Lady Zs fall to experienced Peru 5-0

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

The Rochester girls tennis team lost 5-0 to visiting Peru in their Three Rivers Conference opener at the RHS courts on April 19.

Peru won all five matches in straight sets.

Kylie Houston, Ella McCarter and Lillith Eaton lost in straight sets in the singles matches. Rily Holloway and Emily Hughes lost at No. 1 doubles, and Makenna Beall and Rylee Clevenger lost at No. 2 doubles.

Peru is the reigning regional champion. Rochester coach Jesse Atkinson said he loves coaching multi-sport athletes who are “giving tennis a try,” but he added that Peru has “tennis players” while complimenting coach Mike Saine.

“We talked yesterday at practice that we can always learn from a team like that,” Rochester coach Jesse Atkinson said. “That’s a team that won a regional last year and only graduated one senior. And so I’m not going to be all that surprised if they pull a repeat and go back-to-back regional champions. I wouldn’t be surprised at all.

“We talked a lot about you can always learn from opponents that you know what to expect from them. This is hardly any kind of huge surprise to see a very strong Peru tennis squad. We talked about that, and we talked a lot about some of the things that tennis players do, and that’s what you’re going to see from Peru.”

Houston, McCarter and the Holloway-Hughes team all did not win a game. Clevenger and Beall lost 6-1, 6-1 to Casidy Bartel and Libby Rogers.

The most competitive match was at No. 3 singles, where Lillith Eaton fell 6-4, 6-2 to Kara Baker in a match that featured several long rallies not uncommon in No. 3 singles matches but also players moving their opponent all over the court in search of creative angles.

“First off, she’s a tremendous athlete,” Atkinson said when asked to compare Eaton to a typical No. 3 singles player. “And sometimes, coaches try and hide weaker tennis players at three singles. That’s just not Lilli. She’s always going to be able to get out there and compete, which is always fun to watch. That’s one of the things that sets her apart is she’s able to night-in and night-out compete. Sometimes, you’re going to see a match like you see tonight where there’s a lot of long rallies and back-and-forth. Sometimes, you’re going to see matches like you saw last week (against LaVille) – short points and she’s just able to put points away quickly. Three singles has a tendency to be kind of a mixed bag.”

Results: Peru 5, Rochester 0

Singles

Mackey Hyde (PERU) def. Kylie Houston (RHS), 6-0, 6-0

Lauren Boyer (PERU) def. Ella McCarter (RHS), 6-0, 6-0

Kara Baker (PERU) def. Lilith Eaton (RHS), 6-4, 6-2

Doubles

Emma Eldridge-Cate Wolfe (PERU) def. Rily Holloway-Emily Hughes (RHS), 6-0, 6-0

Casidy Bartel-Libby Rogers (PERU) def. Makenna Beall-Rylee Clevenger (RHS), 6-1, 6-1

JV results: Rochester 2, Peru 1

Doubles

Taylor Howard-Kaedra Shook (RHS) won 8-3.

Lola Brady-Elizabeth Weaver (RHS) won 8-0.