Bayliss, Wagner continue winning

The Region II individual girls tennis tournament got underway on Tuesday, and Western Albemarle’s Shannon Bayliss and the Monticello doubles team of Amanda Wagner and Lizzie Gaffney moved on to continue play in today’s final round.

In singles, both Bayliss and Wagner won their respective quarterfinal matches. Bayliss knocked off James Wood’s Kari Pope — whom she lost to in the team regionals last week —  6-3, 6-3. Wagner cruised past Elissa Kim of Briar Woods, 6-1, 6-2.

In the semifinal round, Wagner fell in her third match of the day to No. 1 seed Elizabeth Gardiner from John Handley, 6-3, 6-4. Wagner played against Gardiner in the team regional semifinals a week ago, dropping the first set and then had a lead in the second before the match was clinched by the Judges.

Bayliss, also playing her third match, rallied to defeat Heritage-Lynchburg’s Meleah Nassar in three sets, 7-5, 2-6, 6-2. Bayliss suffered a slight ankle injury in the second set and trailed 2-1 in the third before taking the final five games.

“Playing eight sets today with just a 45-minute warmup this morning,” Western coach Betsy Nugent said, “Shannon conditions all year and it paid off today. As we saw in that third set, she wanted it a little bit more”

In doubles, Amanda Wagner was set to join sister Elisabeth, a senior, as part of a sibling combination went 11-2 on the season in doubles play. Elisabeth, however, was under the weather and could not compete.

“Obviously I was disappointed for Elisabeth, as a senior, not getting to play in regionals,” coach Mike Mountjoy said.

Mustangs freshman Gaffney was in health class and got word 45 minutes before the match was scheduled to start that she would be taking Wagner’s place, and the St. Anne’s-Belfield transfer made the best of it as she and Amanda Wagner rolled past Loudoun County’s Megan Hurley and Kerry Sarver, 6-2, 6-0.

Gaffney was an eighth-grader on the Saints’ varsity squad that went to the state semifinals last season, and had no idea that she would get an opportunity to continue competing in postseason play.

“I was about to go to lunch,” said Gaffney, “and then I got a call from coach Mountjoy and he said he’s going to pick me up in ten minutes.

“I don’t usually play with Amanda, but sometimes in practices when Elisabeth wasn’t there, we would play together.”

Amanda Wagner added: “Lizzie didn’t even know we were playing, she had no idea, but I knew we had a pretty good chance because she’s good with her serve and groundstrokes, so I was pretty excited. Our games complemented each other well because she always plays on one side and I always play on the other, so it worked out well.”

Mountjoy talked about how well Gaffney adjusted on the fly despite not being aware that the tournament was being played until later in the week.

“Lizzie stepped in and played very, very well,” said Mountjoy. “She and Amanda did a lot of the fundamental things that we teach in terms of our doubles and worked as a pair very well.”

Bayliss and partner Maddie Wilson, who came into the match with a record of 13-1 on the season, faced Pope and Headley Wilson from James Wood in the quarterfinals of doubles. After dropping the first set 6-4, Bayliss and Wilson came back and took the second set 6-3.

The Colonels duo outlasted the Warriors’ pair in the decisive set, erasing any hopes of Bayliss making a return trip to the state championship, which she won in 2006. After falling in doubles, Bayliss was determined to win in singles and extend her Warriors career.

“I definitely didn’t want [the doubles loss] to be my last match,” Bayliss said. “I felt like the second set and the beginning of the third set I was playing really tentatively and I just started swinging out and my shots are pretty good when I do that and trust them.”

Bayliss will face Gardiner in today’s singles championship, which begins at 11 a.m. Gaffney will again join Wagner in doubles competition today, as the two will face Gardiner and Mykenzie Garrett in the semifinals.