Regional and state tennis results; Lyda and Golden qualify for State Tournament

Berkeley Springs' fledgling tennis program made strides during the first week of May, when Eric Lyda and Denny Golden became the first two Indian tennis players to earn spots in the state tournament field. Lyda, the number one, and Golden, the number two singles players, respectively, for Berkeley Springs each placed second in singles at the regional tournament. They then joined forces in the number one doubles to also place second, qualifying individually and in doubles for the state meet.

The Class AA-A Regional Tournament was held at Robert C. Byrd High School in Clarksburg on May 4 and 5. Lyda, after receiving a bye in the opening round, defeated Andrew O'Brien of Clarksburg Notre Dame and Shawn McFeason of Philip-Barbour, before losing to Matt Elliot of Keyser in the finals. Golden's road was the same, as he received a first-round bye, before beating Dustin Lister of Lincoln and Moe Foley of Petersburg to reach the finals of the number two boys bracket. Golden was defeated in the final by Andrew Henderson of Grafton.

The two then competed in the number one singles match on Monday, May 7 in Grafton. After receiving a first-round bye, they defeated Hefner and Listener of Lincoln and Elliot and Lambaka of Grafton, before losing in the finals to Dipiano and Henderson of Grafton.

Lyda and Golden's road to the state tournament in Charleston, held on May 10, 11 and 12, had been very similar and so too was their state tournament experience. Both won their opening round matches. Lyda defeated Kevin Queen of Logan 8-6 in the opening round, before losing 6-0, 6-0 to the eventual Class AA state champion Chad Brady of Bluefield in the quarterfinals. Golden also made it to the second round with an 8-0 win over Brent Thornhill of Logan, before losing to eventual state champion Cory Warner of Bluefield, 6-3, 6-3.

The pair won their opening round doubles match 8-6 over Cole and Reger of Huntington St. Joes, before running into Brady and Warner of Bluefield in the quarterfinals. Brady and Warner beat the Berkeley Springs duo 6-1, 6-4 to end their tournament run.

Several other Indians won matches at the regional tournament, but were unable to advance to the state tournament.

Ian Whibley and Josh Wise, playing number two doubles, won their opening match at the regional tournament, before losing in the second round to Philip Barbour 8-6.

Three of the Berkeley Springs girls entered in the regional singles tournament won their first round matches before losing in the quarterfinals to end their season. Kelsey Swaim won her opening round match in the number one singles bracket before losing to her Petersburg opponent in round two. Meghann Ambrose, playing the number three singles, defeated Sarah Martin of Lincoln to open the region and then lost to Brittany Ratcliff of Braxton County in the second round. Brittany Fox won her opening round match in the number four singles, before losing to Ashley Monglod of Petersburg.

Swaim and Ambrose won their first match in number one doubles before bowing out of the regional tournament with a loss to Keyser's number one team. Christine Knable and Elizabeth Sheppard also won their first match in the number three doubles bracket before losing a tough match to Liberty Harrison 8-6.

Lyda and Golden's success should give both Berkeley Springs teams confidence. The two crossed one of the many hurdles the second-year program faces and hopefully paved the way for future success.