The Lord Botetourt girls saw their tennis season come to an end with a 5-0 loss to a talented Western Albemarle team in the Class 3 state quarterfinal at Western Albemarle High last Friday. That ended an outstanding season for the Cavalier girls at 12-2.
Lord Botetourt played in the Region 3D tennis championship on June 2 at Abingdon High School. The host Falcons edged LB, 5-3, to advance to this week’s state play with a home match while LB had to play their state quarterfinal on the road at Western Albemarle.
Botetourt had beaten Bassett in the region semifinal, 5-0, to earn a spot in the region final. The match with Abingdon was tied 3-3 after singles, paced by LB number one Reagan Meade who split sets before winning a tie-breaker. Elaina Brown had a straight sets win at number two and Sarah Meadows won at number six for LB’s third point.
Meadows and Ava Duff lost at third doubles just before the rain came, delaying the second and third doubles with LB down a set in both. The match was moved to the indoor courts at the Virginian Golf Club and the LB number two doubles team of Brown and Gwyneth Farrar battled back to win the second set and force a tie-breaker. However, Abingdon won the tie-breaker, 10-4, for the Falcons’ fifth point, clinching the match. With the match decided the number one doubles, with Meade and Kennedy Dorsey, was not completed.
“This was perhaps the best regional performance by a Botetourt girls’ tennis team in memory, capping off an equally unrivaled winning season,” said LB coach Dennis McCarthy.
Botetourt finished the regular season 12-2 overall and 8-0 over the regular season, with additional sweep wins against non-district opponents Salem and Christiansburg. The Cavaliers will look to reload next season as Meade, Dorsey, Duff, Savanna Johnson and Taylor Bowling have all graduated.
“Tennis continues to be a great destination sport for Botetourt County athletes as competing for roster spots in other chosen sports becomes a less realistic option,” said McCarthy. “Most of our tennis players competing at this high level began their tennis careers as freshmen.”
The Botetourt girls play their home matches at Hollins University, and McCarthy would like to see the county build some courts close to the school.
“Botetourt County desperately needs its own six-court tennis complex where future tennis players can be introduced to the game and groomed to become successful high school players,” said McCarthy. “Tennis remains one of the few sports that can be enjoyed throughout life, to include competitive play through opportunities provided by the United States Tennis Association and local community based league play.”
