By Duncan Nixon
Correspondent
It was a very windy afternoon on April 30. The Fluvanna County High School girls’ tennis team was undeterred and ran its record to 3-1 with a devastating win over the visiting Hornets from Orange County. The Flucos won all six singles matches and all three doubles matches for a 9-0 final score.
Junior Anja Bajs played in the number one singles slot and scored an 8-1 win. Senior Molli White competed in the second singles and she too scored an 8-1 win. Amazingly, five of the six singles matches ended with this same 8-1 score. Catherine Napier, who is a junior, won in the third singles match. Shannon Johnson, a senior, won a point for her team in the fourth singles position. She won 8-2. Lainey Brown, only a freshman was victorious at the fifth singles and junior Ellie White nailed down the final singles point.
In the doubles, Bajs and M. White shutout their opponents for an 8-0 win. In the second doubles competition, it was Napier and Johnson with the win by a familiar score of 8-1. In the third doubles competition, E. White combined with senior Rylee Henderson for a win by the score of 8-1. Seven of the 13 girls on the squad competed against Orange.
The girls’ tennis team is coached this year by Kenny Larios who is in his first year at the helm. He is assisted by Alina Ackenbom, who is the tennis pro at nearby Camp Friendship. She competed professionally in Russia, before coming to the United States. Ackenbom noted that it is tough to play tennis outdoors in a strong wind, but she pointed out that the Fluco girls have practiced in windy conditions, and she thought that they were mentally ready to handle the wind.
With a compressed schedule for spring sports, the girls’ tennis team was slated to be in action three times in the first week of May. They hosted Western Albemarle on May 3, traveled to Orange on May 5 and will host Louisa County on May 7.
