It wasn’t short. Not at four hours and 20 minutes. But in the end, Albemarle’s girls tennis team picked up the first ever Conference 16 girls tennis title with a hard-fought, 5-3 victory over Patrick Henry-Ashland.
The victory secures Albemarle a home match in the Region 5A North tournament.
“That’s one of the closest and most entertaining tennis matches I’ve been part of and I’ve seen or been part of my fair share,” said Albemarle coach Rich Lindsay. “Hard to describe that one but anyone who saw it got the chance to watch kids on both teams just go at it on the court for four plus hours.”
Albemarle was on the ropes early after losing at No. 3 and No. 4, but Leah Lord answered to pull Albemarle within one. A victory by Patrick Henry’s Sami Teets at No. 1, however, put AHS in a 3-1 hole. No. 2 Maddie Williamson and Madeline Brugman dug Albemarle out, with Williamson rallying from a 6-2 loss in the first set to win 7-5 in the second and then 6-3 in the third. The sophomore gave Albemarle a 3-3 split in singles and set the table for a decisive doubles round.
“There is no stat for heart but Maddie’s is pretty big,” Lindsay said. “Her win there was pretty special and gave us momentum heading to dubs.”
Kaitlyn Grossman and Molly Napolitano won 6-1 in the first set at No. 1 doubles for Albemarle while the other two doubles matches waited through the rest period. The tandem then dropped a 7-4 tiebreaker in the second set that evened the matchup at a set apiece. Williamson and Lord took the court at No. 2 doubles somewhere in that stretch, and snagged a 6-4 win in the opening set, leaving Albemarle tied at a set each at No. 1, up one at No. 2 and down a set at No. 3.
Williamson again rose to the occasion along with Lord, battling back from a 5-2 deficit in the second set to win five straight games and win the set 7-5. The win wrapped up the first doubles point for AHS and gave Patrick Henry no margin for error. Albemarle’s seniors then managed to close out with Grossman and Napolitano winning the third set 6-2 to close out the Conference 16 title.
Albemarle 5, Patrick Henry-Ashland 3
Singles
1. Sami Teets(PH) d. Kaitlyn Grossman 6-4, 6-3
2. Maddie Williamson (A) d.Emily Kurtzweil 2-6, 7-5, 6-3
3. Brooke Tyson(PH) d. Molly Napolitano 6-1, 6-2
4. Meg Hunt(PH) d. Erin McCullen 6-4, 6-2
5. Leah Lord (A) d. Olivia Prillaman 6-4, 6-3
6. Madeline Bruggeman (A) d. Danielle Shaw 6-4, 6-2
Doubles
1. Grossman/Napolitano (A) d. Teets/Tyson 6-1, 6-7(4-7), 6-2
2. Williamson/Lord(A) d. Kurtzweil/Shaw 6-4, 7-5
3. Bruggeman/Gaby Balcells(A) led Hunt/Prillaman 3-6, 6-2, 3-1(susp)
