Richmond Hill tennis teams put themselves on firm footing for the region and state playoffs this weekend with a solid defeat of another region team from near Augusta.
The girls won in two sets across the board as did the boys posting 5-0 shutouts.
Still playing with an injured Michael Zhu at number one singles, the Wildcats moved everyone up a notch. Jeff Kennedy, Jason Trankle and Huy Phan picked up the first three points for the team. Quickly following suit was doubles Kyle Guither with Nick Balas and Chris Noonburg and older brother Lee. They secured the shutout with near perfect play.
The girls had little trouble in quickly dispatching the team from Hephzibah. Caroline Benjamin’s first game loss would be the last as she won 12 straight. Fiona Baer blanked her opponent 6-0,6-0. Laura Trivitayakhun had the longest match of the day but closed her opponent out in two sets. Annastasshia Ames and Emily Stephens did not allow a point at one doubles and Kate Macedo with Ali Mazur whooped up their adversaries 12 games to one.
The Wildcats, boys and girls, are now 3-0 in the region. This assures them a spot in the regional playoffs in April and puts them in excellent position to gain at shot at the state playoff berths. Upcoming matches with St. Vincent and Benedictine as well as South Effingham will tell who will be number one in the region."We played a team that we should have beaten and we did," said Coach Pat Paruso. "We still have some line-up adjustments to make and wounds to heal, but we are deep enough to stay ready for the next two week’s challenges."