MP girls tennis slips past Fairfield

FAIRFIELD — Monday night’s Southeast Conference battle between the Mt. Pleasant and Fairfield girls tennis teams went right down to the wire.

The Panthers and Trojans traded blows all evening long, and at the end of the meet, it was Mt. Pleasant that walked out with a 5-4 win.

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The two rivals split singles competition 3-3. Mt. Pleasant took three of the Top-4 singles matches, and Mt. Pleasant grabbed the last two.

Jana Isanta Vila continued her strong start to the year, sweeping Emma Wendland 8-0 in the No. 1 match. Mary Kate Peterson gave the Panthers a nail-biting win at No. 3, taking down Lola Hatchette 9-7, and Bethany Drury downed Sriya Yammanur 8-6 in the No. 4 match.

Fairfield’s Natalie Steele grabbed a big 8-6 win over Mt. Pleasant’s Eliana Situmeang in the No. 2 singles match. Una Carter swept Victoria Smith 9-0 at No. 5, and Mareyn Dunkin took down Audrey Richmond 8-1 at No. 6.

In doubles, the Panther No. 1 team of Vila and Situmeang rolled 8-1 over Wendland and Hatchette. Fairfield, however, took the No. 2 match, when Steele and Yammanur defeated Peterson and Smith 8-5.

In the deciding No. 3 doubles match, Mt. Pleasant’s Drury and Richmond clinched the win with an 8-5 win over Fairfield’s Dunkin and Faeven Gabremarium.

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ tennis team is now 4-0 on the season, including 3-0 in the SEC. Fairfield is now 1-1, both overall and in conference play.