Sports
Washington Helps Chargers to Good Start
Haley Washington had gone undefeated for the Timber Creek girls' tennis team through Monday's action.
Name: Haley Washington
Sport: Tennis
Position: #3 Singles
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School: Timber Creek
On Monday against Triton, Haley Washington showcased more of what has made her unbeatable in the opening weeks of the girls' tennis season for the .
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Washington easily defeated her opponent, Krista Wells, 6-1, 6-0, extending her record this season to a perfect 5-0 on the year.
“She's very aggressive,” Timber Creek head coach Jean DeMarco said. “She has a lot of confidence in herself.”
Washington is the only one of the three Timber Creek singles players who had not dropped a match through Monday's action. She had Timber Creek's only victory in singles when the team lost 3-2 to Shawnee to open the season, defeating the Renegades' Cameron Kroberger, 6-4, 6-7 and 6-4.
The victory showed how her toughness and will to win can help drive herself and the rest of her team, according to her coach.
“She plays basketball as well, so she's an athlete,” DeMarco said. “She's used to winning, she comes from a winning basketball program. So when she gets out on the court, she pretty much says to herself that she's going to win. She's been going out there and doing that right now.”
On Monday, Washington had no issues in her victory over Wells. She showcased a hard first serve and a very accurate forehand. She limits unforced errors by attacking the opposition with good angle shots towards the corners.
Washington is playing her first season in singles after playing doubles in 2010. She had success with Amanda Riiff as he partner last season, but expressed a desire to play singles in 2011.
“She came in with her mindset in tryouts that she wanted to do singles,” DeMarco said. “She's worked on her serve. She took some lessons over the summer with a tennis pro, and it's made a difference.”
With the prospects of the school's first division title in girls' tennis hanging in the balance, Washington will have to be a force down the stretch, particularly against top teams like Shawnee.
“I told these guys that we're going to win a lot of those close matches 3-2 and one of them is going to have to be the one to be that (deciding match),” DeMarco said. “She could be the one, because she went three sets the first time. So that could happen again.”
