Punxsy falls in opener to tough DuBois squad

August 24, 2011

DUBOIS — The Punxsutawney girls' tennis team fell in its first match of the season to what Punxsy head coach Rose Graffius said was "one of the tougher teams that we will play" in DuBois, 9-0, Wednesday afternoon.

Despite the fact that her team was unable to win any matches, Graffius still saw some promising signs from her team, which lost several of its experienced players from last season.

"Overall, I was pleased with the team's performance, considering the lack of varsity court experience that many of the girls have," she said.

In the closest match, the No. 1 singles, Punxsy's Anna Monyak fell 4-6, 3-6 to DuBois' Jenna Kirk.

In the No. 3 singles, Searra Wasicki managed three games in the first set but came up short, 3-6, 1-6 against Alexis Denapoli of DuBois.

Shaina Reddinger, Lauren Wolfe and Kylie Krise also earned spots in the singles category for Punxsy's opener.

In doubles action, Monyak and Reddinger gave Alisha Torretti and Kelsey Collett a run for their money but came up short, 5-8, in No. 1 doubles.

Wasicki and Wolfe also performed well, falling 4-8 to Deanna Badger and Liz Platt in No. 2 doubles.

In the No. 4 doubles, Punxsy's Tori Brooks and Amber Ward lost to Andrea Poy and Rachel Smith.

Krise and Erin Long also competed in doubles action for Punxsy, falling 8-1 to Kirsten Adamnson and Courtney Lecker.

Against such a difficult opponent, Graffius was pleased to see a good effort from her team.

"Overall, the girls played hard," she said. "Many of the games were close, and they went to deuce multiple times."

Punxsy's next match will be on the road, as well, Tuesday in St. Marys.