Central Mountain Edges Jersey Shore in Thriller

JERSEY SHORE – The Central Mountain girls tennis team pulled out another nail-biter on Thursday afternoon, rallying in doubles play to secure a 3-2 victory over rival Jersey Shore.

Jersey Shore entered doubles with a 2-1 lead after splitting the top three singles matches. Central Mountain’s Addison Lindsay was dominant at No. 1 singles, defeating Josie Gerst 6-0, 6-0. The Bulldogs answered with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 singles, as Julia Herman topped Lane Walker 6-2, 6-0, and Molly Dalton beat Kassie Williams 6-3, 6-1.

Needing both doubles matches, the Wildcats delivered under pressure. The No. 2 pairing of Tess Akeley and Leah Wian won in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5, to even the score. That left it up to No. 1 doubles, where Audra Eaton and Kylie Markle battled through three sets before closing out a thrilling 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory.

The win gave Central Mountain the overall match, 3-2.

“Very proud of the CM girls – they never quit,” coach Tom Zettle said. “It was a great match on both sides of the net today.”