Contact: Jenni Brockman
St. Margaret's varsity tennis team, making their millenium debut against their archrival, defeated Christchurch Episcopal School by the score of 8-1 in head-to-head competition last Thursday (3/30) in Tappahannock. The Scotties, led by Cathy Ryan, Katie Farmer, and Australian exchange student, Britt Erwin, couldn't be happier with their start to the spring 2000 season. A large crowd of 50-60 spectators turned out for the match, sitting in the bleachers and standing on the grass lawn. The St. Margaret's faithful included parents, faculty, students and even members of the varsity softball team who escaped practice a few minutes early to watch the remaining matches. A mix of loud, raucous cheers and quiet applause aided the young Scotties. Both were received at just the right moments. "They [our fans] provided a huge lift", said Cathy Ryan. "It was nice to look up and see so many of your friends watching you. It helped all of us play inspired tennis." And play they did! In the most talked about match of the afternoon, Ann Melchionna, playing No. 3 singles for St. Margaret's, trailed Christchurch's Marcie Soucek, 1-4, prior to staging a huge comeback. Melchionna surprised everyone by "digging deep" to win 7 games and capture the match, 8-6. St. Margaret's No. 1 singles player, Cathy Ryan, defeated M. Scheu, 8-5. Cathy, a third-year varsity player, consistently hit the ball deep to wear out her opponent. Britt Erwin, of Victoria, Australia, used topspin and aggressive serves to overpower K. Schaut, 8-4, in the No. 2 singles match. Fourth-year varsity players Katie Farmer (8-1) and Jeong-Min Kim (8-4) won the No. 4 and No. 5 singles matches, respectively. St. Margaret's Danielle Magid, playing competitively for the first time at the No. 6 singles spot, defeated Christchurch's Hanna Lang 8-6. St. Margaret's No. 1 doubles team of Cathy Ryan and Britt Erwin defeated M. Scheu and K. Schaut, 8-5. St. Margaret's Kim and Magid won the No. 3 doubles match over CCS's Vanter and Hannah Lang, 8-6. St. Margaret's only defeat of the afternoon came at No. 2 doubles. Ann Melchionna and Katie Farmer, deadlocked at 8 games apiece, were forced to play a tiebreaker with Christchurch's Marcie Soucek and Kendall Courtney. Melchionna and Farmer lost the tiebreaker (4-7) and were defeated 8-9. Sophomore Kristina Bethea and junior Heeran Kim did not play in Thursday's match. However, both players will see action today (4/6) when the Scotties play at The Steward School in Richmond. "All around we played well-executed tennis and had some great moments", commented head coach Katie Spiegler. "Britt, Cathy, Katie, Ann, Jeong-Min, and Danielle played awesome tennis…it was a great start for our team." Mrs. Spiegler is in her fifth year as coach of the varsity team.
Telephone: 804-443-3357(w/h)
Fax: 804-443-6781
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
St. Margaret's Tops Christchurch, 8-1
St. Margaret's varsity tennis team displaying their makeshift "rain equipment" that the team used to salvage a few extra minutes of practice after Wednesday's match against Christchurch was cancelled due to rain. Rescheduled for Thursday, the Scotties won the match 8-1. 2000 varsity team: (l. to r.) Ann Melchionna, Danielle Magid, head coach Katie Spiegler, Katie Farmer, Kristina Bethea, Cathy Ryan, Heeran Kim, Britt Erwin, and Jeong-Min Kim.
