Baylor's Drew Hawkins returns the ball during a doubles match with partner Lauren Carelli against GPS's Maddox Bandy and Jenna Thorstensen on Wednesday at GPS.Slowing down Baylor's girls' tennis team is a tough task these days, but GPS seemed ready to give it a go.
The rivals met Wednesday afternoon at GPS, with Baylor earning a 7-0 sweep in the Lady Red Raiders' first competition since winning the Chattanooga Rotary tournament title last weekend. Despite the final score, the match was hard-fought.
"It was very close all the way around," Baylor coach Dustin Kane said. "It just goes to show the confidence of our girls that they can all dig deep and find a way to win.
"It also shows how tough of a team GPS is. Every time we come here, we expect a tough match."
The Lady Raiders jumped out to a quick lead in doubles, taking all three matches by an 8-2 margin to claim one team point, but netting the six wins in singles did not come as easily. The Bruisers forced tiebreaker sets in two of the matches, and it took a tiebreaker in the No. 6 slot to prevent another.
"We got off to kind of a slow start in doubles, but the girls fought back in singles," GPS coach Sue Bartlett said. "I was really proud of our girls and their fight and attitude. We knew we weren't really favored, but we worked on staying in points, and they did."
Maddox Bandy took an early 3-0 lead over Karolina Hakala in the No. 1 spot before Hakala cut down on unforced errors to take a 4-3 lead and win the set 6-3. In the second set, Bandy fought back from a deficit to go up 4-3, but Hakala was again able to respond and take the set 6-4.
GPS's Jenna Thorstensen made it a battle at No. 2, knotting up many of the games at deuce, but Drew Hawkins was getting good pace on her shots and used pinpoint accuracy to earn the 6-1, 6-2 win.
"Having those two players at the top helps push our girls down in the lineup," Kane said. "Our depth is our biggest asset. This is one of the deepest teams we've ever had, and it takes a lot of the pressure off knowing that everyone is capable of getting a win."
No. 3 Presley Thomas and No. 4 Lauren Carelli split sets with Ellie Edwards and Ali West, respectively, before winning in tiebreaker sets. Ashton Jenne looked strong at No. 5, winning 6-2, 6-0 against Kate Thel.
Lilly Mooney and Corinne Spann were the last ones on the court, locked in a tight match. Baylor's Mooney took the first set, and Spann got out to a lead in the second to try to force the afternoon's third tiebreaker.
However, Mooney was able to mount a comeback and won 7-6 in a tiebreaker to take the final game and the match.
"It still feels like it's early in the season," Bartlett said. "The girls have worked hard, and we've worked a lot on the mental side. You have to believe you can make things happen, and hopefully that helps turn those close results into wins."