Lady Mules down Tigers at home

The Poplar Bluff High School tennis team did not miss a beat after competing in back-to-back matchups to start their season.

The Lady Mules got a solid win over Dexter High School 7-2 on Monday in their home opener and returned Tuesday to host the Central Lady Tigers (0-2).

Head coach Michelle Massey was quite pleased with how the Lady Mules played against Dexter and hoped the momentum would carry over in their matchup against Central.

The Lady Mules Varsity team won 8-1, while the junior varsity got their first win of the season 14-1.

“The Lady Mules had a great night,” Massey said. “The varsity girls came out on the court playing aggressively, and they hassled and ran down every shot. I believe these matches are getting us ready to play our three consecutive matches next week.”

The Lady Mules (2-0) got cooking early with two wins during the doubles matches. Junior Kaitlyn Booker and Molly Maurer defeated Central’s Natalie Voshage and Zea Grabel 8-4, while senior Ava Richardson and Hannah Kee got a clean sweep over Lillianna Dubs and Brenna Dunavan 8-0.

“We’re feeling pretty good,” Booker said about getting back-to-back wins. “We definitely let up on ourselves a little bit since we got our win against Dexter yesterday. We didn’t come out with as much intensity, but from now on, we must go out there and play with intensity throughout the entire match.”

Booker said though it was a tough stretch, they were able to regroup to pull out the win, and she is proud of how everyone played.

Despite losing their last doubles match, the Lady Mules went on a tear during singles by getting a clean sweep over the Lady Tigers 6-0. Massey was overjoyed with the performance from Maurer as she defeated her opponent 8-0.

“Maurer dominated her match,” Massey said. “She played very aggressively and did not let up. The thing I’m very proud of the most is how all the players came out ready to play, hustled, and worked for every point.”

Playing back-to-back isn’t easy, but Moore expressed the importance of staying ready as this won’t be the last time the Lady Mules play in consecutive games.

“I think we came back out today ready to play,” Moore said. “We didn’t come out as we did the first game, but once we started playing, we locked in and got the win. This week was a true test for us always to be ready and attack our matches the same way throughout the season.”

The Lady Mules will be on the road for the next three games as they prepare for a long stretch. The first matchup is against Willow Springs (3-3) next Tuesday at 4 p.m.

SINGLES

Kaitlyn Booker def. Natalie Voshage 8-1

Molly Maurer def. Lilliana Dubs 8-0

Ava Richardson def. Zea Gabel 8-2

Hannan Kee def. Brenna Dunaven 8-1

Hannah Wiseman def. Aubrey Walker 8-1

Rachel Hamann def. Anne McDougal F

DOUBLES

Booker and Maurer def. Voshage and Grabel 8-4

Richardson and Kee def. Dubs and Dunaven 8-0

Walker and McDougal def. Katelyn Conover and Wiseman 8-6