Moorefield Tennis is making angles automatic in serving up a return to the state tournament.
The Moorefield Boys Tennis squad has been undefeated the past two regular seasons, won back-to-back Potomac Valley Conference championships and advanced to the state tournament as a team under coach Quincy Combs.
Moorefield Boys Tennis has a senior-laden team filling the top five spots: Lian Mung, Levi Malcolm, Hunter Mongold, William Keplinger and Hayes Sherman, followed by sophomores Stewart Monroe and Jacob Crislip, junior Jacke Lumia and Preston Cosner.
The top-four singles will be Mung, Malcolm, Mongold and Keplinger.
The doubles format could change during the season, but currently the number one pair will be Mung and Malcom, second seed duo is Mongold and Keplinger and the third seeded doubles will consist of Sherman and Monroe.
The rest of the Yellow Jackets battling for match play will be: Will Kuh (10), Caleb Snell (9), Jed Blizzard (10), Anthony Torres (9), Josiah Whetzel (10), Theywist Velasco (10), Chris Brown (9) and Kurtis Molen (9).
“I am excited to begin this season as Head Boys Tennis Coach, as this will be my first season as head coach. This season looks very promising for us. We have a varsity full of seniors and one sophomore. We have a large boys’ team this year. I hope to build up and prepare these underclassmen for next season. We are striving to make another state appearance this year. Last year the boys’ team made program history by being the first full boys’ team to make it to the state tournament. I have full confidence this will happen again. The boys are also looking to accomplish a three-peat PVC championship. For the past two seasons, we have been undefeated in the regular season, and we hope to be undefeated in the region this year, as well. This season we have scheduled very challenging opponents as we are playing several AAA teams,” Moorefield Boys Tennis coach Quincy Combs commented.
Moorefield Girls Tennis coach Traci Eskridge Alley
MHS Girls Tennis is preparing for a strong season led by seniors Courtlynn Ault, Bethany Coon, Leah Jo Davis, Emily Vinoski, Baylee Coleman and Brianna Romero.
Courtlynn Ault will be the top seeded singles player for the Yellow Jackets, followed by second seed sophomore Gracie Combs, third seed Bethany Coon, fourth seed Emily Vinoski and fifth seed sophomore Grace Tayman.
The top seed doubles will be Coon and Combs, the second seed doubles will be Vinoski and Tayman and the third seed doubles will be Davis and sophomore Sakura Cameron.
The remaining members of the girls team include Emily Evans (10), Morgan Malone (10), Kailey Miller (9), Holly Wilson (9) and Natalia Stearns (9).
“We’re working on consistency with the basics and control. The sophomores are also conditioning more, as they will be at the top next year.’Angle, Angle, Automatic’ is a motto the senior boys started at the end of last season to get in the mindset of placing the ball purposefully. It is especially important with net play. It’s also part of our focus on consistency.
Seniors: Courtlynn Ault is still our first seed singles and is formidable with a powerful serve and forehand. Bethany Coon is third seed singles and first seed dubs with Sophomore Gracie Combs. Sophomores Gracie Combs is second seed and Grace Tayman is at fifth. Both offer surprisingly strong cross courts. Fourth seed is Emily Vinoski, who is a strong strategic left-handed player. She and Tayman comprise second seed dubs And at 3rd seed dubs Senior Leah Davis, who offers nice deep shots, with Sophomore Sakura Cameron, who is very energized and focuses on net.
We have two third seed dubs vying for the position, as Sophomores Morgan Malone and Emily Evans are similar in ability. We only have two new freshmen: Holly Wilson and Kailey Miller. Kailey has already started playing exhibition matches,” Moorefield Girls Tennis coach Traci Eskridge Alley remarked.
Moorefield Tennis has started the season undefeated with wins against Berkeley Springs, Robert C. Byrd and Spring Mills.
The Yellow Jackets won a scrimmage against Petersburg on the road to start the year, but hosted a regular season match with the Vikings yesterday.
Moorefield hosts Keyser on Thursday and visits Grafton on Friday, then hosts Parkersburg Catholic on Saturday and greets Trinity Christian on Monday before a six-match road trip.
The regional tournament host will be Lincoln High School for the Class AA-A teams which can start on May 3.
