THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 21, 1994 TAG: 9410210788
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
First Colonial and Great Bridge proved emphatically that they're the best two girls tennis teams in the area Thursday as they rolled to shutout victories in the Eastern Region tournament at Owl Creek Municipal Tennis Center.
The Beach District and defending regional champion Patriots trounced Peninsula District champion Ferguson, 9-0, while the Southeastern District champion Wildcats won by the same score over Eastern District winner Booker T. Washington.
The only question remaining: Who's No. 1?
The answer comes today at 1:30 p.m., when First Colonial and Great Bridge meet at Owl Creek for the regional title.
The Patriots go in as slight favorites, as they handed the Wildcats their only defeat (5-3, with one match suspended) during the regular season.
``Everybody needs to have an exceptionally good day,'' Great Bridge's Danielle Winfield said. ``They're so strong.''
Besides bragging rights, however, little else is at stake today. By winning Thursday, both teams have already qualified for the Group AAA state tournament. First Colonial reached the state semifinals last season.
``We're just happy to get another chance,'' First Colonial's Katy Walters said.
Neither team was tested Thursday. With the senior-dominated Wildcats one match away from the state tournament, Booker T. Washington coach Paul Palombo said he knew it was going to be a long day before the first ball was struck.
``As soon as I looked into (Carey) Stafford and (Megan) Romash's eyes, I knew we were in trouble,'' he said.
Great Bridge No. 1 Sara Guthrie, No. 2 Stafford, No. 3 Romash and No. 6 Shannon Miller combined to lose only four games in their matches, and Kim Burnop added the clincher at No. 4 with a tidy 6-2, 6-2 victory over Sharon McClannan.
The only drama came at No. 5 singles, where Winfield needed nearly three hours to dispatch Jennifer McMullen in three sets.
Meanwhile, First Colonial was making equally quick work out of the previously undefeated Mariners, as No. 1 Mily Kannarkat, No. 2 Laura Bridges, No. 4 Anne Crenshaw, No. 5 Holly Cooper and No. 6 Jennifer Smartschen posted easy straight-sets victories. Only Cecibel DeGracia was able to hang tough for Ferguson, forcing Walters to win a 12-10 first-set tiebreaker in a 7-6, 6-3 defeat. by CNB