes down to who wants to be there and it might not always necessarily be the best player."