Marvin Ridge's girls tennis team blanked Piedmont twice on Thursday, Sept. 17, winning 8-0 and 9-0 at the Maverick Courts in Waxhaw.
The back-to-back sweeps pushed the Mavericks to 8-2 overall and 7-0 in Southern Carolina Conference play, keeping them alone atop the league standings. Piedmont fell to 11-6 overall and 1-6 in conference play, The Enquirer Journal's Michael Wayne O'Neill reported.
Seven wins, zero conference losses. That mark is the best in the Southern Carolina Conference, and the Mavericks built it with depth across the roster.
The 17 individual matches across the two contests gave coach Julie Durham a chance to rotate her lineup from seniors down to a freshman. In the first match, seniors Eleri Pratiknjo, Riona Ray and Sevda Naghian held down the top singles lines alongside juniors Brynn Bell and Zoe Banchik.
Durham shuffled the order for the second match. Ray and Banchik returned, joined by junior Ashley Marshall, sophomores Praseeda Magnati and Natalie Akopian and freshman Mishika Cherukupalli.
The closest contest of the afternoon came at No. 1 doubles in the first match. Pratiknjo and senior Alexandra Lee outlasted Piedmont's Hollis McCraw and Payton Carr 8-6, the only line where the Panthers kept pace with Marvin Ridge.
"We're thrilled with the successes we have had so far this season, and we hope to continue pushing ourselves to play better tennis every match," Durham said.
Durham also credited Piedmont's growth after the Sept. 17 matches. "The Panthers are very well coached, and we saw huge improvements with their team this year," she said. "But we had to stay focused on playing our game last night."
The Panthers, now 1-6 in conference play, hosted Cuthbertson on Friday, Sept. 18.
Marvin Ridge's next test carries higher stakes. The Mavericks travel to Weddington on Wednesday, Sept. 23, for a conference rematch against the Warriors with first place on the line.
