As the season for the women’s tennis team is drawing to a close, the Huskies tennis team has earned a spot in the NCHSAA Dual-Team Playoffs by finishing in second place in the MVAC regular season. Due to the limited spots in the playoffs, Ashe was on the road during the first round of play and traveled to Charles D. Owen High School for their first round matchup. The Huskies were energized by a strong representation by their members in the MVAC Tournament last week, in which Ashe claimed first and second spot in the doubles tournament. The Huskies, despite being a lower ranked team, were able to defeat the Warlassie’s in the six singles matches for a quick match for the Huskies to advance to the second round.

The Huskies showed their experience and skill during the match on Tuesday and all won not only their first set, but also the second set to allow Ashe to claim the victory after the six singles matches. The closest match of the day was on the court with the number one seeds. Ivey Tant faced a tough opponent and squeaked by in the first set with a 7-5 victory, but then came out strong in the second set and won 6-4. The only other close match was Ariel Farmer, who defeated her opponent in the number six seed spot. Farmer was able to win the first set 7-5 with a tiebreaker. In the second set, Farmer meant business and pulled ahead early and cruised to a 6-2 victory for the Huskies.

The remainder of the Huskies were able to defeat their opponents during the match easily. Lorna Vega won 6-2 6-1 in the number two spot, Rachel Curcio won 6-3 6-0 for the number three seed, Roxanne Thomas claimed a 6-2 6-0 victory in the fourth seed, and Courtney Bowers won 6-1 6-2 for the Huskies in the fifth seeded spot.

Due to winning all six singles matches, the Huskies won the match without the need for doubles to compete. Coach Vickie Herman commented on the play of her Huskies by stating: “The girls were all playing very confidently which is a good thing to see this time of the year. Owen has a good team and some of the matches were very close.”

The Huskies advance to the second round of the NCHSAA Dual-Team Playoffs, which will be held on Tuesday, October 23. The Huskies will be on the road again as they will be traveling to West Henderson High School.

The Huskies return to individual play today when they are competing in the NCHSAA Individual Regional Tournament. The MVAC is hosting the regional tournament this year and Ashe will be sending five representatives, four in doubles, and one in singles. Ivey Tant and Lorna Vega will team up, along with Rachel Curcio and Roxanne Thomas to compete in doubles, and then Courtney Bowers will be Ashe’s only representative in the singles tournament. The tournament will be held at Wilkes Central High School and also at the Wilkes Campus of Wilkes Community College on Friday and Saturday. At press time, the times of the matches were unavailable. Look in upcoming editions of the Jefferson Post for results of the matches.