A number of developments make the future look promising for girls’ tennis. Morton said that her new assistant coach Laura Chow has been a great asset, working with the athletes on their technique.
Morton also said that she plans to continue the tennis camp she initiated last fall that enrolled 15 players in an after school program. Alina Ackenbom of the Camp Friendship tennis program assisted in instruction.
Coach Barnett said that one of the highlights of the boys’ teams season occurred when number one singles player Nikola Bajs defeated the number one player for Albemarle High. Albemarle has always been an overwhelming powerhouse in tennis, so a win at number one singles by a Fluco athlete is very impressive. Also impressive for the Flucos was the number two singles player, Eugene Chow. He had a record for the season in singles of 10-5. These two played together in the number one doubles slot and finished 7-6 for the year. Bajs and Chow qualified for both the Conference singles and Conference doubles competitions.
Barnett also commented that four-year player Dylan Carrier had a strong season. A top prospect for the boys’ team is Billy Ruffa, who as an eighth grader played in some matches that do not count officially, but who won three singles and four doubles matches.
In addition, Barnett praised the play of Ian Dillon, who came in from the wrestling team and played at number five singles, and also the play of Corban Van Ornum who finished with a winning singles record after completing his dramatics requirements.
The tennis teams at Fluvanna High used to be vagabonds, as the old high school did not have adequate facilities to host matches. The boys’ team used to play at the Lake Monticello courts, while the girls’ team was relegated to Camp Friendship – a nice facility, but a bit remote from the high school. Now that the teams have courts to play on at their school, the programs appear to be developing strength and consistency.
