Tested by the elements, Sussex Academy tennis wins 4-1
The Sussex Academy girls’ tennis team picked up its second win of the season in dramatic fashion, 4-1, against Lake Forest April 10. Eighth-grader Macy Wheatley clinched the contest for the Seahawks with her first career win.
“It feels great. I love it so much,” Wheatley said.
“I was very excited for her,” said junior Karina Lopez. “She's really young and she was thrown into this single spot, which I know can be a big shock, and I'm really proud of her.”
Lopez clinched the first points for Sussex Academy in first singles with back-to-back 6-0 sets. The weather for the day was less than ideal, but the girls battled through the frigid cold and brisk wind.
Priya Haldar, amid her first singles season, was the next Seahawk to return to the nest with points after winning 6-1, 6-0. Although she distanced herself on the stat sheet, the junior said her opponent presented a challenge.
“She has really nice shots, but I was able to hold my ground today and take her pretty well,” Haldar said.
Wheatley’s victory ensured a Sussex Academy victory no matter what the doubles teams did, but it did not come easy. The eighth-grader won the first set 7-6, forcing overtime, and used a positive attitude to persevere in the tiebreaker 7-1 before flying to a 6-1 victory in the second set.
Coach Rich Lichtenwalner was proud of his middle school combatant, who he said loves the sport and is happy to get the matches.
“It's a phenomenal feeling as a coach to see that; I've seen Karina since she was a freshman and Priya as a freshman as well,” Lichtenwalner said. “To see someone else come into that role and start to take the reins and get better and better and have the first taste of success ... I am absolutely over the moon proud of her and excited to see where she can go by the end of the season.”
The second doubles duo of Emma Feagans and Ryan Shipp kept things close but lost 6-4, 6-4.
In the first doubles match, Sussex Academy freshmen Natalia Gatti and Gia Berberian won the first set 6-3 but dropped the next set 6-4. With the meet settled, the girls could have played an expedited third set, but both they and their opponents wanted a full third set.
Berberian and Gatti used the encouragement to win their match with a 6-3 third set and deliver Sussex Academy its first 4-1 win of the year.
