Great Mills tennis topples Lackey

During a spring season that has been hindered with a bevy of interruptions due to inclement weather, the Great Mill High School tennis team made quick work of visiting Lackey on Tuesday afternoon as the Hornets defeated the Chargers 7-2 in the overall match played amid ideal conditions.

Ironically, in matches that began at the identical time on adjacent courts, the boys’ number one singles and girls’ number one singles matches virtually ended in different time zones. Great Mills junior Mark Hoffman defeated Lackey’s Brandon Rollins in straight sets, 7-6, 6-3, but the Chargers’ Ryan Zipf edged the Hornets Rachel Torgesen 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in clearly the longest, most contentious match on the card.

In addition to being involved in a demanding, physical match with Rollins on Tuesday, Hoffman admitted that he had to constantly remain mentally focused and adaptable. Hoffman won the opening set in a prolonged tie-breaker, but he adjusted accordingly in the second set to avoid heading to a third.

“I really had to keep adjusting my strategy,” Hoffman said. “He had a really good serve and good forehand, so I constantly had to change how I attacked. He was aggressive at the net and liked to attack, so I kept having to play a little more defensively.”

In boys’ number two singles, Great Mills’ Tristan Moore defeated Lackey’s Brenna Robinson, 6-0, 6-0, but the Chargers’ Charlene Deleon made equally quick work of the Hornets’ Emily Heng, 6-1, 6-2. In the other singles and doubles matches that transpired on Tuesday, Great Mills proved triumphant and each of them ended quickly in straight sets.

In boys’ number one doubles, Great Mills’ Aarav Sharma and Stevie Kraznay downed Lackey’s Bryan Green and Eric Ward, 6-0, 6-0, while the Hornets’ Jayden Davis and John Lang defeated the Chargers’ Joseph Lancaster and Darron Travers 6-1, 6-0.

In girls’ number one doubles, Great Mills’ Katrina Iskey and Addyson Harden defeated Lackey’s Casey Klinger and Nicole Aguila 6-1, 6-1, and the Hornets’ Mia Iskey and Olivia Galletti toppled the Chargers’ Savannah Murphy and Olivia Goldsmith 6-1, 6-0.

Great Mills’ Leslie Pope and Ethan Torgesen won their mixed doubles’ match with Lackey’s Aciyeh Dover and Jacob Rollins in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0.

“This is a bust week for us and it’s also one of our toughest,” said Lackey tennis coach Jon Juracko, referring to matches with Great Mills, Leonardtown and Chooticon. “We’ve already had a few rain outs, so the season is going by quickly and already more than halfway over.”