By Mike Maltais
The Liberty Bell High School varsity boys’ and girls’ tennis teams split their non-league match against White Swan at Ephrata last Saturday (March 29) with the girls losing, 0-5, and the boys winning, 5-0, against the Cougars.
Playing first boys’ singles, Carlos Perez defeated Freyn Lewis, 6-3, 6-1, in what coach Dave Schulz called a “very good match” between two veteran competitors.
Josh Frey outlasted Levi Anderson in second boys’ singles, 6-2, 6-0, and Jesse Schulz beat Josh Suarez, 6-1, 6-1, to sweep the field in boys’ singles.
Fletcher Rickabaugh and Daniel Sonnichsen shut out the Cougars’ doubles team of Keg Zaglow and Alexis Galban, 6-0, 6-0.
For the second doubles match, Schulz moved two junior varsity players, D.J. Haley and Greyson Alexander, up to the varsity ranks to take on White Swan’s Tony and Elvis Lopez. Even though the two Mountain Lions were facing their first varsity opponents and had never played doubles together, Alexander and Haley scored impressive 6-2, 6-2 wins over their opponents.
“They did a superb job,” Schulz said.
Despite a sprained wrist, first girls’ singles player Tulie Budiselich played “a pretty good first set” but was unable to maintain the pace to a win, Schulz said.
Following a forfeit of the second girls’ singles game, Carlee Wright lost, 0-6, 0-6, to Edith Ribaf in third girls’ singles.
The first doubles teams of Sidni Butler and Emily Alexander lost their first match, 1-6, and had to forfeit the second when Alexander sustained a sprained ankle.
Logan and Sidni Butler, playing second girls’ doubles, lost a one-match makeup set, 0-6.
The action comes to Liberty Bell’s home court on Tuesday (April 8) when the Mountain Lions host Wilson Creek at 4 p.m.
