Sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce your way and you lose, and sometimes you run into an opponent that is just more talented.
On Tuesday, the latter was the case when the Lady Pioneers played host to St. Andrew’s Sewanee. Warren County ran into one of the state’s best teams and was swept 9-0 to fall to 3-4 this season.
Coach David Dunlap knew his team had its hands full when the buses from Sewanee pulled up at McMinnville Civic Center. St. Andrew’s brought with it an undefeated record and left with another victory as the Lady Pioneers fell below .500 for the first time this year.
Coach Dunlap didn’t have many issues with how his girls played, but instead focused on the talent of the team from Sewanee.
“Our girls competed, but we won’t play a better girls team this year,” said Dunlap.
Warren County did get a boost when sophomore Peyton Baker made her return to the court. Baker, who was one of the top freshmen in District 6-AAA last year, had sat out the Lady Pioneers last two matches due to a knee injury.
Baker stepped back into her position as the team’s No. 2 singles player, but was unsuccessful in her first match back as she lost 8-1 to Machaela Shackelford.
Baker also teamed with Kathryn McCormick to play the No. 1 doubles matchup, but the Lady Pioneers’ top duo was defeated by the St. Andrew’s Shackelford sisters, Machaela and Sadie.
It was the second time McCormick stepped on the court against Sadie Shackelford, as the two matched up in the No. 1 singles pairing. Shackelford prevailed in singles as well, winning 8-0.
Susie Brown was involved in two of the Lady Pioneers closest outcomes Tuesday. Brown lost 8-4 in her singles match against Nikki Johnson, then teamed with Tanisha Ramirez in a 8-5 loss to Johnson and Mary Edwards.
Freshman Elizabeth Oxley also had two close calls for the Lady Pioneers, but couldn’t come up with the team’s first win. Oxley was dropped 8-5 in her singles match against Abby Alter, then joined forces with fellow freshman Madison Todd for a doubles set. Oxley and Todd played well before dropping the set 8-5 to Alter and Al Schwarz.
The Lady Pioneers hoped to even their record yesterday when they played host to Coffee County at McMinnville Civic Center. Results from Warren County’s match against the Lady Raiders were unavailable at press time.
Warren County will take the weekend off before it returns to the courts next Thursday against Cumberland County. The Lady Pioneers’ home match on April 14 begins at 3:30 p.m.