GIRLS' TENNIS: WCDS clinches 4th straight trip to NCISAA 1A final

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on October 26, 2016 9:57 AM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

The frustration showed on Hannah Fesler and Aimee Barnes' faces.

Their restlessness escalated with every point.

Fesler-Barnes seemed to have no answer for Ridgecroft's tandem of Annie Dilustro-Holly Robertson during their No. 3 doubles match Tuesday afternoon. The duo's strategy of chipping and charging, which is a bizarre scheme in women's tennis, broke Fesler-Barnes' rhythm.

Hands in his pockets, Wayne Country Day head coach Blake Vail walked over and called Fesler-Barnes to the fence. He used the 90-second break to calm his players' nerves.

"They were so concerned with one of their players coming to the net so much, I think they kind of lost what they could control," Vail said. "I just told them to zone in, cut out the little mistakes...no unforced errors, no missed returns."

Fesler-Barnes cleaned up the miscues and battled back for an 8-3 victory, which gave the Chargers a 3-0 overall lead in semifinal-round play of the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A dual-team girls' tennis playoffs.

Barely 45 minutes later, the Chargers secured a 5-0 victory and punched their ticket to the state finals for fourth consecutive year. Fourth-seeded Langley Barnes and fifth-seeded Nancy Chen each posted a straight-set decision to secure the outcome.

The top-seeded Chargers (13-1 overall) opposes Kerr-Vance Academy (9-2) at Campbell University on Saturday. First serve is 4 p.m.

It's a rematch of last year's final won by WCDS.

"I was very impressed with the bottom of the lineup today," Vail said. "I thought they played extremely solid. Hannah was playing some of the best (tennis) I've seen her play, and close to getting a win at six (singles) as well.

"I was really impressed with our balance, for sure."

WCDS defeated Ridgecroft for the third time this season.

The Rams (8-7 overall) tirelessly worked to keep balls in play and hopefully coerce the Chargers into unforced errors. While the ploy worked at No. 3 doubles, it didn't factor into the other two doubles matches.

The No. 1 tandem of Jennifer Potts-Eliza Eagles steam-rolled Taylor Jenkins-Matty Grace Gilliam 8-1. On court two, Ally Willman-Langley Barnes dominated Lauren Harrell-Alex Evans 10-0.

"Wayne Country Day is a great team...good from top to bottom," Ridgecroft coach Elton Winslow said. "We didn't win any matches, but we played well (and) made them compete. We don't have a lot of weapons, but we've got a lot of spunk and a lot of 'stick to it.'

"They were just better than us today."