Propelled by strong doubles play, the Hart girls tennis team beat Golden Valley 14-4 on a windy Thursday afternoon at Golden Valley High School.
Hart’s No. 2 doubles team of Jennifer Russell and Stefani Woll swept two of their three sets and lost only two games on the day.
This comes a little after a week ago when the duo won all of their sets against West Ranch.
Russell believes their games compliment each other well and playing other sports helps them in doubles.
“I’m back all the time and she’s at net. So I play more safe and she’s more aggressive which helps,” Russell said. “We both play other sports and play very intensely with other people, so doubles hypes us both up.”
The No. 1 doubles team of Emily Thompson and Shannon Sindle also flourished on Thursday, winning all three of their sets 6-1. Bella Cornejo, who usually plays singles, subbed in for Thompson in the last set.
Lauren Hannah and Marty Kass comprised Hart’s No. 3 doubles team, the first time the pair have played together this season. They also won all three of their sets.
“I’m impressed with how Marty and Lauren played today,” Hart head coach Allan Hardbarger said. “They were just matched up together for the first time and they really clicked. They played some smart tennis today.”
On the singles side, Golden Valley’s Justine Dondonay swept all three of her sets against Mansi Sharma, Cameron Schwartz and Carly Wilkinson of Hart. No. 3 singles player Ashleigh Azarraga was the other winner for Golden Valley, beating Zoe Witherspoon 6-1, who had subbed in for Sharma.
Wilkinson earned her first start as the No. 3 singles player for Hart after a strong week at practice.
“It’s exciting. I feel like I wanted to prove myself, so being to able to play and win two out of three is a step for me,” Wilkinson said. “I want to try and show that I can play and help carry the team.”
With the win, Hart remains in third place in Foothill League with a 4-2 league record, trailing first-place West Ranch and second-place Valencia. The Indians will try to avenge an earlier season loss against the Vikings when they face them on Tuesday, Oct. 9.
Golden Valley moves to 1-5 in league play and will play undefeated West Ranch on Oct. 9.
