Eastern Wayne opens ECC 3A-4A tennis in victorious fashion

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on August 26, 2015 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

Red-faced from the searing heat and sipping on bottles of water, Elizabeth Sutton and Brennan Dove searched for shady spots near the Eastern Wayne tennis courts Tuesday afternoon.

Who could blame them.

The duo combined to lose just one game as Eastern Wayne launched its 2015 girls' tennis campaign with an 8-1 decision over South Central in sweltering playing conditions. It was the Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference opener for both teams.

"This was a pretty good performance for our team's first match," EW head coach Craig Hassell said. "We are still young and inexperienced down low (in the lineup), but look to improve every match."

Third-seeded Emily Uzzell eased to a straight-set win at No. 3 singles. Fellow Warriors Samantha Roux and Bella Bowen combined to drop just two games at Nos. 5 and 6 singles combined.

"Our two new players, Morgan Agner (No. 4 seed) and Bella, had good performances," Hassell said. "Morgan nearly pulled off the victory in singles."

Agner fell to Kyra Wooten after winning the first set.

Sutton-Dove, Uzzell-Agner and Roux-Bowen swept the doubles courts.

"Doubles is still a work in progress for strategy and movement, as well as team combinations, but there were some bright points in doubles today to look forward to in the future."

Eastern Wayne (1-0 overall, 1-0 ECC) travels to New Bern on Thursday.