BUCKHANNON – The Buckhannon-Upshur tennis Buccaneers and Lady Bucs opened their season this past Wednesday hosting the Bridgeport Indians in a Big 10 Conference clash.
The Bucs dropped a 7-0 decision while the Lady Bucs were narrowly beaten by a 4-3 score.
“The matches were pretty competitive,” noted Buckhannon-Upshur head coach Jason Rock. “We couldn’t have asked for a better opening match. The Bridgeport tennis players and their coaches are wonderful, and the Bridgeport tennis program has great emphasis on the kids playing and having fun. This is what I want for our program too. By the end of the night nerves had settled and it was evident that all the kids had a great time. We had several kids who played their first ever match and several returning kids playing their first matches in new positions or roles. We have kids every year where the first day of practice is their first experience ever with the game of tennis. It is always cool to see how far these kids have come in just two and a half weeks of practice.”
While the boys didn’t pick up a win, Rock felt his inexperienced team held their own against a very good Indians team.
“I want to give a shout out on the boy’s side to Brayden Osburn, Eric Cook, and Oscar Blonn who played their first ever matches by stepping up and playing varsity,” remarked Rock. “While Bridgeport did lose a lot of players last year, as a whole our boys team held their own and played competitive matches.”
For the girls, Cate O’Neill and Taylor Parke picked up a doubles win at No. 2 beating Presley Carlyle and Mackenzie Reider by an 8-6 score.
In singles action, Mya Critchfield beat Madison Hansberry by an 8-3 score at No. 2 and O’Neill defeated Lily Lopez by a 9-7 count at No. 3.
“On the girls side we were missing a few of our varsity players so everyone across the board had to step into a role or position they are not used to,” noted Rock. “Honestly, we probably could have won that match. At No. 1 doubles, we were up by a bit, but they ended up letting it get away from them. We will chalk that up to it being the first match mishaps. Hopefully, we can come back and get them later in the season.”
Weather permitting, both teams will be back in action Monday at University.
The results:
BOYS
Bridgeport 7 Buckhannon-Upshur 0
Singles
No. 1 – Gregory Noone (Bpt.) def. Jude Snyder, 8-3
No. 2 – Eli Jones (Bpt.) def. Tommy Swift, 8-0
No. 3 – Adam Jackson (Bpt.) def. Cody Trainer, 8-3
No. 4 – Tucker Pomeroy (Bpt.) def. Brayden Osburn 8-3
Doubles
No. 1 – Noone and Jones (Bpt.) def. Snyder and Swift, 8-1
No. 2 – Jackson and Pomeroy (Bpt.) def. Trainer and Osburn, 8-0
No. 3 – Sean Huffman and Brayden Stutler (Bpt.) def. Eric Cook and Oscar Blonn, 8-0
GIRLS
Bridgeport 4 Buckhannon-Upshur 3
Singles
No. 1 – Sofia Dannunzio (Bpt.) def. Lainey Rowan, 8-4
No. 2 – Mya Critchfield (B-U) def. Madison Hansberry, 8-3
No. 3 – Cate O’Neill (B-U) def. Lily Lopez, 9-7
No. 4 – Chloe Miller (Bpt.) def. Taylor Parke, 8-1
Doubles
No. 1 – Dannunzio and Hansberry (Bpt.) def. Rowan and Critchfield, 8-4
No. 2 – O’Neill and Parke (B-U) def. Presley Carlyle and Mackenzie Reider, 8-6
No. 3 – Miller and Addison McCarthy (Bpt.) def. Patience Cook at Alyssa Skinner, 8-1
