English gets redemption as Lady Bucks soar to semifinals, 3-0

By Bees O’Brien

FARWELL, PA- Bella English began her senior tennis campaign in discouraging fashion at Montgomery in Bucktail’s opening match. English would lose to the Lady Red Raiders Falin Reynolds way back on Aug. 31. She would not lose again the rest of the season. English would rip off 17 straight victories, including her 6-3, 6-1 victory over Reynolds Wednesday evening in the Lady Bucks 3-0 victory over 11 seed Montgomery to advance to the program’s first ever District IV 2A semifinal appearance.

Bucktail will meet 2 seed Hughesville (18-1) on Tuesday with a spot in the PIAA state tournament and a shot at the district championship on the line.

It wasn’t just English that helped put away Montgomery in short order. Senior number one Kayla Probert continued to dominate with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Samantha Guyer.

Bucktail only needed the doubles tandem of Gigi Balchun and Eva Sockman to come through to seal the deal. The Lady Bucks number one doubles team knocked off Brynn Fisher and Carly Hall 6-2, 6-1 to send the Lady Bucks to the semifinals.

The 3 seed Lady Bucks would have been well on their way to a total sweep of a Montgomery team that had just made a long trip to Cowanesque Valley just 24 hours earlier, but their final two matches were pulled due to the match being out of reach.

Alexis Lowery was up on Montgomery’s Sloan Wooten 7-5, 1-0 when her match was stopped. Bucktail’s number two doubles team of Kendall Wagner and Giada DeMarte was tied with Montgomery’s Summer Drick and Madison Budman when that match was stopped.

The Lady Red Raiders knocked off the NTL champion Lady Indians in the opening round 3-2, but the Mid Penn Champions proved to be too much.

Bucktail will now stare a giant in the eyes in the semifinals when they face a HAC powerhouse in Hughesville. The Lady Bucks lone contest against a HAC opponent came just last Friday in a 4-1 loss to HAC-I champions Jersey Shore.

PIAA District IV 2A Quarterfinals

Bucktail 3, Montgomery 0

Singles

1)      Kayla Probert (B) def. Samantha Guyer (M) 6-2, 6-0

2)      Alexis Lowery (B) leading Sloan Wooten (M) 7-5, 1-0 MATCH PULLED

3)      Bella English (B) def. Falin Reynolds 6-3, 6-1

 

Doubles

1)      Eva Sockman/ Gigi Balchun (B) def. Brynn Fisher/ Carly Hall (M) 6-2, 6-1

2)      Giada DeMarte/ Kendall Wagner  (B) (tied) Summer Drick/ Madison Budman (M) 1-1 MATCH PULLED