| by ridertown.com
ST. MARYS, OHIO - With a perfect record after 12 matches, the Memorial High School Girls Tennis Team is off to its best start ever.
St. Marys Coach Brice Brenneman attributes the successful 12-0 start to a lot of hard work, especially during the off-season.
“We lost four good players off last year’s team,” Brenneman said. “But we’ve had a lot of girls put in a lot of time since the end of last season and the start of this season. And I think that work has really paid off.”
Another key to the Roughrider’s success has been balance. St. Marys has been strong at both singles and doubles.
“We’re strong all the way through,” Brenneman said. “A lot of teams will have one or two outstanding positions, but we’re very balanced.”
Playing first singles for the Riders is Sara Wheeler, who has started the season with a 10-2 record. Tara Smith has posted an 11-1 mark at second singles and Annie Teckman is 10-1 at third singles.
Jeanna Kogge and Emily Lampert have played most of the season at first doubles where they have posted a 7-3 mark. The second doubles teams has seen a few different combinations. Brenneman said Tanya Dietz has anchored the team, playing primarily with Katie Tebbe and Karin Riesen. As a unit, St. Marys is 11-1 at second doubles.
And the depth doesn’t drop off from there.
“Our exhibition players are undefeated so far this season,” Brenneman said. “They’re doing a real nice job.”
Rounding out the Roughrider varsity team are Laura Parker, Angie Dzalananow, Jessica Axe, Angie Hollinger, and Sarah Sawmiller.
The Western Buckeye League Championship is made up of both the round-robin schedule and the tournament. St. Marys has already clinched the regular season, and must do well in the tournament to win the league.
“The big thing is to win the league,” Brenneman said. “We’re going to have to play solid tennis to win the WBL tournament. Beyond that it would be nice to finish the regular season undefeated and go from there.”
Bill Dustman serves as the varsity assistant for the team, while Natalie McGee coaches the junior varsity, which includes Angie Brown, Christy Wilson, Amanda Howell, Laura Fritz, Christy Storer, Alana Meyer, Anita Schwartz, Ashley Harlett, Shannon Brunette, Tanya Fly and Amy Turpin.
The Roughriders will be in action Monday at Bluffton, and then host Wapakoneta in a non-league match on Oct. 2 St. Marys will play in the WBL tournament Oct. 5 and 7.
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