Fairfield girls rally, advance to regional final

Courtney Laux and Hanna Kerr pulled out a tight victory via tiebreaker in the first round of regional team tennis Saturday, lifting the Trojan girls over Oskaloosa 5-4 on the Fairfield Middle School courts.

The Trojans then coasted in the second round, defeating Albia 5-1 to advance to the regional final round and cap an outstanding day for Fairfield tennis.

Advancement looked dreary early for the Trojans, who trailed Oskaloosa 4-2 following singles play. Along with Laux and Kerr?s 6-2, 3-6, 10-5 win at No. 3 doubles, the Trojans swept the other two spots with wins from Haylee Gilpin and Kim O?Carroll at No. 1 (6-2, 6-1) and Rachel Hathaway and Karley Williams at No. 2 (6-4, 6-2).

Fairfield also received singles victories in the opening round from Williams and O?Carroll. Williams kicked off her morning with a 7-5, 6-2 win at No. 2, and O?Carroll pulled out a 7-5, 6-7, 10-8 super tiebreaker win at No. 3.

In the Trojans? match with Albia, Fairfield ended the long day as quickly as possible with wins in the top five singles matches. Gilpin (6-4, 6-4), Williams (6-3, 6-4), O?Carroll (6-3, 6-4) and Hathaway (6-3, 6-4) all won with ease at Nos. 1-4. Laux was driven to a third set at No. 5 before pulling out the 6-1, 2-6, 10-7 victory in a super tiebreaker.

The Trojans are now headed to Fort Madison to play Keokuk in the regional final round next Saturday starting at 9 a.m. The winner of the match advances to the first round of state competition scheduled May 21.

In other weekend area tennis in Fairfield, the Maharishi School girls were shocked in the opening round of regional team tennis, falling 5-2 to Knoxville at the Punj Tennis Center courts. Knoxville later moved on to the regional finals with a 5-1 victory over Davis County.