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[Sonny Dearth]

WHERE: Girls matches at Radford University. Boys singles matches are at Radford University, but the team and doubles competitions are at Virginia Tech.

GIRLS SCHEDULE: Singles semifinals (9 a.m. Thursday): Tori Ford (Lafayette) vs. Katelyn Doss (Virginia of Bristol); Kristin Gordon (Handley) vs. Leonie Von der Beeck (Rustburg).
Singles final (noon Thursday): Semifinal winners.
Team semifinals (9 a.m. Friday): Tabb vs. Blacksburg; Handley vs. Graham.
Team final (9 a.m. Saturday) — Semifinal winners.
Doubles semifinals (3 p.m. Friday): Jen Marcil-Jenna Livesay (Courtland) vs. Gordon-Elizabeth Gardiner (Handley); Von der Beeck-Alicia Evans (Rustburg) vs. Doss-Lauren Pruett (Virginia of Bristol).
Doubles final (1 p.m. Saturday): Semifinal winners.

GIRLS OUTLOOK: The singles seems unpredictable. Von der Beeck, an exchange student from Arnsberg, Germany, is a strong baseliner who has dominated all rivals. Gordon has plenty of state experience and has committed to play for East Carolina. Ford played outstanding, attacking tennis in the regional final to earn Lafayette’s first state trip in the 21st century. Doss was the runner-up a year ago. In the team competition, unbeaten Handley, which has lost just two individual matches all season, seems like an overwhelming favorite. The last of Jamestown’s dominant teams had to sweat to defeat Handley 5-3 in a semifinal a year ago, and the Judges lost no starters and added a quality freshman to their lineup. They should rout Graham and could romp in the final, too. The Tabb-Blacksburg semifinal should be competitive, and don’t bet against the Tigers if it’s a cliffhanger. They beat Jamestown 5-4 in the regular season and won 5-4 over Courtland and 5-3 against Lafayette in the regional.

BOYS SCHEDULE: Singles semifinals (9 a.m. Thursday): Adi Shetty (Tabb) vs. Randall Carter (Abingdon); Alex Funkhouser (Handley) vs. Ed Arsura (Hidden Valley).
Singles final (noon Thursday): Semifinal winners.
Team semifinals (9 a.m. Friday): Jamestown vs. Blacksburg; Western Albemarle vs. Abingdon.
Team final (9 a.m. Saturday): Semifinal winners.
Doubles semifinals (1 p.m. Friday): Jacob Braig-Elliot Mee (Jamestown) vs. Alex Funkhouser-John Roberts (Handley); Colin Bixler-Kevin Peterson (Blacksburg) vs. Carter-Adam Henderson (Abingdon).
Doubles final (noon Saturday): Semifinal winners.

BOYS OUTLOOK: In singles, UNC Wilmington-bound Funkhouser is favored to win his first state title, based on the fact he beat Shetty 6-2, 6-1 and 6-1, 6-2 in their last two Mid-Atlantic Section matches. Both those players are clear favorites to reach the final. Funkhouser was the final victim last year in Grafton star Yakov Diskin’s run to a third straight title. Funkhouser is ranked 11th among Virginians in the Mid-Atlantic Section, Shetty 18th. In team play, Jamestown — bolstered by returnees Jacob Braig, Wills FauntLeRoy and Jeremy Palmer, plus a stellar freshman class of Elliot Mee, Josh Hunt and Seth Berl — wants to be the Bay Rivers District’s first champion in 10 years. The Eagles’ match against Blacksburg looks like it will be close, while Western Albemarle should handle Abingdon without much trouble. Blacksburg ousted last year’s state runner-up, Hidden Valley of Roanoke, 5-3 in regional play. Similarly, Jamestown beat 2006 Region I champion Courtland 5-1 last week. In doubles, the road to the trophy goes through Handley’s tandem.