Western teams win JD

Western Albemarle has built quite a legacy in the sport of tennis in its years in the Jefferson District, as both the boys and girls teams have won every title since the league was formed. The Warriors continued that streak in the 2008 championship on Tuesday at Piedmont Virginia Community College, as each team defeated rival Monticello.
Western swept both doubles matches, as the boys won a combined 30 sets, compared to just three for the Mustangs. The boys’ doubles teams, led by senior Ben Fitts and sophomore Joey Manilla, have not lost all season, piling up an 18-0 record.
The girls were again challenged in their fourth meeting in nearly two weeks against Monticello, which was within two points of winning two separate matches, and could have easily lost 2-1.
“[Western has] set the bar high,” Monticello coach Mike Mountjoy said, “they’re a very good program. We dug ourselves a hole in doubles again, but if you look at those scores, two of the three matches were extremely close.
“A couple of breaks, a couple of points either way and it’s a whole different match. As we get better, some of those matches will start going our way.”
Sarah Nugent and Sonali Nanda won convincingly over the Mustangs’ Lizzy Gaffney and Kate Geldmacher, 10-1. In the No. 1 match, Western’s duo of Shannon Bayliss and Maddie Wilson were in
command against Monticello’s Amanda and Elisabeth Wagner, 9-4. The Wagners would not go quietly, however, winning the next four sets and nearly forcing a tiebreak before falling 10-8.
The Mustangs’ Anne Clark Hathaway and senior Megan Pimentel led Western’s Anjali Nanda and Maria Volberg 5-4 in their tiebreak, but the Warriors came back to take it, 7-5.
“I thought [Hathaway and Pimentel] played with courage, with determination, were very athletic, and they played a team that has been very successful,” said Mountjoy, who was named Jefferson District coach of the year following the match.
With each Warriors team needing to win two matches in the singles to clinch, the boys’ team got wins from Manilla along with Gabe Kosowitz, Jamie Thomas and Alex Preve to prevail, 7-0.
The Western girls (15-2) quickly dropped two matches as Gaffney and Elisabeth Wagner picked up wins. District player of the year Amanda Wagner was tied 5-5 in her match against Bayliss, and Alexa Lebeis was also knotted up with Anjali Nanda at six apiece before Western’s Sonali Nanda and Lauren Hagspiel wrapped up their matches to seal the deal.
“I have to say this year [winning the district] means more to this team than it ever has,” Western girls coach Betsy Nugent said, “just by the mere fact that we had such great competition with Monticello. They did a great job and coach Mountjoy should be very proud of his team.”
All four teams will advance to the Region II tournament beginning next Tuesday following this weekend’s individual district tournament.
“It’s good for area tennis to be competing at such a high level,” Mountjoy said. “Albemarle is undefeated, the only teams that Western and Monticello have lost to is Albemarle and each other, which means that all three of the county girls’ public high school teams haven’t lost to anyone outside of the county, and that’s saying something.”