West Bladen will host Clinton, and East Bladen will entertain Fairmont on Monday as girls’ tennis opens the official fall high school sports schedule.
Both matches will be non-conference as the Three Rivers Conference has cut their schedule back this year to only one conference match with each league foe. However East Bladen is hosting Three Rivers opponents Fairmont and St. Pauls in non-conference matches this week.
West Bladen
Coach Billy Bryant’s Lady Knights won the Three Rivers Conference championship last season with a 16-0 league record. Bryant earned TRC Coach of the Year honors, and West Bladen’s Savannah Lee was named the league’s Player of the Year.
Lee has departed via graduation, but seniors Alyssa Bell and Autumn Brisson return as the defending TRC doubles champions. Bell and Brisson posted a 14-1 record playing No. 1 doubles for the Lady Knights and qualified for the 2018 MidEast Regionals.
Brisson sported a 15-2 record at No. 2 singles in 2018, while Bell played No. 3 singles and compiled a perfect 17-0 record.
Also returning is senior Alyssa Smith, who racked up a perfect 15-0 record at No. 3 doubles playing with Mireya Sandoval, who has graduated. Smith also had a 16-1 record at No. 5 singles. Both Smith and Bell received All-TRC honors 2018.
The Lady Knight roster currently features 15 players, including six freshmen.
East Bladen
Coach Megan Kirby’s Lady Eagles posted a 10-5 record in 2018, but four key members of that team – All-Three Rivers Conference selection Ashley Hardin, Anna Kate White, Ting Lin and Sarah Meares – have graduated.
Leading the list of returnees is junior Lily Lin, who posted a 12-3 singles record and a 7-7 record at No. 1 doubles for East Bladen while earning All-Conference honors. Other key returnees are junior Carlie West and sophomores Heather Hardin and Jayden Willington.
Only one of the 10 players listed on the East Bladen roster is a senior.
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