Lady Bulldogs triumph over Rebels in mid-season tennis showdown

NEWBERRY — The Newberry High School lady Bulldogs defeated the Mid-Carolina lady Bulldogs 4-2 in one of the biggest regular season tennis matches for both teams. The two cross-town rivals faced off on Tuesday evening at Oakland Tennis Center in Newberry, SC.

In the first match, freshman Madeline Kemper fell short in both sets of her singles match by a score of 6-1 in the first set and 6-2 in the second set.

“I saw really good shots from our number five player Madeline Kemper. She is just a freshman and still has a long way to go but I am pretty confident by the end of the season, she will be right where she needs to be,” said lady Bulldogs’ head coach Erica Scriven.

The Bulldogs also fell in the doubles match to the Rebels as well. Jackie Hernandez and Isabella Broach lost 6-0 in the first and lost 6-4 in a much tighter second set.

Elizabeth Yi, the Bulldogs top player, easily won her match with a score of 6-0 in the first set and 6-1 in the second set. The other lady Bulldogs who won were Kenzie Long, Bentleigh Croom and Zoe Reid.

“I felt pretty confident in my girls coming into this match. They have been doing really well all season. They’ve been keeping their head strong going into every game and making sure they have a positive mindset. I always tell them, ‘Tennis is a mental game, the mindset you have is the outcome you will receive.’” said Scriven.

The Bulldogs(6-2, 1-0) will face Batesburg-Leesville on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at home.

As for the lady Rebels, they fall to 0-5 on the season. They will look to pick up their first win of 2023 in their next match against Chapin.