DATE: Friday, October 17, 1997              TAG: 9710160302

SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS     PAGE: 12   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JAY LIDINGTON, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   70 lines

BRANTON: THIRD ON TEAM TO FIRST IN DISTRICT

It's been a year to remember for Churchland's Beth Branton.

When tennis season kicked off in August, she was the sophomore No. 3 player on a Truckers team that was supposed to fight it out with Granby for the second spot in the Eastern District.

Now she's the district champion, having defeated the No. 1 player on the No. 1 team, Brett Price of Maury, in the district tournament final last week 6-2, 6-3.

Branton will be the district's No. 1 seed going into the regional tournament Oct. 20 at First Colonial High School, where she'll face the No. 2 player from the Beach District, Kristin Moran of Cox.

Branton's path through the district draw was a steady one. She beat Price's sister, Blair, in the quarterfinals 6-3, 6-1. She was down a set to Krystal Azoury, also of Maury, but came back to win 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 in the semifinals.

In the second set, Azoury was up 5-2, but dropped four straight games before knotting it at 6-6 to set up the tiebreaker.

``I knew she was getting upset,'' Branton said. ``I knew if I could get ahead, I'd have it.''

Branton did the same to Brett Price in the finals, blocking or lobbing back her best shots and forcing her opponent to hit extra shots.

``She's really consistent,'' Price said. ``She lobbed a lot. I'd come to the net and it went over my head.''

``Beth's very mentally tough,'' said Churchland coach Ken Strickland. ``Sometimes players that are technically better than (she), she'll wear them down.

``We kind of anticipated she'd work her way up the ladder. But to compete against the Maury girls, we're pretty happy about that.''

Brett Price, a senior, draws the unenviable task of facing two-time state champ Mily Kannarkat in the regionals' first round.

``Oh. . . Mily,'' Price said with a half-joking tone of dread about her voice, counting the days until her next match. ``It's not enough time to do anything drastic to your game. I'll just have to try my best.''

Churchland, the No. 2 team in the district regular season, lost to undefeated Peninsula District champion Menchville 9-0 in the Eastern Region team tournament on Monday.

Maury, by virtue of its first-place finish in the district this season with a 7-0 record, clinched a berth in the region team tournament by defeating Granby in the last match of the season three weeks ago.

They were to host Denbigh at home Tuesday.

Competition for the regional tennis will be hot and heavy and no one will feel the heat more than the Eastern District players, Strickland said.

They'll face tennis powerhouses like Cox and Great Bridge. Even the teams that have played aggressive non-conference schedules this season, like Maury, will be at a loss to make a dent against the better teams of Virginia Beach and Chesapeake.

``Our district is down this year,'' Strickland said. ``There's some good players, but it's not the Beach. It's going to be a shock for our players.''

``You just have to try your best,'' said junior Jessica Mann. ``We're just happy we're going.''

Notes: Churchland's team will included 18-year-old Srdjana Petronijevic, an exchange student from Yugoslavia, who has been an alternate for the Truckers this year. . . Quarterfinal and semifinal regional singles competition will be Monday at First Colonial High School. Championship and third-place matches will be Tuesday at Owl Creek Municipal Tennis Center. The doubles draw has the same schedule, but will play matches in the afternoon to allow players to play singles as well. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JAY LIDINGTON

Churchland's Beth Branton celebrates after winning the district

title.

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