DOWAGIAC — Brandywine continued to dominate the doubles matches and junior Hope Daniel of Dowagiac outlasted Bobcat Alyssa Robbins at No. 1 singles by a score of 6-4, 6-7(3) and 6-3 to be the lone victor on the tennis court for the host Chiefs on Tuesday.

“Hope (Daniel) is falling into the top spot pretty good and is a good leader as a captain,” noted Dowagiac coach Curtis Partee. “All the girls are giving everything they got and are still working hard and learning as I see improvement every day in practice with this young team–so it is coming.”

Dowagiac (2-11) has only one senior on the team and Shannon Keene plays right behind Daniel at No. 2 singles, who after losing 6-2 in the first set to Jessica Blank rebounded with a 5-7 set back in the second set.

The Bobcats (9-1-3) were victorious at three and four singles by Brittney Molica and Cassie Kelly, respectively with Molica winning 6-2 and 7-6(4) over Kristina Bunn and Kelly scoring 6-1 sets over Harley Beaver of Dowagiac.

“I am liking our chances more and more at singles as we are in the mix battling for the conference championship and we will see later this week as it really does go by fast with regionals in two weeks,” stated Brandywine coach Joe Marazita. “Dowagiac has a real good coach and the kids always give us good competition going into the conference tournament.”

Doubles have been a strong strength for Brandywine all year as seniors Lauren Leonard and Kelsey Prestly remained unbeaten at the top spot with a 6-1 and 6-4 triumph over Jessica Martin and Megan Hornburg of Dowagiac.

Leonard is capping off a stellar career in athletics wearing the Brandywine uniforms and will only be the fourth player in Bobcat history to be all-conference and all-regional all four years on the tennis court, but the hoop court is where she will continue her prowess in college as she has decided to attend Kalamazoo Community College on a basketball scholarship next fall.

“The strength of our team is at doubles even though we practiced more indoors than outside because of the weather and this was the first day the team has been able to play in their normal outfits instead of sweatshirts, sweat pants and ear muffs,” mentioned Marazita. “I was never a component for the schedule change for girls to play tennis in the fall, which was suppose to be to their advantage and you must be kidding to give the girls preferential treatment by saying it would be better to play in the spring than fall–somebody needs to have their head examined.”

In the final three doubles matches, the Bobcats won by allowing one, two and three games total at the two, three and four pairings respectively.

Ashley DeJonge and Lena Miles beat Erica Greenwood and Sydney Foote at No. 2, with Jessy Cooper and Rachel Gibson beating Rebecca Luth and Madison Proshwitz at three, with the final double pairing of Bobcats Taylor Mattiford and Alissa Gamble outplaying Erin Corey and Easton Preston of Dowagiac.

“A lot of sophomores are playing doubles and finding that the competition is pretty tough as all the doubles teams have won two games this year, but always give one hundred per cent,” concluded Partee.

Brandywine…7

Dowagiac…1

Singles

1. Hope Daniel (D) d. Alyssa Robbins 6-4, 6-7, 6-4; 2. Jessica Blank (BW) d. Shannon Keene 6-2, 7-5; 3. Brittney Molica (BW) d. Kristina Bunn 6-2, 7-6; 4. Cassie Kelly (BW) d. Harley Beaver 6-1, 6-1

Doubles

1. Lauren Leonard-Kelsey Prestly (BW) d. Jessica Martin-Megan Hornburg 6-1, 6-4; 2. Ashley DeJonge-Lena Miles (BW) d. Erica Greenwood-Sydney Foote 6-2, 6-0; 3. Jessy Cooper-Rachel Gipson (BW) d. Rebecca Luth-Madison Proshwitz 6-2, 6-0; 4. Taylor Mattiford-Alissa Gamble (BW) d. Easton Preston-Erin Corey 6-0, 6-3