Sunday, Nov. 09, 2008

Wando extends tennis title streak to 5

Four seniors cap careers by moving Warriors within six wins of state record

If November has arrived it must be time for Wando High to make its expected trip to the Midlands to take home some hardware.

The Warriors earned their fifth consecutive Class 4A girls tennis state championship by beating Mauldin 5-1 at the Lexington County Tennis Center on Saturday.

Wando (21-0) stretched its winning streak to 83, leaving it six shy of Spartanburg’s 89-match streak (1980-87), which is the state’s longest according to S.C. High School League records.

The Warriors’ streak was not in jeopardy on Saturday.

“They were on; they were very much on,” Wando coach Becky Williamson said of her players. “My seniors on this team wanted to go out winners, and they played very well.”

Wando had four seniors among its seven players who competed in the Lower State final win against Lexington on Friday and Saturday’s state title match.

Liz Cole and Lindsay Larkin stood out on Saturday.

After losing to Lexington’s Sarah Kim in the semifinal, Cole blitzed Mauldin’s Molly Walsh 6-2, 6-2 at No. 5 singles.

“Liz came out and played the best match of the year,” Williamson said. “She upped her game big time today.”

Larkin, playing No. 3 singles, rallied from a 5-1 second-set deficit to earn a straight-set victory against Haley Elliott.

Wando’s three underclassmen won at No. 2 doubles and at No. 2 singles.

In singles, junior Corin Hallman won a second-set tiebreaker 9-7 to clinch a straight-set victory against Mauldin’s Megan Jones in a serve-and-volley battle.

In doubles play, sophomore Kayla Heller and freshman Alex Klein dropped the first set to Morgan Tracy and Hayley Behal 6-4. They won the second set by the same score and claimed the match with a 10-6 tiebreaker win.

“They all played their hearts out and that was our goal,” said Mauldin coach Laura Gurley, whose team lost in the final to Wando for the second consecutive year. “A couple matches could have gone either way, so I’m proud of them.”

Reach Wiseman at (803) 771-8472

Singles: Ansley Speaks (M) def. Olivia McMillan 6-3, 6-1; Corin Hallman (W) def. Megan Jones, 6-4, 7-6 (9-7); Lindsay Larkin (W) def. Haley Elliott 6-3, 7-5; Hagan Edgerton (W) def. Lexi Stewart, 6-4, 6-1; Liz Cole (W) def. Molly Walsh, 6-2, 6-2. Doubles: Kayla Heller/Alex Klein (W) def. Morgan Tracy/Hayley Behal, 4-6, 6-4, 10-6.

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