Girls’ tennis preview

By JERRY SCOTT/Staff

Back in her high school playing days, Ashleigh Sarver was a pretty good girls’ tennis player. Her resume` includes a record of 61 wins, 0 losses in singles competition for four years, including an unprecedented four Group A state singles championships. Her doubles record of 58-3 for the same period of time includes one state championship, one state runner-up, and one state 3rd place finish. Only a loss in the 1997 Region C finish prevented a trip to state that year.
Now Ashleigh Beasley is seeing the tennis court from a different perspective. The new first-year coach of the Bland County Bears is making a concerted effort to bring credible tennis performances back to way they used to be.
“As a former player, I am approaching tennis from a different angle,” Beasley stated recently. “I am very excited to be coaching at Bland [County] and look forward to a successful season. I have a very athletic group who seem to have a very competitive nature.”
Beasley takes over the program from Becky Umbarger, whose 2007 team finished with a record of eight wins and six losses, all of the setbacks coming during their final seven matches. A good corps of players graduated from that team, including top seed Beth Bowling along with Daniella Harmon, Amanda Sargent, and Holly Carver. Brittni Mustard has opted not to return to the team for 2008.
Beasley inherits five players from that 2007 squad, including seniors Samantha Gray and Jessica Dillow.
Gray was the Bland County Messenger’s 2005 Bland County girls’ tennis player of the year and won six of her 13 singles matches last year, primarily in the second seeded position. Dillow scored four wins in nine matches a year ago.
Also returning with this duo are junior Kirsten Miller and sophomores Kirby Mustard and Kayla Dillow. Miller won six of 10 matches in the fourth slot in 2007 and Dillow scored wins in four of her nine singles matches. Mustard was last year’s BCM player of the year as she went unbeaten in singles at 4-0 and was also undefeated with multiple partners in doubles before an injury cut her season short.
“We have 11 girls playing this year, giving us lots of depth,” Beasley said. “All of the girls seem eager to learn anything and everything I can teach them.”
Rounding out the squad are six newcomers, who, in time, could vie for spots in Beasley’s lineup that will take the court in its 16 matches. Currently, the Bears are 1-1 for the season after scoring a win over Richlands on Mar. 20 after losing to Giles on the 17th.
“Erica Duncan, Ashley Mustard, Brittney Shelton, and Mary Newberry are all new to the sport,” Beasley said of the quartet. “But they are already showing some great skills after only a week or so of practice. Brittni Tickle has transferred in from Rural Retreat where she did play tennis and she is mixing in wonderfully. Foreign exchange student Nozomi Hatada from Japan has picked the game up quickly.”
Overall, the Bears are very inexperienced as tennis players but with the guidance of Beasley, the future of the program looks bright and could reap some very positive rewards. Bland County is having to learn a lot of tennis fundamentals to get ready for what looks to be a competitive MED season.
“Time is against us,” Beasley admitted. “While we may be very athletic, we are having to learn a lot of tennis fundamentals in a very short period of time. All of our players have great potential and hopefully will send our two seniors out with a bang.”
From her own playing days in the late 90’s, Beasley knows that for her team to be able to challenge for the MED championship, it must be able to compete well against the likes of Galax and Grayson County. Both clubs are traditionally strong and the 2008 season shouldn’t be any different.
“From years past, those two are always strong competitors in the MED,” she said. “With this being my first season, I’m really not familiar with the teams yet but I really believe that we have as good a chance to win the district as any team we’ll compete against.”
For the Bears to be a success in 2008, Beasley feels her team needs to be in top physical condition. She has had her girls really working hard in practice not only on their on-court tennis skills but their overall stamina as well.
“We have been working of becoming physically fit enough to compete with anyone,” she stated. “We’ve gone back to fundamentals and really been working at simplifying things to get the building blocks we need to improve. We will put the best combination of girls out there. [Thankfully] they all support each other as a team with positive attitudes and a competitive spirit. I’m very lucky to have a lot of talent to choose from. I can’t wait to see how the season turns out!”

Date Opponent Place
Mar. 14 Giles Home
Mar. 18 Giles Away
Mar. 20 Richlands Away
Mar. 25 Tazewell Away
April 3 Narrows Away
April 4 Tazewell Home
April 7 Grayson Co Home
April 8 Richlands Home
April 10 Galax Home
April 14 Fort Chiswell Away
April 15 Rural Retreat Home
April 22 Rural Retreat Away
April 28 Narrows Home
May 1 Grayson Co Away
May 5 Galax Away
May 8 Fort Chiswell Home
MATCH TIMES: 4:30 p.m.