A couple of weeks prior to Wednesday’s District 5-AAA match against Ooltewah, Cleveland coach Elizabeth Davis decided to tinker with her girls’ doubles teams a little bit, in hopes of strengthening them prior to the postseason.
Four matches later, it seems like the plan is working.
The Lady Raiders completed a district sweep with a 9-0 victory over the Lady Owls, improving to 6-0 in 5-AAA. Ooltewah’s boys defeated Cleveland 8-1.
The wins gives Cleveland the regular-season championship — their second consecutive.
Davis matched Catherine Jordan with Esha Rock, and Kelsey Cantrell — Jordan’s normal partner — paired with Gabby Earby.
“It took a while for them to get used to it, but I think they’re starting to get warmed up to each other,” Davis said. “We’re just doing what we have to do to get ready for the postseason.”
Seven girls competed for Cleveland, with all earning wins. Jordan, Cantrell, Rock, Earby, Hollins McCarley and Michelle Morris were all victorious in singles, with the aforementioned doubles tandems plus McCarley and Kaity Carter getting a win at No. 3 doubles.
Ooltewah’s boys were nearly as dominant, earning wins in six of the seven contested matches, plus forfeits at No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles. Caleb Friddell, Chris Stiner, Kevin Squires, Bryson Lype and Nick Grenier had singles wins, while Friddell and Jack Wongmanee; Stiner and Squires; and Lype and Grenier had wins in doubles.
Alex Klibisz had the lone victory for Cleveland, at No. 2 singles.
“I thought we played pretty well, considering the circumstances,” Ooltewah coach Ken Buchanan, who had numerous players dealing with sickness, said. “We didn’t have some players at 100 percent, so I thought we did good with the heat and staying hydrated.”