Full swing ahead
By Carl Lukat
The Loudoun Valley Viking girls' tennis team has taken the Cedar Run District by storm.
The Vikings needed less than two hours to sweep Cedar Run foe Osbourn, 9-0 in their regular season home finale May 2 in Purcellville.
The sweep was Valley's 10th this season as it improved to 13-0 in the Cedar Run and 14-0 overall.
“The girls are doing really well. We are undefeated so far,” said Viking coach Brook Brown, whose team wrapped up the regular season May 5 at Fauquier.
“We are looking forward to districts and then regionals,” Brown continued. “Hopefully, we'll get some more competition as we get further along.”
Kiersten Pappas, Juliana Jacangelo, Kayla Sweet, Annie Adams, Cecily Mullen and Chelsea Verdin each won their singles matches in straight sets Friday.
Pappas remains undefeated at No. 1 singles this spring, as our teammates Sweet (No. 3) and Mullen (No. 5).
“Personally, it's been really great. I've had a lot of fun and the team is doing really well,” Pappas said. “I think we are going to go really far. We are all playing great.”
The teams of Pappas and Jacangelo, and Sweet and Mullen also won convincingly in doubles, both duos staying perfect on the season. Adams and Verdin closed out Friday's match with another doubles victory.
“It is definitely a year-round commitment for most of them,” Brown said of her team. “They put in a lot of effort in the offseason, which shows during the season. They are doing really well. They work hard and they are very committed.”
The Vikings have already secured a berth to the Northwest Region tournament as the Cedar Run regular-season champs. They enter postseason play with plenty of reason for optimism.
“I think that we have every potential to go to states this year,” Brown said. “I'm hoping the girls play up to their abilities.”
Perhaps the only reason for concern as the Vikings began tournament play is their lack of close matches this spring. Loudoun Valley's tightest match to this point was a 6-3 win over Osbourn Park April 14.
“We just need solid performances from everybody down the line. We need all six girls to be on their toes,” Brown said.
“It's tough because we've had some really easy matches in the regular season. So when that competition steps it up, we need to make sure we are ready for that.”