Seven matches in, Panther women’s tennis remains unbeaten.
Following three straight matches after Labor Day, Heather Bell’s team had just one the next week, traveling to West Henderson for a Mountain Seven Conference clash. In routing the second-place Falcons 8-1, Franklin finished the first leg of their conference schedule at 7-0.
In the No. 1 singles match, junior Abigail Angel nearly gave Franklin a 9-0 win, splitting the first two sets 3-6, 6-4 but losing a razor-thin tiebreak 10-8. At No. 2, junior Kate Phillips won a similar match, dropping her first set but ultimately prevailing 6-7 (3-7), 6-2, (10-6).
At No. 3 senior Laura Holland blew out her opponent 6-1, 6-0, while junior Maci Stork blanked her opponent 6-0, 6-0 at No. 4. At No. 5, senior Logan Guynn cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 victory, with senior Lydia Holland earning Franklin’s fifth singles win 6-2, 6-2.
Despite its outcome having been decided with Franklin up 5-1, the teams elected to play the contest’s doubles matches to stay sharp. At No. 1, Angel/Phillips beat West’s top pair 8-4. At No. 2, the Holland sisters dispatched their opponents 8-3, while Guynn/Stork rounded out Franklin’s day convincingly 8-1.
With Angel’s narrow loss serving as the Panthers’ first of the year, the team has now accrued an incredible 62-1 combined record. Having routed all six of their M7 opponents to start the season, the team begins the second leg of their conference schedule Sept. 20 at Tuscola.