The Jefferson Forest boys’ tennis team defeated Halifax County 9-0 in out-of-county action Thursday night.
In Singles Action #1, Jack Riordan defeated Preston Riddle 8-0. JF’s Blake Hogan followed with an 8-0 win over Kennedy Anderson and Luke Elliott clinched third place in singles with an 8-2 defeat of Andrew Kim.
The Comets’ bad luck continued in fourth place in singles as Stephen Tibbs defeated Landon Jones 8-6 and Marshall Blankenship continued the Cavaliers’ fortunes in fifth place with an 8-2 win over Ram De Vera. JF’s Gage Hogan finished the singles match with an 8-2 win over Josh Slagle.
Halifax (0-2) also struggled in doubles, with the Cavaliers winning all three games. Riordan and Blake Hogan started with an 8-2 win over Riddle and Kim, Elliott and Tibbs followed with an 8-1 win over Anderson and Jones. Blankenship and Gage Hogan ended the evening in an 8-0 win over De Vera and Brandon Heddings in third place.
“We had another tough fight against Jefferson Forest,” said head coach David Riddle. “As a team we are still struggling with the fundamentals. Footwork and execution still have a long way to go. But those two games showed us where we are and what we need to do to get where we need to be as a team.”
There’s always a bright spot, and Riddle and coach Michelle Palmore found the comets in their mental tenacity.
“One of the great assets of this coach [Palmore] and I saw that there’s zero out there,” Riddle said. “They all fought to the last point. We emphasize that we play every point as if it were a match point, so we hope that attitude continues in the future.
Halifax is only two games into its season, which means many pieces are still moving and finding their way. According to Riddle, if the Comets maintain a positive attitude and keep working to improve, their talent will show on the pitch.
“Everyone on this team is either moving up the ladder by one to four places and is new to the game in some situations,” Riddle said. “If these guys keep working hard and keep their heads up like we discussed after the game, their potential will show.”
Halifax returns to action Tuesday when it opens play in the Pimont District with a game against Patrick County at 4:00 p.m. at Martinsville High School.
