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[Sonny Dearth]

Lafayette girls clinch BRD tennis title
Daily Press

By winning 7-2 Monday at Tabb, the Lafayette Rams became the first team other than Jamestown to win the Bay Rivers District girls tennis championship since Jamestown opened in the fall of 1997.
Like Lafayette, Tabb came into the match unbeaten in the district. But the Rams clinched the match and a 9-0 league regular season by going ahead 5-1 in singles, thanks to victories by Tori Ford at No. 1, Annie Goode at 2, Madeline Jones at 4, Lizzie Mitchell at 5 and her sister Allie Mitchell at 6.
Tabb’s singles victory was a 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (11-9) triumph by Jenssen over Ali Wheeler at No. 3.
Ford and Goode defeated Sarah Haase and Sarah Rowe 8-5 at No. 1 doubles.
Tabb and third-place Jamestownwill join Lafayette in the Region I tournament.


EASTERN REGION GIRLS
Peninsula District teams went 2-for-2 against Norfolk opponents Monday, advancing into the Eastern Region semifinals.
Denbigh, the Peninsula District runner-up, won 5-1 at Eastern District champion Granby. The Patriots’ top five all won in straight sets: Peninsula singles runner-up Shelby Hernandez at 1, Selna Trinidad at 2, Annie Armamento at 3, Katie Conides at 4 and Jessica Pineda at 5.
The Patriots lost 5-4 to the Comets in an early-season scrimmage, Denbigh coach Andy Hawkins said. The same six girls from each team played in singles Monday, though Hernandez and Trinidad changed spots.
(Coach) "Bill Lloyd has a good program over there, but we came out on top today," Hawkins said. …
Menchville, the Peninsula champion, earned a 5-1 home triumph over Maury. Straight-sets victories by No. 1 Megan May, No. 6 Jessica Sain and No. 3 Montrice Leonard put the Monarchs ahead 3-1, and three-set triumphs by No. 5 Jenna Hixon and No. 4 Marie Hidalgo got the Monarchs through.
The regional semifinals are at 9 a.m. Thursday at Huntington Park. Menchville will face today’s winner between two-time defending state champion Cox and Western Branch, and Denbigh will play the Ocean Lakes-Oscar Smith victor.


BOYS
Peninsula champion Heritage shut out Granby 6-0 at Huntington Park to reach the Eastern Region semis. Wins by Creighton Jones, Dimitri Carney, Chris Jeter and Harrison Gaskins put the Hurricanes ahead 4-0. Terrence Malone clinched it with a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 win at No. 6, and No. 1 Tonique Merrell provided the exclamation point.
In a match that took more than three hours, Merrell edged Moscow native Stas Stekolstsikov 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 in a matchup of district champions.
"It was hard for me to find a rhythm against him," Merrell said. "I think I just outlasted him. I think that conditioning pays off." …
Menchville lost 5-2 at Eastern District champion Maury despite triumphs by Aaron Brownell at 1 and Alex Liles at 5. No. 3 Andrew Abeyounis won his first set but lost in three.
The regional semis are at 1 p.m. Thursday at Huntington Park. Heritage will face Ocean Lakes, and Maury will meet unbeaten Western Branch. …
Jamestown clinched the Bay Rivers District championship with an 8-1 home victory over New Kent, but that wasn’t the biggest news for Eagles coach Bob Artis. At No. 6, his lineup featured Joey Daugherty, who was believed to become the first wheelchair athlete to compete against an able-bodied opponent in Virginia High School League history. Daugherty, profiled extensively April 29 in the Daily Press and on HRvarsity.com, lost 6-0, 6-0, but Artis was proud of his performance.
"He made his opponent hit the ball three or four times to beat him," Artis said. "He went down swingin’."
Tabb placed second and Grafton third, joining Jamestown in the Region I tournament.