The Salem High ten- nis teams will be playing in Region 4D semifinals Friday and the Spartan singles and doubles teams, both boys and girls, have also been hav- ing some success.
The boys’ team will play River Ridge District arch-rival Blacksburg in Blacksburg in Friday’s semifinal, with the region championship match scheduled for next Tuesday. Salem opened with a 5-4 win over E.C. Glass last Friday to advance to the semifinal.
Glass was a formi- dable foe at 10-2 but Salem number one Drew Perez set the tone with a 6-0, 6-0 win at num- ber one. Logan Butcher then completed one of his finest efforts to claim a first set tiebreaker, then closed it out at number four. Getting the take- down for a third singles point was senior number six Charlie McDonald, staying on top for a 6-2, 6-2 win.
With the match tied 3-3 after singles Salem took two of three doubles. Perez and Joren Poush won at number one, 6-1, 6-4, and Chance Long teamed with Butcher at number three for a 6-2, 6-2 win.
On Monday Perez opened the singles tournament at John Handley High School in Winchester with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Youngmin Kim of Blacksburg, beat- ing him for the third time this season. Drew and Poush then won their opening doubles match against the Jefferson Forest duo, 6-4, 6-1.
Tuesday was singles semifinals and finals and Perez came out on top. He defeated Josh Lucas of James Wood in the semis, 6-0, 6-0, then took on a formidable foe from Charlottesville High, Sean Frank, and Perez won the region singles championship, 6-3, 6-4. The doubles were sched- uled for Wednesday.
The girls also won their team opener at home last Friday, defeat- ing Halifax in a match that began at Salem High and finished at the indoor courts at the Hidden V alley Country Club. Salem won 5-1 with the match stopped when the Spartans clinched.
On Monday Claire Rawlins represented Salem in singles and won her quarterfinal match over Mallory Marsteller from Jefferson Forest, 6-0, 6-1. Claire then teamed with Lauren Baba and won their opening doubles match, 6-3, 6-4, against the Jefferson Forest team.
On Tuesday Rawlins won her semifinal match against a Sherando opponent, 6-1, 6-0, but lost in the region final against Tovia Carothers of E.C. Glass, 6-1, 6-1. The girls’ tournaments are being held at Glass, with doubles scheduled for Wednesday.
The girls will play team semifinals Friday at E.C. Glass against the host Hilltoppers. Team championships for both girls and boys are sched- uled for Tuesday of next week.
