Fort Mill’s girls went to Spartanburg to confront Vikings with the season on the line
A record breaking season came to an end with a 6-0 loss for the Fort Mill girls’ tennis team at the hands of the Spartanburg Vikings in the Upper State title match.
Despite the loss, Fort Mill came away with an impressive season of accomplishments, including making it to the Upper State title match — a first for the program.
“We knew it was going to be tough coming in,” said Jackets’ head coach Angela Struve. “We knew they had two of the top players in the state. We had some of the best scores of anyone that played them.”
Fort Mill did put up a fight despite the loss.
The Jackets’ No. 1 singles Elizabeth Fitzgerald lost to the state’s No. 1 singles player in Maggie Cubitt 2-6, 1-6. No. 2 singles Maddi Bhend lost to the state’s No. 3 singles player in Claire Coleman 1-6, 1-6. Fort Mill’s No. 3 singles, Wallace Cortazar, also played well in her 2-6, 1-6 loss and No. 4 singles Amelia Hall lost 1-6, 3-6.
Jamie Petrella, No. 5 singles for Fort Mill, had one of the better singles matches, coming back in the second set after falling behind 0-6 in the first to put up a good battle in a 5-7 loss. In the only doubles match, No. 2 doubles Courtney Templeton and Lucia Williams were competative, but lost 5-7, 2-6.
The Jackets’ tennis team seems to be on an upward trajectory. Not only did they make the Upper State finals, it was also the first year they made it to the third round in the playoffs.
“I am really proud of where we are,” Struve said.
Fort Mill finished the season at 15-3. All seven varsity players were named to the region team and Fitzgerald was named Region Player of the Year. She was also selected as one of the top 32 girls in the state to play in the state’s singles tournament.
Fitzgerald was also selected to play in the North/South Tennis Classic in which the top six girls from the Upper State play the top six from the Lower State in Myrtle Beach Nov. 17 and 18.
Mac Banks: mbanks@comporium.net, @MacBanksFM
This story was originally published November 2, 2017 at 4:32 PM with the headline "Fort Mill’s girls went to Spartanburg to confront Vikings with the season on the line."